Stunning Unreal Engine 5 BioShock Shows Remaster Potential

The bright lights of Rapture are calling us, as Andrew Ryan is once again recruiting new citizens for his underwater dystopia. While the BioShock franchise has continued to swim above the competition since the first game, many (rightly) hold 2007's first game as the best.

With swirling rumours a next-gen remaster is coming alongside BioShock 4 in 2022, one fan has beaten 2K to the jump and shown what a shiny, new, Rapture could look like before it's made official. By all accounts, this remaster makes the original and 2016's remaster look like a shipwreck.

What does the BioShock remaster look like?

After recreating BioShock in Unreal Engine 4 back in 2014 (two years before 2K's official remaster), YouTuber Noodlespagoodle is revamping it again in Unreal Engine 5. The three-and-a-half-minute video tours through the glass glory of the underwater nightmare and puts us face to face with Splicers and even a Big Daddy.

Just because Noodlesspagoodle has done it before, we don't imagine it was as easy as taking the code from their previous build and simply dumping it in Unreal Engine 5. This "tribute to an iconic franchise" is titled BioShock: Evolution. We've got to admit, Rapture locales like the Hephaestus Core and the Medical Pavilion have never looked so good.

Arguably the best bit about Evolution is the fact it features a wholly original storyline. Despite using original textures from the 2007 game, this demo is set in a new area of Rapture. The dialogue points to characters called Songbird and Darwin replacing Atlas and Ryan, and although we get to take on a Big Daddy and Little Sisters, there's the bizarre inclusion of some cats. Is this an unofficial Stray crossover?

Is there an official BioShock remake coming?

All in all, it has us very excited for the eventual release of BioShock 4 and the recent news we could be getting another remaster of the original. Five years might not seem like long, but with half a decade since BioShock: The Collection gathered the first two games and BioShock: Infinite, technology has come a long way - as the Unreal Engine 5 proves.

Remembering BioShock Remastered leaked as part of that sketchy Nvidia leak - which Nvidia distanced itself from - Noodlespagoodle's remaster might be the closest we get to plumbing the depths of Rapture for now. Sadly, the project remains in its early stages for now, and doesn't look like it's going any further.

Even though Evolution is a glory to behold that even Andrew Ryan himself would be proud of, there are no plans to release it to the public. Worse than this, they also have no intention of remastering the whole game. It would undoubtedly be a labour of love, but to be honest, we're gutted we won't get to see Frank Fontaine's boss battle in Unreal Engine 5.