Impressive Unreal Engine 5 first-person games and demos in 2023 and beyond

Epic Games' Unreal Engine 5 is one of the most popular engines in the gaming industry, but more and more artists are beginning to use the development software to create hyperrealistic cinematics and concepts. We've compiled a list of our favorite game trailers and demos that everyone should check out.

Paranormal Tales

Paranormal Tales by Digital Cybercherries is an upcoming horror title that tells the story of multiple missing characters through the view of bodycams, phones, and VHS cameras, complete with realistic audio and visual effects.

The developers intend to create a highly unsettling experience with a focus on exploration, with "vastly different" stories developed with a "sense of hyper-realism" that fully utilizes Unreal Engine 5's capabilities.

Hideo Kojima fans may notice a strong influence from his canceled P.T. project, with the game's title Paranormal Tales bearing the same initials and many gameplay similarities can be seen in its trailer.

There is no release date yet, and it is likely to be at least another year away, but you can wishlist the game on its Steam Store page.

Titanic: Honor and Glory

The team at Vintage Digital Revival is currently hard at work using Unreal Engine 5 to recreate the entire iconic Titanic passenger liner that sank in 1912. Players will be able to explore the ship and learn about its passengers and crew.

So far, footage from the project has shown the interior and exterior of the ship, from the deck to the engine room to lounges and, of course, the many passengers' rooms. The Edwardian Era furnishings found throughout were given close attention to detail, to create extra replicas from images and drawings of the original ship.

Vintage Digital Revival, as one might expect, intends to recreate the sinking of the ship in real-time, providing players with insight into the events that occurred over a century ago.

Demo 401 is currently available for free on the developer's website, and Project 401, which will allow players to explore 40% of the ship, will be released in the future. The full version has no set release date; its developers simply state that it will be available once the ship has been completely replicated, with both a standard PC and VR version planned. More information can be found on its FAQ page.

Unrecord

Unrecord is an upcoming first-person shooter game in which players take on the role of a police officer through the lens of his body camera. Throughout several criminal cases with complex dialogue and unique shooting and movement mechanics, players will be forced to make difficult decisions with serious consequences.

Graphically, the game is terrifyingly realistic, with the developer even having to prove its legitimacy to those who were skeptical after people claimed that it was either a pre-rendered cinematic or a recording. Some groups even criticized it for its shootouts being too similar to what is seen in real bodycam footage.

The title has no current release date, and its developer DRAMA has stated that it "is not expected to be released" in 2023; however, you can wishlist it on the game's Steam page.

Cliffwood Village

Cliffwood Village by Taichi Kobayashi is without a doubt one of the most visually stunning Unreal Engine 5 demos out there, depicting someone strolling through an empty village from a first-person perspective. The individual wanders around the area before arriving at a gate that leads to a lake surrounded by snow-capped mountains.

High-quality foliage, incredible lighting and shadows, solid physics, and immersive audio are all featured in the showcase video. According to the creator, they focused on creating a realistic demo with architecture based on that found in Switzerland and England, and it appears that he has successfully pushed the engine's boundaries.

Kobayashi has released some other equally amazing renders on his ArtStation and is most likely working on a new demo as you read this.

Inspired by Death Stranding

Pasquale Scionti, a Torn Banner Studios Principal Lighting/Lookdev Artist, has created a Death Stranding-inspired cinematic, recreating landscapes similar to those found in Hideo Kojima's genre-defying game.

The demo employs Unreal Engine 5's Nanite and Lumen geometry and lighting systems, as well as Quixel Megascans, to generate photorealistic renders of the United States following a catastrophic event, complete with deceased wildlife and dense fog.

Scionti's other work is just as impressive, with character renders and a variety of other cinematic demos, including one of Konami's Silent Hill, available on his ArtStation.