tech demo Archives

AppWizard

July 23, 2025

Wuchang: Fallen Feathers review

Wuchang: Fallen Feathers is an action-heavy soulslike game set in 14th century China during a plague, with a release date of July 24, 2025, priced at .99. It is developed by Leenzee and published by 505 Games. The game features a combat system that allows players to engage in battles while dodging attacks and using spells without a mana bar, supported by a skill tree for upgrades. However, the combat experience can become repetitive, with a lack of variety in enemy design and encounter mechanics. The environments are visually appealing but can feel disjointed, and the game struggles to establish a unique identity, often echoing elements from FromSoftware's titles. It does not include multiplayer and is verified for Steam Deck. The game was reviewed on an RTX 5090, Intel Core i9 12900K, and 32GB RAM.

AppWizard

July 17, 2025

Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast RTX Remix Demo Released

A new Path Tracing Mod for Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast, originally released in 2002, has been developed by modder ArjaanAuinger using the QindieGL wrapper, marking the first RTX Remix Mod for an OpenGL-based game. Currently a tech demo, it enhances one level of the game with Path Tracing capabilities, but is not fully polished and has visual issues, performing around 50 FPS at 1080p on an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070. The mod is available for download, and videos showcasing its capabilities have been released. In 2024, several RTX Remix Mods have been announced for various titles, including Tomb Raider 2 and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. The modding community has also released Path Tracing Mods for older games like Deus Ex and Call of Duty 4, with ongoing innovations in RTX Remix Mods for other titles.

AppWizard

June 16, 2025

Stutters and hitches in Unreal Engine 5 games should become rarer over time due to Epic’s continuous updates, but we’ll still see them for a while because of the way games are made

At Unreal Fest in Orlando, Epic Games showcased new features for Unreal Engine 5 through a tech demo of CD Projekt Red's Witcher 4 and hosted training sessions for developers. Key topics included shader compilation stutters and performance issues in Unreal Engine games, with a focus on optimization methodologies rather than the engine itself. Insights revealed persistent performance optimization challenges, particularly with shader compilation and traversal stutters. Developers were encouraged to implement PSO precaching in Unreal Engine 5.2 or newer, although neither solution is perfect. Obsidian's game Avowed began development in Unreal Engine 4 before transitioning to version 5.3.2, while aiming for specific frame rates on Xbox Series S and X. The team size for Avowed was 140, with only 15 in technical roles, which may have limited their ability to fully utilize new features. Unreal Engine 5.6 offers performance enhancements that require strategic implementation by developers. Attendance at Epic's sessions was high, indicating a growing awareness of performance issues among developers. The hope is that future titles will leverage the latest engine version to address these challenges effectively.

AppWizard

June 5, 2025

Summer Game Fest 2025 preview: The big games and developers to expect at Friday’s livestream

E3 has transitioned into the Summer Game Fest, led by Geoff Keighley, featuring a livestream on June 6 at 2 pm Pacific on YouTube. New developers include Raw Power Games, working on a medieval sandbox game, and Soft Rains, developing a sci-fi action game. Big studios like 505 Games, 2K Games, Bandai Namco, Capcom, CD Projekt, Embark, IO Interactive, Square Enix, Techland, Xbox, PlayStation, Epic Games, Pearl Abyss, and Sega are expected to showcase new titles or updates. Additional partners include 1047 Games, Amazon Games, Annapurna Interactive, Atari, Bellring Games, Blumhouse Games, Coffee Stain, Devolver Digital, Dotemu, Dreamhaven, Enhance, Focus Entertainment, Frontier, Funcom, iam8bit Presents, Kakao Games, Kinetic Games, Kuro Games, Level Infinite, Magic the Gathering, Megabit, Meta Quest, Mundfish, NCSoft, Nekki, Neowiz, Netmarble, Niantic, Nintendo Switch 2, Nuverse, Playstack, PlaySide, PM Studios, Razer, Supermassive Games, Xsolla, and Yacht Club Games. An "intense body horror" game titled ILL and beta access to Soulframe will also be featured, with Hideo Kojima confirmed to attend.

AppWizard

April 5, 2025

Nintendo should have cribbed from Valve on how to make a good handheld tech demo

The Nintendo Switch 2 Direct introduced a feature called Welcome Tour, which is priced at 990 yen (approximately £5), though there are speculations it may cost more. The feature has been described as a "glorified tech demo" or a "digital manual." In contrast, Valve's Aperture Desk Job is a free tech demo for the Steam Deck that effectively showcases its functionalities while incorporating humor and narrative elements from the Portal universe. It takes about half an hour to complete and has received positive reviews for its engaging gameplay and clever references. Many players find it both entertaining and educational. In comparison, the Welcome Tour has been criticized for its generic presentation and lack of creativity, highlighting a disparity between Nintendo's past successes and its current offerings.

AppWizard

March 18, 2025

Half-Life 2 RTX is the future of PC gaming, for better or worse

Nvidia has released a complimentary two-hour demo of Half-Life 2 RTX for owners of the original Half-Life 2, showcasing advanced features such as full path tracing and neural shaders. The game includes enhancements like improved meshes, materials, lighting, and the Neural Radiance Cache, which optimizes ray-traced indirect light. The demo demonstrates significant upgrades in asset quality and shadow rendering, but the game is resource-intensive, requiring DLSS for playable performance, particularly at 4K resolution. The demo evokes the original game's atmosphere and is seen as a significant step in Nvidia's remastering efforts. There is currently no release date for the full version, but the demo is available for free on Steam.

AppWizard

March 17, 2025

Horizon actor says she is worried over AI in game development

Ashly Burch, the voice of Aloy in the Horizon series, expressed concerns about the increasing use of artificial intelligence in game development. In a TikTok post, she discussed a leaked tech demo from Guerrilla Games that featured an AI-generated version of her character. Although Guerrilla assured her that her performance and data were not used in the demo, Burch's worries extend to the future of game performance as an art form. Her concerns are amplified by the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike, which focuses on the implications of AI technology in the gaming industry and seeks protections against its potential misuse.

AppWizard

March 9, 2025

Cyberpunk 2077 meets Blade Runner in jaw-dropping new free download

A tech demo titled Cyber Streets has been released for free download, showcasing futuristic aesthetics similar to Cyberpunk 2077. Developed by Sciontidesign using Unreal Engine 5.5, it serves as a proof of concept with limited interactive elements. John Papadopoulos from Dark Side of Gaming has promoted the demo through gameplay footage on YouTube. The demo is designed to be accessible, as it does not require advanced features like Lumen, Path Tracing, RTX, DLSS, or baked lighting, making it compatible with computers from the 2020s.