After the 2021 Game Awards on December 9th, an interactive experience called The Matrix Awakens was released on Xbox Series S/X and PS5. The small presentation mixing Unreal Engine 5 and The Matrix IP is brief, but it does a lot to impress.
Time will tell if it leads to anything more than just a simple tech demo. Still, fans are imagining how incredible it would be if in the near future fans receive a full-fledged Matrix game on the engine where they can fly around a large, open world. Until that day and The Matrix Resurrections' release, players and fans can spend their days with this tiny piece of gameplay.
10 Keanu Reeves & Carrie-Ann Moss
The tech demo immediately establishes itself as more than just a mindless piece of marketing. Having Carrie-Ann Moss and Keanu Reeves introduce the piece of content legitimizes it as part of the Matrix universe.
It is extra cool because it is the first time the two stars are performing in a work from The Matrix since The Matrix Revolutions. They appear in both their modern-day appearance and their older selves from the era of the original trilogy's release.
9 The Car Chase
After the short introduction, players find themselves on a highway being chased by agents. Trinity drives the car while the gameplay is a simple rail-shooting segment, where the crosshair auto-aims to the wheels of the cars chasing the protagonists.
The gameplay is not the special part here. The visual spectacle, though, is awe-inspiring and almost as thrilling as the iconic car chase from The Matrix Reloaded, the second film in the franchise.
8 The City
Once the car chase ends, players are dropped into the open-world city and are free to explore the environment. They can run around on foot or fly through the air at various speeds. There are various landmarks with messages written on plaques.
These landmarks generally just explain various features of Unreal Engine 5. Video game enthusiasts will appreciate these details as they remember how far video game visuals have come.
7 The Mix Of Live-Action And In Engine Footage
The Matrix is all about making viewers question what is and is not real. This tech demo plays with this for both narrative and marketing reasons. It wants players to believe that the Unreal Engine 5 is so advanced, some people cannot distinguish between it and live-action footage.
To accomplish this, the introduction to the demo switches between the real actors and avatars. Those with good eyes can usually tell the difference, but it is impressive nonetheless.
6 It's Free
Fortunately, all anyone needs to experience this is a PS5 or Xbox Series X. For some, this already makes the barrier to entry too high, since both consoles are still difficult to find. If players do have the console, all they need to do is download the application from the marketplace.
It makes sense for it to be free, since it works as a piece of marketing. It also should not disappoint anyone if they find it lacking, since the only thing people paid is their time.
5 The Graphics
The whole point of this demo, along with promoting The Matrix Resurrections, is to show off Epic's new Unreal Engine 5. Fortunately, the experience absolutely succeeds in showing how gorgeous the new engine can be.
There was already a demo over a year ago showing off the new tech, but actually being able to play something, no matter how brief, does an even better job at conveying what is possible with this new graphics engine.
4 The Customization
In another attempt to show off the new engine, the demo lets players change various graphics options as they go through The Matrix Awakens.
Changing them barely makes a difference in the performance, which already stands as a huge plus for the new engine. Gamers love being able to change certain things about their gaming experience, so tinkering around in the options menu already makes The Matrix Awakens worth playing.
3 It's Short
Depending on the type of player one is, The Matrix Awakens' short length will be either a plus or a minus. Regardless, it does not overstay its welcome. It only takes about ten minutes before players are dropped into the open world, and then they are free to spend as much time as they want before leaving.
The only bad thing is that its size is larger than some full-length video games people have on their hard drives. It is not about how long a game is, but about how valuable that time is, and the short demo accomplishes its goals.
2 It Strums Nostalgia Strings
The introduction recreates some footage from the original Matrix movie, including the iconic scene of Neo dodging an agent's bullets on the rooftop. Players even see Morpheous for a brief moment, though Laurence Fishburne is reportedly not taking part in the new film.
These days, reboots and remakes love taking advantage of the audience's nostalgia. Knowing The Matrix, this might turn into a major theme of the upcoming film.
1 It's Hyping People Up For The Matrix Resurrections
The Matrix Awakens is trying to hype people up for The Matrix Resurrections, and it is working. While feelings about the second and third movies vary, the debut film is considered one of the most important Hollywood movies ever produced.
Will The Matrix Resurrections live up to this legacy? No one knows, but people are plenty excited and ready to give it a chance.
The Matrix Awakens is available now for free on Xbox Series S/X and PS5. The Matrix Resurrections opens in theaters on December 22nd.
