For example, affine texture mapping and the pixel popping that really gave the PSX its distinct flavor is completely gone from modern games that try to emulate it. Or the SNESes texture warping in mode 7. Or the N64s very monotonous textures (or essentially black and white video due to compression).
If a game really tried to replicate the PSX or N64, I don't think people would like the result. Modern sensibilities appreciate the idealized aesthetics, but not the rough edges.
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> If a game really tried to replicate the PSX or N64, I don't think people would like the result.
I have some terrible news for you my friend.
https://danielilett.com/2021-11-06-tut5-21-ps1-affine-textur...
PlayStation 1 Affine Texture Mapping in Shader Code
However, I stand by my assertion that people who didn't experience these effects first hand wouldn't like it.
Valheim is beautiful, no doubt, but it's not really authentically old school. It's an idealized throwback - its what 20 year olds think a PSX looked like. There's also zero chance it would look nearly as good if it had to run on actual PSX hardware.