A good comparison case is Need for Speed II: SE from 1997, 3dfx Glide is the only developer intended hardware accelerated option. Here’s software rendering vs the added 3dfx Glide support.

Disclaimer that I grabbed these screenshots from Google Images, credit goes to the original author.

@ElizabethNoir Loved that game. Highly likely the CD is in a drawer here somewhere still. During local multiplayer, it was the rule with my friend and I that you shouted “sign!” every time you hit one. There’s more than a handful on some tracks. 😀

The modern games look great but this one does have a charm of its own.