YouTube’s ‘Cycu1’ has shared a new interesting comparison video for the Fantasy Ruins Tech Demo of Unreal Engine 5. In this video, the YouTuber compares its UE5 version with and without Lumen/Ray Tracing. So, let’s take a closer look at it.
Unlike the Abandoned Warehouse Tech Demo, the Fantasy Ruins Demo looks much better with Lumen and Ray Tracing. In many scenes, the Lumen-powered version looks way better. Reflections, lighting, shadows, and other effects all improve with Lumen and Ray Tracing. Because of this, the demo looks less flat and more realistic.
However, this comparison also shows something we already knew. In terms of the performance/visuals ratio, pre-baked lighting is still the best. Yes, the UE5 version without Lumen doesn’t look as good, but it runs a lot better. In a game where the time of day doesn’t change, a rasterized game can look just as good as a ray-traced game.
But don’t get me wrong. Lumen and Ray Tracing can make games look better, especially when their time of day changes. These tools allow devs to create amazing graphics more easily. Making detailed scenes without RT takes a lot of time and effort. That’s why a lot of rasterized games look flat and bad. But with Lumen and Ray Tracing, even small indie game teams can make games with great visuals that punch above their weight.
In short, this is an interesting video. Now I know, some will only focus on the performance figures. And that’s fine. However, you should keep in mind that these performance figures are at Native 4K. With DLSS, this demo can run smoothly on high-end GPUs with Lumen/Ray Tracing.
Personally, I’d take the Lumen/Nanite version any time of the day. It looks better in every way, and it does not suffer from any reflection artifacts. And, since DLSS so damn good these days, you can get framerates higher than 60fps.
Speaking of Unreal Engine 5, you should also check out the following fan projects. For instance, you can find some faithful remasters of Dark Souls and Dark Souls 3, which are super cool. A few months ago, we also shared an amazing remake of Toy Story 2. Then there’s this fantastic fan remake of STALKER that’s worth a look. Then there’s this fantastic fan remake of STALKER that’s worth a look. Oh, and don’t miss the Grand Theft Auto 6 fan concept in UE5; it’s pretty impressive. In February 2024, we also shared fan remakes of Grand Theft Auto San Andreas and GTA 3, as well as an Uncharted fan game. We also have a fan remaster of Unreal Gold in UE5. You should also watch the full-on remake video for Final Fantasy 9, and this HD-2D Fan Remake for Xenogears.
Need for Speed Carbon and Tony Hawk’s Underground have also received some cool remakes. Oh, and there is a fan remake of Tomb Raider The Last Revelation, featuring Angelina Jolie and Christoph Walz. And if that’s not enough, there are fan remakes for Star Wars: Republic Commando, Death Stranding, Fallout 4, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim’s Solitude, Grand Theft Auto 4, Need for Speed: Most Wanted, Fallout 4, Resident Evil 1, Skyrim’s Winterhold and Silent Hill 3’s Lakeside Amusement Park. There is also this Studio Ghibli stylized teaser for Zelda: Ocarina of Time in Unreal Engine 5. So, lots of UE5 fan remakes, right? Well, since they’re all really cool, we suggest giving them a watch.
Enjoy and stay tuned for more!
John is the founder and Editor in Chief at DSOGaming. He is a PC gaming fan and highly supports the modding and indie communities. Before creating DSOGaming, John worked on numerous gaming websites. While he is a die-hard PC gamer, his gaming roots can be found on consoles. John loved – and still does – the 16-bit consoles, and considers SNES to be one of the best consoles. Still, the PC platform won him over consoles. That was mainly due to 3DFX and its iconic dedicated 3D accelerator graphics card, Voodoo 2. John has also written a higher degree thesis on the “The Evolution of PC graphics cards.”
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