Unreal Engine 5 continues to impress. The latest demo to stop the internet is a photo real walkthrough of a Japanese train station by environment and prop artist Lorenzo Drago.
Ever since Unreal Engine 5 released for PS5 and PC earlier this year we've begun to see some astounding videos and demos created by artists for fun. The official UE5 demo made an impression, but the work of Drago goes even further. Watch it below and be amazed.
The artist has created the demo based on a real life train station in Toyama, Japan. It's two-and-a-half-minutes of graphics power, and we're impressed. This demo was created by one artist, so image what a studio of hundreds could conceive. You can see a breakdown of Drago's work on his ArtStation account.
Drago spent a month building this realistic train station, gathering references before modelling and texturing the environment using Substance Painter. This isn't photogrammetry, but a hand-built world.
Not all UE5 demos are hits. The realism offered by the engine can give games not usually known for lifelike looking visuals a weird look, such as the fan-made Mario game made in Unreal Engine 5 that many disliked.
It was almost an experiment, so I'm happy I was able to get to this level of realism (Lorenzo Drago)
The artist told GamesRadar: "I think compared to my older projects I was finally able to level up my material and texture work. It was almost an experiment, so I'm happy I was able to get to this level of realism."
As more artists experiment with Unreal Engine 5 we're going to see some absolutely amazing results in the coming years. Expect the first game built in UE5 to release this October, as Forspoken comes to PlayStation 5. All eyes will be on this game.
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Ian Dean is Editor, Digital Arts & 3D at Creative Bloq, and the former editor of many leading magazines. These titles included ImagineFX, 3D World and video game titles Play and Official PlayStation Magazine. Ian launched Xbox magazine X360 and edited PlayStation World. For Creative Bloq, Ian combines his experiences to bring the latest news on digital art, VFX and video games and tech, and in his spare time he doodles in Procreate, ArtRage, and Rebelle while finding time to play Xbox and PS5.
