This genius Unreal Engine 5 game brings new meaning to in-engine footage

Unreal Engine 5 PS5 demo — (Image credit: Epic Games)

An Unreal Engine 5 developer has created a very clever platformer that's given new meaning to the term in-engine footage.

Twitter user and game developer @BP__Systems recently shared footage of their latest project in Unreal Engine 5. As the tweet explains, the developer has created a level of a platforming-style game that is made up entirely of functions and nodes which explains, in real-time, what you do as you play.

As you can see, in the game we follow a tiny humanoid character as they run and jump along the project as it appears in Unreal Engine 5. The course itself is made up of various functions (eg: 'spawn sound', 'launch character', 'move component', and so on) but also includes more traditional game mechanics, even going as far as letting the player pick up a weapon and engage in a boss battle.

Article continues below

This is one of the coolest thing I made in UE5. A level made of functions and nodes, explaining in real time what you do as you play. pic.twitter.com/NmNQzGphs5July 5, 2023

It's a really clever idea, and even watching it as someone who has almost no idea how game engines work, it's impressive. It's not just me who's a fan either, as several game developers have replied to the tweet expressing their excitement for the project. Unfortunately, it seems this is just something the game's developer did for fun and not something we'll actually be able to play one day.

That being said, there's still plenty of other things to look forward to that will also be developed in Unreal Engine 5. The game engine itself only just launched in April 2022, so we're still in the early stages of seeing its power and potential. Because of this, we're waiting on many Unreal Engine 5-developed games, including State of Decay 3, Crystal Dynamic's upcoming Tomb Raider game, and the next Witcher game.

We've also seen a number of seriously impressive fan projects that use Unreal Engine 5, like the dev that used Unreal Engine 5 to turn Tokyo into a playable anime. Another dev used the engine to create a ridiculously realistic-looking train station, and someone else made their very own Superman game mock-up.

Wondering what else we've got to look forward to? Take a look at our new games 2023 list.

After studying Film Studies and Creative Writing at university, I was lucky enough to land a job as an intern at Player Two PR where I helped to release a number of indie titles. I then got even luckier when I became a Trainee News Writer at GamesRadar+ before being promoted to a fully-fledged News Writer after a year and a half of training. My expertise lies in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, cozy indies, and The Last of Us, but especially in the Kingdom Hearts series. I'm also known to write about the odd Korean drama for the Entertainment team every now and then.