Unreal Engine is pretty amazing, but it’s often utilized by teams with terrible art direction. That’s why this last generation saw so many Unreal games that looked like they were populated by plastic army men. With Unreal Engine 4, Epic has already shown how its new engine will make space marines look less like toys, but it still hasn’t made anything that looks too terribly different from the usual brown and gray space marine games that dominate the industry.

In an attempt to show what Unreal Engine 4 is truly capable of, developer Anton Migulko has emerged with a new tech demo that shows off an arctic landscape rendered in the new Unreal Development Kit. What we get is an excellent demonstration of what Unreal Engine 4 can do for realistic natural environments. The water looks absolutely fabulous, and the snowy landscapes are awe inspiring.

It should be noted that this is simply a tech demo. This isn’t a game, but merely a proof of concept. Still, it does inspire hope that developers will move away from the dark gray shooters of years past into a world where games actually have color and variety. It’s been too long since video games actually looked like video games. With some solid art design, Unreal Engine 4 could kickstart a revolution in in-game visuals.

UDK.Realtime. AntarcticTime from anton migulko on Vimeo.

Image via anton migulko/Vimeo