A new Unreal Engine 5.3 comparison video was shared online recently, putting Lumen and path tracing side by side in a specific game to highlight visual and performance differences.
The new comparison video, which was put together by MxBenchmarkPC, shows the visually stunning DESORDRE: A Puzzle Game Adventure running with software and hardware Lumen and the recently-introduced path tracing mode. While path tracing is obviously superior, the video does a great job highlighting how great hardware Lumen looks. On the other hand, Software Lumen definitely leaves something to be desired, looking noisy and not particularly good.
While both Lumen and Nanite are among the highlights of Unreal Engine 5.3, very few of the games powered by the latest version of the engine make use of both of them. And when they do, performance isn't great, as Immortals of Aveum highlighted at launch. As such, it seems like it will be a while until we can finally see what the engine is truly capable of.
Path Tracing, much like the Unreal Engine 5.3's Lumen and Nanite, hasn't been implemented in a whole lot of titles, which isn't surprising considering how demanding it is. In both Cyberpunk 2077 and Alan Wake II, however, it makes a huge difference, improving both game's visuals considerably.
More information on the Unreal Engine 5.3 can be found on its official website.