The de-saturated colour palette, and the fact that Helghan is such an inhospitable hole, should mean that the game looks drab. The fact it doesn't is down to an array of visual tricks, the most important of which is deferred rendering, which involves blending the effect of light sources on an object..*snip*...it makes the city look incredibly dynamic with light and shadow changing constantly as a result of muzzle flashes, burning wreckage and jags of lighting