A low poly model works perfect (even in games) if the polygonflow/topology is good and it has good bump-/displacement-/normal maps. Software may support you while constructing the mesh, but mostly you have to reconstruct the polygonflow „by hand“. Especially if you can't use displacement-maps without a high poly mesh (depends on the render-engine).

To get more info about polygon-topology and polygonflow, search Google with "polygon flow tutorial".