Footage of a brief fan-made Superman game demo on Reddit has showcased the potential of Unreal Engine 5.
Published on Reddit, the post was made by the creator of the demo, TJATOMICA. While the actual snippet of footage is very brief, it shows off Superman jogging across a rooftop in what appears to be a recreation of Manhattan. The classically designed superhero then jumps off the building and zips into the sky at what appears to be a blistering speed. It's brief, but the smooth animation displayed in the demo has proven popular on the r/Gaming subreddit.
Not only does the animation of taking off and flying look incredibly fluid, the city and skybox look impressively detailed. The short demo was built in the newly launched early access version of Unreal Engine 5 and reportedly took TJATOMICA just two weeks to put together.
The post has been met with an overwhelmingly positive reception with many users praising both the demo and the engine. Many comments have jokingly pointed out the improvement of the game's flying mechanic in comparison to Superman 64, which released in 1999 for the Nintendo 64.
Superman 64 is widely considered to be one of the worst games ever released and has become notorious for its unresponsive flight controls and poorly implemented combat system. The last 3D Superman game to feature a functioning flight mechanic was Superman Returns: The Videogame in 2006. Despite showcasing many of Superman's iconic abilities, it was considered a critical failure due to it's often uninspired and repetitive gameplay.
While this demo is simply a fan-made project that likely won't see a full release, it is interesting to see the potential of a Superman game realized through Unreal Engine 5. The engine is still in early access yet the creation of such a slick piece of animation in such a short space of time is certainly encouraging.
Source: Reddit