What is possible with Epic’s engine almost seems (un)real.
Is this real or just virtual? We don’t have to ask ourselves this question yet(!), but Unreal Engine 5 already has what it takes for truly impressive tech demos.
On X (formerly Twitter) the user Linus posts videos based on Epic’s engine. Under the motto Not really real
he shares the following clip:
Link to Twitter content
What do we see? A huge gorge is staged with beautiful lighting effects, individual pebbles lie on the ground and blades of grass can also be seen, which are set in motion by a slight breeze. The camera shakes a bit because the movement comes from a VR camera, as Linus reveals in the comments.
The second clip is no less impressive: A burning car looks so realistic that the illusion is astonishing at first glance. But when the mouse cursor is dragged into the image with a pink object, the illusion disappears. Because the plume of smoke that rises from the wreck reacts to the object.
Link to Twitter content
The last clip shared is a little faster: Here the camera follows three sweets as they slide along a frozen lake. Unreal Engine 5 can also handle fast movements – provided the PC has enough power.
Are there graphics like this in games too?
Some of the clips are already two years old, but there are still no real games that come with graphics like this. One of the reasons is obvious: most PCs simply can’t keep up.
The jungle demo Electric Dreams Environment, for example, impresses with its beautiful thicket, but also requires powerful hardware – and you can’t really play anything, just walk around.
AI, sound, physics, the player’s input and many other aspects of a game that consume computing power don’t even start here. The storage space used is a completely different issue.
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But there are already phenomenally stylish games in Unreal Engine 5:
In addition, the so-called bodycam shooters like Unrecord, which place a particularly high value on realism, should not go unmentioned. Of course, it remains to be seen whether they will be able to play convincingly when released.
Of course, other engines should not be downplayed here. For example, Remedy’s in-house Northlight engine really worked its magic on Alan Wake 2 last year.
What do you think of the clips? Can you easily distinguish real recordings from such engine videos or do you have to look particularly closely to see the clips? expose
? What do you think will be the best game of the year? Feel free to write it to us in the comments!
