Smart Poly’s Unreal Tournament Demo Brings Back the Arena Shooter Thrill in Unreal Engine 5.7

YouTuber Smart Poly has released a free playable demo that integrates Unreal Tournament 4 elements into Unreal Engine 5.7. When you fire it up, you’re immediately thrust into the center of arena combat, the type of fast-paced action that Unreal Tournament fans have been clamoring for. Try it out right now, and you’ll find yourself in a very stripped-down build that’s all about exploring a single level called Outpost, with some basic shooting but no multiplayer or bots.

The movement feels as swift and responsive as it should, and you can quickly jump from one platform to the next, bind up constructions, and generally feel like you’re back in the Unreal Tournament zone. When you add a basic weapon, the entire scene comes to life; the echoes and hits make you feel like you’re right in the midst of it.

Unreal Engine 5.7 handles the visuals with real flair. Lumen’s global illumination brightens the interior areas (bye-bye gloomy corners), and the reflections make every puddle and shining surface appear to be asking for the dynamic lights to hit it. Those old Unreal Tournament 4 assets still look great to say the least, with complex character models and vehicles from Unreal Tournament 3 included.

One of the most enjoyable aspects of this build is how effortlessly it runs, thanks to some recent engine modifications provided by Epic. Smart Poly played it safe with the default parameters, but the sample still works well on contemporary technology. A few lighting problems still appear from time to time, although they aren’t really distracting. Simply switch to wireframe mode to view the geometry in all its glory; you’ll be astounded by the level of detail that has gone into this project, from the decals on the pipes to the authentic wiring and spinning gear scattered throughout.

Smart Poly retrieved these materials from a short-lived GitHub repo that Epic shut down just before he could access them, and then he upgraded the entire thing to 5.7. In the video, he criticizes Epic, claiming that these assets, like those from Paragon, should be free; this would be a game changer for the community and might pave the way for a slew of exciting new ventures. Expect more from him soon, as he has promised a follow-up video that will show off all the other assets in the works, including other characters and vehicles as well as a whole project file for download. For now, grab this demo here.
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