Gameplay is king, aesthetics just takes it to another level. Valheim kinda looked like shit to me when I first played it, I wasnt a fan of that PS1 look. But the gameplay was excellent, and deep, and I came around to the visuals to the point of actually loving them.
The beauty of a good game is that it can take you somewhere regardless of how it looks. Imagination fills in the gaps and you can feel like you’re there.