A stunning Unreal Engine 5.5 tech demo inspired by Blade Runner and other Cyberpunk works is now available for download, allowing users with the proper hardware to experience how much Lumen Global Illumination and Reflections, alongside other ray tracing features, can enhance visuals.
The tech demo, which can be downloaded here, was created by Pasquale Scionti, who originally aimed to create a Cyberpunk scene using only dynamic lighting and, as such, used no Lumen, no path tracing, and no ray tracing in the original UE 5.3 version of the demo. The developer has now released a new version of the demo created powered by Unreal Engine 5.5.4 featuring Lumen Global Illumination and Reflections as well as Hardware Ray Tracing for Ambient Occlusion, Reflections, and Shadows, which looks downright stunning. All of this, however, comes at a cost in terms of performance, as even a powerful GPU like the RTX 4090 can run the demo at 60 FPS only at 1440p resolution, proving once again how hardware is still not ready for demanding advanced lighting tech.
Unreal Engine 5.5, which is the latest major version of the game development engine by Epic, has been used by multiple developers to power up some interesting projects, which include unofficial remasters of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Skyrim, although performance leaves something to be desired in most cases, even on powerful hardware. According to Massive Damage's Bryan Heemskerk, when Unreal Engine 5 launched, GPUs were two generations behind, and it will only be with the RTX 6000 series that games powered by the engine will run well, so it will be a while longer until framerates won't have to be sacrificed in the name of better visuals.
About the author: Francesco De Meo has been covering video games and technology since 2012, starting his career at small outlets like Gamersyndrome and GeekSnack. After joining Wccftech gaming section in 2015, he quickly expanded his video gaming coverage with in-depth reporting, interviews with iconic industry figures such as Grasshopper Manufacture founder and No More Heroes creator Goichi "Suda51" Suda, Resident Evil series creator Shinji Mikami, Team NINJA's president and Nioh series director Fumihiko Yasuda, and Silent Hill creator Keiichiro Toyama, reviews and on-the-ground coverage of major industry events such as Gamescom and E3. When he's not reporting or reviewing, Francesco can be found playing the genres he loves most, spending time with his six cats, reading, writing music, playing guitar and drumming for his progressive rock band.
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