The Matrix Awakens: An impressive glimpse into the future of gaming with Unreal Engine 5
Ahead of the release of The Matrix Revolutions, the fourth installment in the sci-fi action franchise, Epic Games, Warner Bros., Lana Wachowski and other members of the moviemaking team released The Matrix Awakens. We’d seen teasers for this previously and at The Game Awards, Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Ann Moss, who reprise their roles as Neo and Trinity, respectively, in the upcoming movie, shared a trailer for it.
This week, The Matrix Awakens officially released on Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5. But what is it?
What is The Matrix Awakens
The Matrix Awakens is a glimpse into the future of gaming, specifically what interactive storytelling and entertainment could look like in the future, at least if powered by Unreal Engine 5 on next-gen technology.
It’s not really a game, per se, but more of a tech demo. And an impressive one at that. The official description calls it a “free, boundary-pushing cinematic and open-world tech demo” that combines the power of next-gen hardware (Xbox Series X|S and PS5) with Unreal Engine 5.
The story and gameplay
The original concept was written and cinematically directed by Lana Wachowksi, director of the upcoming movie, along with James McTeigue. It features the appearance of Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss, reprising their roles as Neo and Trinity, respectively. The tech demo switches seamlessly between real and digital versions of themselves in an attempt to showcase the impressive capabilities of Unreal Engine 5 and the hardware.
After a brief introduction in which we’re left to ponder the future of gaming, the demo drops us into a cinematic, third-person shooter experience. We’re in the middle of a fast-paced, action-packed car chase, tasked with shooting out the tires of approaching cards filled with Agents.
The gameplay itself is pretty simplistic but the visuals are simply magnificent. Almost lifelike, even.
At the end of the chase sequence, we’re then free to explore the open-world itself. It’s not the most riveting “gameplay” but that’s not the point. The idea is to showcase how Unreal Engine 5 and next-gen technology can work together to create a living, breathing world.
You are free to walk (or fly) around the map. Or you can hop into various cars and drive around. The first thing I did was test drive numerous cars and was fascinated to discover that each felt and controlled differently. I wasn’t blown away with the collision mechanics although the damage on the vehicles were impressive. Unfortunately, there’s no fighting functionality, all you can do is walk or drive around. If you hit a civilian, they just digitally vanish.
It’s not terribly fun from a pure gameplay perspective, but it is amazing to see what games will soon be capable of. You can even hop into the menus and adjust a few settings to see how it changes the surrounding world on the fly.
The Matrix Awakens and the potential future
The Matrix Awakens isn’t a game. It’s a look into the future potential of gaming with Unreal Engine 5 on next-gen technology. If you’ve been impressed with the games so far this early in the Xbox Series X|S and PS5 lifecycle, just wait a few years. The Matrix Awakens is free so if you’re interested in what the future of gaming will look like, I suggest you download it and take it for a spin.