With Unreal Engine 5, you will notice games with life-like terrains, better human character faces, natural lighting, and several other refinements. In other words, it makes things easier for game developers and adds visual enhancements for the user-side of things. In case you’re curious about it, you can watch the demo video of Unreal Engine 5 following its announcement: To sum up the video, here’s why Unreal Engine 5 is a big deal:
Reasons Why Unreal Engine 5 is an Impressive Feat
Unreal Engine 5 (UE 5) comes with certain feature additions that will affect the entire gaming and movie industry moving forward. Some of the features include:
Lumen: Lumen is a real-time global illumination tech faster than path tracing (usually used in movies) and better than any other existing lighting technique for in-game visuals. This will result in a life-like reflection while minimizing the work needed to get it right.
Nanite: With the help of nanite, game developers can now add high-quality assets used in movies without worrying about performance issues. Nanites ensure that the same concept of level of detail is applied without affecting the original quality of assets.Megascans: Unreal Engine 5 features a massive library of 3D objects, surfaces, modular objects, plants, and other objects like trees. These objects are scanned manually from across the globe to give you photorealistic objects for free.MetaHumans: The character animation, face, and visuals have improved, but with MetaHumans on UE 5, you get access to various options to customize/create the character and easily add it to the game. The character will be looking closer to real life with all this.Easy Migration to UE 5 from UE 4: Unreal Engine 5 keeps in mind the capabilities and features of Unreal Engine 4 and does not break the compatibility. So, any game built with Unreal Engine 4 can be converted to Unreal Engine 5 to improve the visuals. This should encourage developers to make better remasters of classic games.
Now that you have a good idea about Unreal Engine 5’s capabilities. It is only natural to be excited about the upcoming games that utilize Unreal Engine 5. So, what are the games that you can wishlist? Some of the best games confirmed to use Unreal Engine 5 include:
Tomb Raider
Tomb Raider is one of the most beautiful action-adventure games available cross-platform. Starting with its reboot of the original Tomb Raider game to its latest title, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, everything was built using their in-house Foundation Engine. Even without Unreal Engine, they managed to provide an impressive experience at the time. However, with the next installment to the franchise, the game developer Crystal Dynamics announced that they will be leveraging Unreal Engine 5. Given that they have previously set visual benchmarks with the game, it should be exciting to see how they use Unreal Engine 5 for the next Tomb Raider game. Unfortunately, no release date or any associated details have been revealed yet.
The Matrix Awakens
The Matrix Awakens is a fantastic take on what Unreal Engine 5 is capable of. The game focuses on providing the best immersive cinematic experience yet. The footage shared gets our hopes up and should increase the standard of next-gen games if all goes well. The plot for this game needs no introduction; you will be diving into the world of Matrix, where you also have Neo (Keanu Reeves) made using MetaHumans. No release date has been announced for the game, but it has been confirmed to release for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X.
Redfall
Redfall is an interesting upcoming title by Bethesda after Microsoft acquired it. While it has been confirmed to use Unreal Engine 5, the release date was delayed to 2023. The plot is a not-so-surprising “surviving zombies” and fighting against them with a team of survivors. However, you will not be encountering the usual type of zombies. So, you will be in for an interesting ride and a fight that should feel more than just surviving an apocalypse. It is an open-world co-op FPS shooter, and it is best to play with your friends for the best experience. It will launch exclusively on Xbox Series X/S consoles and PC and will be available on day one with Xbox Game Pass.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R 2
A first-person shooter set in a post-apocalyptic world with horror elements. It is a sequel to the classic STALKER game. You’re not being hunted here, but you are the hunter, curious? I’ll let you wait for the game. You can expect it to be a big open-world FPS game where your decision will affect the world. So, it should be fascinating to see where it takes you. As per the gameplay trailer, the game looks impressive and uses Unreal Engine 5. The release date has been confirmed for December 8, 2022.
The Witcher
One of the most anticipated titles, The Witcher 4, has been confirmed to use Unreal Engine 5 to provide an immersive experience to the new saga. We might see Geralt (the protagonist) again in the next installment, considering they did not end the character’s story with the previous game. However, the plot hasn’t been confirmed yet. So, you could keep an eye on surprises. Considering the disappointing launch of Cyberpunk 2077, CD PROJEKT RED will probably think twice before announcing a release date for The Witcher 4.
Kingdom Hearts 4
A beautiful game by Square Enix, Kingdom Hearts will be getting a sequel with a similar setting and familiar characters. The graphics should improve given the use of Unreal Engine 5, including the character design. No release date has been announced as of writing this. It will be interesting to see how the game makes a difference in visuals (which was not one of the strongest points).
Quantum Error
Quantum Error is an upcoming horror game following Alien isolation’s footsteps. Of course, we can’t tell if it will be that good, but the teaser trailer shows an exciting first look at the weapons, creatures, and vehicles. An indie game studio is developing it. So, if this picks up, the developers would be proving their potential for future titles. The developers confirmed to release it by the end of 2022, but no date has been announced when publishing this. However, the development has been confirmed to move to Unreal Engine 5.
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2
One of the most loved indie titles, Hellblade, is making a comeback with a sequel under Microsoft’s umbrella. In case you’re curious, Hellblade is a psychological action-puzzle game with a female protagonist fighting against the Viking hell to fight for the soul of her dead lover. It may not be a perfect fit for every gamer. But, if you’re interested in trying something different that gives you a unique psychological experience with good visuals, Senua’s Saga: Hellblade Sacrifice is a good start. No official release date has been shared for Hellblade II. However, the game was expected to launch in late 2022 at the time of writing this.
Mass Effect
The classic sci-fi shooter by BioWare is finally getting a modern sequel. While no release date has been announced, Mass Effect will be using Unreal Engine 5, as hinted by some of its job listings, to make the development shift. The game is expected to make an appearance in 2023 or 2024.
Echoes of the End
Echoes of the End is a new title by an indie studio as the first out of three planned for the series. It is a third-person action-adventure game that focuses on storytelling (narrative). The game has a fantasy setting that looks good in the initial reveal. With this game, you can expect an immersive experience with character interactions, NPC interaction, and how you interact with the elements in a game. The video above explains all the details if you’re curious.
Dragon Quest XII: The Flames of Fate
The next installment of the Dragon Quest series was announced with a teaser trailer. The game wasn’t particularly a benchmark in terms of visuals, but it has been confirmed to use Unreal Engine 5. So, it should be an interesting reveal when the gameplay footage goes public.
Dreamhouse: The Game
If you are into simulator games to build/craft things, Dreamhouse should be a fascinating addition to your library. It aims to be a real-like experience to build and design your home. No release date has been announced, but the footage in the video and the pictures available look exceptional. If you only want to experience the realistic visual made possible by the Unreal Engine 5, this can be the perfect candidate.
Unreal Engine 5 to Pave the Way for Next-Gen Games
The gaming experience gets more immersive and closer to real-like visuals with every generation. The more complex things get, the more challenging it is to implement them by the game studios. Hence, the reason some AAA titles take years to develop. And, Unreal Engine 5 is a significant step in the right direction to minimize the effort while letting the game developers make the most out of the current technology. In other words, Unreal Engine 5 aims to improve game development workflow. Not every game can showcase the full potential of Unreal Engine 5, but some upcoming games mentioned above can be intriguing to watch out for. You may consider buying one of these best gaming desks before trying your hand at the above games.
