Feel like that need's to be the name of a DnD module at some point...
The subjectivity of beauty is perhaps one of the key ingredients that keeps this world of ours churning along. The ability for ideals of 'appeal' and 'desire' for people, places and positions to draw different hearts and minds, for one person's stick to hold nothing of interest to the next person along, which allows for communities of inherently possessive people to co-exist without tearing one-another apart. That co-existence is the pre-requisite for community, stability and eventually, society. Take away subjectivity and humanity would have whittled away generations before it's sapience over in-fighting for the same chunk of sitting rock over in lower-east Pangea. If the first invention of man was the rope, to bind and keep what was theirs, then one of the first thoughts of men must have been something along the lines of "Yeah, but my rope is nicer than yours; and my stuff is shinier too!"
Of course, subjectivity in beauty has it's part to play when it comes to the creation of art in all it's forms throughout history; which is the very reason why we have evolved and respected off-shoots and subgenre's of art which were born and flourished alongside humanity. Expressionism interpreting the subject emotional state of a being, abstract expressionism keying into the heart of spontaneity and evoking the heart of the observer itself, modern art turning the very act of the viewing into the work of art itself. These are higher wills of the body of what art is, but they were born and grown due to the grace of subjectivity and distinction between what one artist believes captures the beauty of creativity and what another person believes does that. It's not a question of what face is the 'perfect face', or even what techniques best capture that face, or even further- what about the basic approach to actually commit the act of depiction to begin with.
And like the many forms of art before it, gaming is in no ways any different with the plethora of differing genres, themes and platforms- all pretty much designed as achieving the same goal of providing a fun playing experience for the viewer but getting there in different ways. Some schools of thought prioritize the sheer tactile nature of responsive action and shun a heavier reliance on tools such as 'interactive narrative storytelling', which spells out the difference between the audience of the Batman Arkham games and the Telltale Batman games. Other schools think the thematic philosophy of what actions represent take a precedent over the actions themselves, which is perhaps what conjured the somewhat contentious gameplay of Death Stranding over a more traditional open world title like 'Horizon: Zero Dawn'. Thanks to the merits of subjectivity; nether viewpoint is inherently or abhorrently wrong, they're just distinct.
If we were to tie this subject back to the ideals of 'beauty', then there's also a plethora of distinction on opinion between what is considered 'attractive art' and 'visual style' from one game to another. Although in this regard there does appear to mostly be boundaries within the category of genre to consider. (Unless we take into account the real 'trailblazer games') Create a sandbox survival title and you'll more likely than not be looking to develop a world with realistic visual depictions to match the grounded nature of that genre; create a platformer and you'll likely be drawn to more retro-inspired modern art styles like 'smooth pixel', calling back to the time when those types of games were considered 'at their peak'. Which is why despite it's graphical simplicity, games like Minecraft, in it's blocky conception, carries an innate beauty in the (gradually) consistent composition of it's art style and the visual appeal that can exist within that. (Now if only I could get other people to actually understand that...)
Subjectivity does rear it's head up when it comes to a lot more of these fringe, not conventionally good-looking, games that pursue niche and stylised standards of visual beauty. The inherently limiting blocky visuals of Minecraft has inspired many a turned nose for it's simplistic aesthetic, despite the oodles of depth held within the game's ever expanding belly. Classics like Team Fortress 2 and Overwatch are giving the knee-jerk impression of being 'childish' and 'not serious', more for their resemblance to the animated stylings of high quality kids animation than for the merit of the games themselves. And there seems to be a genuine contingent of people out there who simply boil over at the prospect of experiencing anything with but a hint of Anime style to it; regardless of the source. (More for me, I guess.)
Personally, I try to see beyond the visualisation of any game in hopes of finding value underneath, but even I have to admit I have my limits and shortcomings. I simply adored my first playthrough of the Baldur's Gate series, (The original through to 'throne of Bhaal') and intended to jump right back into my second playthrough upon finishing but... damn, those 1998 isometric sprites are just so ugly. I couldn't bring myself to endure it for another couple hundred hours. I also have an aversion to games that adapt 2D visuals into 3D world spaces without totally redesigning the characters: I think it looks just inherently cheap. Most lower-budget anime-based 3D games suffer from this, featuring flat-faced character models with one-sided appeal. But I do try to work through these personal gripes: I will play through the 'Tales of' franchise at some point...
Meanwhile, does anyone find the pursuit of absolute fidelity just a little bit... boring? Every big budget high quality title, from the recent Final Fantasy games, to Resident Evil, to God of War, to Horizon Zero Dawn; are all flying towards the same ultimate visual apex of a game so realistic it can fool the human eye into thinking it's real. But if you remember the recent reaction to a game which achieved that, Unrecord, that apex isn't always that appealing. Some people find the inability to tell what we're playing from live footage just that tiny bit uncomfortable, and the escapism of delving into a fictional world can feel just that little bit tarnished when that world resembles the one we have outside nearly fully. Now the games I've listed are exceptions, where the art style of the team does sign appropriately enough that even at their most realistic these games depict utterly new and unique worlds- but not every game can boast that distinction- and yet every game does seem to aspire to this 'utter realism' standard. I predict a rude awakening coming for these 'graphics elitist' devs n the near future.
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