Dreams artist recreates jaw-dropping Unreal Engine 5 train station demo

Mere days after a frankly unbelievable Unreal Engine 5 demo of a Japanese train station went viral, another artist has recreated the scene in Dreams. 

Martin Nebelong of Dreams developer Media Molecule shared a short, work-in-progress look at the recreation earlier today. The clip is only 11 seconds, but it shows a lot of the environment, and the inspiration is clear.

"The scene is inspired by the incredible UE5 train station video that's been doing the rounds on social media the last few days," Nebelong said on Twitter. "Really inspiring attention to light and detail." 

"Seeing something like that obviously makes me want to make a scene inspired from that in Dreams," he added in the description of a YouTube mirror for the video.

Environment and prop artist Lorenzo Drago told us that his original Unreal Engine 5 scene took roughly a month of work to create. Nebelong says his Dreams version has thus far taken "3 - 4 hours of work," excluding the rocks between the station's missing train tracks. 

Even in its unfinished state, this recreation is positively stunning, from the speed with which it was made to the level of detail realized in Dreams. It's a testament to both Nebelong and Drago's technique, as well as the power of the tools they're working with. 

I shared the video with Drago to get his thoughts on it. "I've just seen it, it's really cool," he told me. "Can't believe I have fanart now."

Unreal Engine 5 is already being used for more than environments showcasing lighting tech: one fan's made a functioning replica of Portal's iconic opening level.