Graphical Fidelity vs Visual Style

[Professor S]

Originally Posted by BreakABone

But to use "realism" in reference to a game that has imaginary alien races and planets and weapons and gears and powers.

And claiming the game needed it, seems odd to me.

A story of political intrigue, genocide, sex and hard moral choices with life and death consequences doesn't need realism?

To me the setting is irrelevant. The themes are what dictated the style.

Do you believe any game needs realism in graphics, or should they all look stylized regardless of the game's content?