An artist tries to answer the question of how the science fiction role-playing game Cyberpunk 2077 could look in the new Unreal Engine 5.
Cyberpunk 2077 is certainly one of the most hyped games of all time. When it was finally released about a year and a half ago, however, it quickly became clear that it could probably never have lived up to the completely exaggerated expectations.
One point of criticism concerned and still concerns the look of the science fiction adventure: quite a few had expected a real graphics revolution, i.e. at least NextGen, especially thanks to several ray tracing effects. But even that – one has to be honest – was probably a bit too much to expect.
Realistic reflections, wherever the eye looks
The YouTube channel Enfant Terrible has now taken on this and created a video of how Cyberpunk 2077 could look in the brand new Unreal Engine 5. And it looks simply breathtaking. But the best thing is to convince yourself of the graphic splendour:
In the approximately two and a half minute video, the artist shows what could be possible with Epic Games’ latest iteration of the Unreal Engine. Because only part of the video was created in the graphics engine itself, but more on that in the section This is how Cyberpunk 2077 was created in UE5
Look at the rainy scene starting at minute 1:03. What if Cyberpunk 2077 really looked like this. It would be almost indistinguishable from reality or a film. The reflections of the vehicle lights and the neon signs seem almost tangible. Pay particular attention to the yellow taxi with the red stripe and the reflections of the out-of-picture surroundings on the paintwork.
Real tech demos in the UE5 we have for you here:
- Reality or Unreal Engine 5? Video causes consternation and disbelief on social media
- Unreal Engine 5: Free Spider-Man demo looks great, but comes with a hefty price tag
- Hardly distinguishable from reality: You have to see this Unreal Engine 5 demo
How Cyberpunk 2077 came to be in UE5
Enfant Terrible used videos and footage from a number of other artists to recreate Cyberpunk 2077, plus came Environment Megapacks
from the Epic Marketplace as well as the MetaHumans Creator
, VFX
and Zbrush
were used. How much of Night City he actually reconstructed himself is not really clear, but quite a few hours of work must have gone into it, even using other videos.
What do you think? Would Cyberpunk 2077 look like this in Unreal Engine 5? Would you like to see CD Projekt Red remake the dystopian science fiction role-playing game in this form? Feel free to let us know in the comments!
