This UE5 train station scene makes me fear the future of horror games

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The worst-slash-best is yet to come.

A spooky train scene dimly lit
(Image credit: Lorenzo Drago)

I am not good with horror. Actually, I'm just plain awful with anything scary at all. I don't know what it is but my brain is capable of taking the smallest bits of gross and gory media and growing them into beasts my heart almost seizes at the thought of. If I couldn't deal with horror games before, Unreal Engine 5 is going to make my worst nightmares all the more real from the looks of this train station demo.

There is a video going around Twitter at the moment, just a short clip, of a train station. As I scrolled I thought it was real. I assumed this was going to be just a video of a train station in Japan but no, it's fully realised in Unreal Engine 5. And it's a bloomin' impressive recreation of a real place created by an Italian artist.

If you're like me and you don't like jump scares, don't worry there aren't any. It's definitely creepy, which is why my brain assumed the worst, but at most it's just designed to set you on edge.

The project was created by 3D Italian artist Lorenzo Drago. The YouTube video's description showing off this incredible creation reveals it was based on a train station in Toyama, Japan. It uses Unreal Engine 5's new Lumen capabilities, which is the software's global illumination and reflections system—it's designed to diffuse light in detailed environments which is what makes the daylight especially feel so real.

Other details revealed by a little FAQ questionnaire in the YouTube comment section reveals that it's a high-res render but can be run in real time at detriment to image quality. Bearing in mind that this took Drago a month to make, it's incredibly impressive and makes me think of what is possible with a larger team and more resources. If you're interested in checking out more of Drago's work, you can see their Artstation for more impressive renders of stuff aside from a train station.

Imogen Mellor

Imogen has been playing games for as long as she can remember but finally decided games were her passion when she got her hands on Portal 2. Ever since then she’s bounced between hero shooters, RPGs, and indies looking for her next fixation, searching for great puzzles or a sniper build to master. When she’s not working for PC Gamer, she’s entertaining her community live on Twitch, hosting an event like GDC, or in a field shooting her Olympic recurve bow.