The Matrix: Awakens Unreal Engine 5 Tech Demo is not Quite a Super Mario 64 Moment, but it’s Close

The last announcement at the 2021 Game Awards was the launch of the Matrix: Awakens, an Unreal Engine 5 tech demo set in a fictional city. From the little clips we saw during the show it looked like an impressive graphical presentation, but it didn’t look like it had much going for it in terms of gameplay besides some “on-rails” shooter action.

Now I do love myself some on-rails shooter action so I loaded up the game as soon as I could. The non-interactive portion with Carrie Anne Moss and Keanu Reeves introducing us to the tech demo and the world of The Matrix was gorgeous. I wouldn’t say that the graphics on display were indistinguishable from real life but the technology to display lifelike character models in-engine is impressive.

The gameplay sequence, while beautiful, wasn’t as exciting as I had hoped. You play a recruit and are tasked with taking out Agents by blowing out the tires on their cars. The controls were clunky, and I never felt like I had much control over what I was doing. It felt like I was trying to force the reticle from one tire to another. Of course, it’s a tech demo and we’re meant to be taking in the graphical prowess of Unreal Engine 5. The gameplay here is secondary.