Awesome Unreal

This thrilling computer-animated short film is best described as a Raiders of the Lost Ark meets Cars. Arthur Baum’s TukTuk Tango imagines what might happen if Indiana Jones’ Jeep got tired of hauling his lazy butt around and set off on its own archeological adventure. The setup is pretty silly, but the cinematics and action are brilliant.

This short film by Santiago Menghini and a team of talented artists follows a pair of smugglers who must traverse a dangerous border under cover of night while transporting a hostage. Made using Unreal Engine, Rally is a tense and exciting mini-movie that also shows off what a modern 3D engine can do when it comes to lighting and atmosphere.

This animation features a monologue by a monster who was once an alchemist, expressing regrets after attaining the power he sought. Cory Williams of Daydream Studios wrote and directed the short film using Unreal Engine 5 and assets from the Unreal Marketplace. We love the design of Dary Palasky’s creature, Wasserman. (Thanks, Rob!)

Non-player characters (NPCs) in games are often quite stupid. But this video from TMARTN2 shows how they’re about to get much smarter. Combining voice recognition, voice synthesis, and an AI large language model, Replica Studios’ Smart NPCs carry out real-time, non-scripted conversations. It’s early days for the tech, but it’s a glimpse into the future.

The data that Google Maps has amassed is pretty amazing. Bad Decisions Studio shows us how it’s possible to use the Google Maps API and Cesium to bring the power of its global data into Unreal Engine 5 to add your own lighting and make high-fidelity 3D renderings of any location on the planet.

With the help of Unreal Engine 5, Design by FEO created this realistic version of Rick’s garage and basement laboratory from Rick and Morty. The workshop is packed with fun easter eggs and sci-fi references. There’s something that feels so right that Rick’s voiceover was created by an AI-powered neural network.

Miguel Ortega and Tran Ma’s animated short is one of the most artful things we’ve seen rendered in Unreal Engine 5, and its production design and storytelling are top-notch. It chronicles two sisters, and the evil one of them unleashes when jealousy takes over. Their behind-the-scenes series delves deep into the filmmaking process.

Funkyzeit Games used Unreal Engine 5 to make the Super Mario game they always wished existed. Instead of the franchise’s typically cheerful and bright look, Funkyzeit’s version is dark, moody, and at times even gory. We’d love to see this expanded into a full game.

AFK follows up on its humorous fan film The Battlefield with another Star Wars-inspired short made with Unreal Engine 5. The Walker focuses on a platoon of snowtroopers who must endure a long and boring ride to Echo Base on Hoth in the cargo hold of a slow-moving AT-AT.

Musician and visual artist VJFader shows off a trippy 3D universe he created using Unreal Engine 5 and Mandelbulbs produced by Machina Fractals: Essence. The otherworldly astronomical forms were generated in real-time, and the lighting changes with the music.

We’ve learned not to early demo footage to be representative of a game’s final look. But we’re cautiously optimistic that NCSOFT’s Unreal 5-powered Project M will live up to the developer’s goal of creating the kinds of the incredibly realistic characters and environment shown in this trailer. Turn on subtitles.

Artist Lorenzo Drago created this life-like environment using Unreal Engine 5 and Lumen for the lighting. The location is based on Etchū-Daimon Station and is a dead ringer for the real deal. In order to capture the greatest detail, he rendered it at 7fps then sped it up, but it can be rendered in real time with less detail.

Aussie developer Matt Newell is working on an interactive plaything called Lushfoil Photography Sim. Matt’s goal is to envelop players in the most realistic grass, trees, and other environmental elements across detailed landscapes. From the looks of this French Alps demo, we think he’s on the right track. There’s an 8K version here.

To celebrate the release of The Matrix: Resurrections, Epic Games released this impressive tech demo of Unreal Engine 5. The Matrix Awakens combines advanced cinematics with a third-person shooter and an open world to explore. It’s available for free on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.

The action-adventure RPG Black Myth: Wukong isn’t arriving until 2023, but it’s already looking incredible. This extended gameplay trailer gives us a look at the spectacular environments, enemies, and visual effects, powered by Unreal Engine 5. The game is targeting a solid 60FPS at 4K resolution too.

The first game to use Unreal Engine was… Unreal. Since it appeared on the scene in 1996, computer graphics technology has evolved in leaps and bounds. GameSpot looks back at the history of Epic’s 3D game engine, and just how far it’s come over the years, even powering the environments in The Mandalorian.