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Alena Porokh

TOP Games Made in Unreal Engine

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Unreal Engine, synonymous with innovation and excellence, has made a vital impact on the gaming industry. Epic Games’ game development engine has not only revolutionized the industry, but has also supported some of the most well-known and ground-breaking games in gaming history. Let’s explore the unreal world, to understand the impact of Unreal Engine on the gaming industry and unveil some of the top games that have emerged from its creative tools. We’ll take you through some of the most phenomenal games made in Unreal Engine, including Fortnite, The Matrix Awakens, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.2, and Cyberpunk 2077.

Unreal Engine’s Impact on the Gaming Industry

It’s hard to overstate what Unreal Engine has done for games. From small indie projects to massive blockbusters, its tools have shaped how developers build worlds and how players experience them. The engine’s mix of advanced tech and wide accessibility has opened doors for teams of all sizes that provide Unreal Engine game development services. And since Unreal keeps evolving, it’s safe to say the next generation of games will lean on it just as much – if not more – to push visuals, mechanics, and immersion further than before.

unreal engine game design
Source: https://unrealengine.com

The Power of Unreal Engine in Game Design

UE is more than just a game development tool; it’s a creative playground where designers can turn their skills into interactive realities. Unreal Engine has become the go-to standard for many developers. Its real-time rendering — including advanced features like ray tracing — lets teams create visuals that feel almost too real. From epic RPGs to fast-paced shooters, Unreal’s toolkit adapts to just about any genre.

But Unreal isn’t just an engine. It’s shaped trends across the entire industry. Let’s break down a few of them.

Visual Realism

When people talk about graphics hitting “next-gen,” Unreal Engine is usually in the conversation. Its rendering pipeline has pushed visual fidelity to new heights, setting expectations that players now take for granted. Just look at Final Fantasy VII Remake or The Matrix Awakens demo — both show how close games can get to movie-quality visuals.

Seamless Cross-Platform Play

Unreal makes it easier to build games that run across different platforms — PC, console, mobile, and even VR headsets. That’s helped cross-play become the norm rather than the exception. Players can now connect across ecosystems in ways that used to feel impossible.

Rise of Indie and AA Studios

Unreal isn’t only for the giants. Blueprint, its visual scripting system, lowers the barrier to entry. Smaller teams can build ambitious projects without needing a full staff of coders. Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice started as a so-called “indie AAA” project, and it showed just how much a small team could achieve with the right tools.

Emphasis on Narrative and Immersion

Unreal excels at creating detailed characters and environments, which helps games deliver stronger narratives. Take Hellblade again — its visual fidelity and audio design worked together to tell a story that hit players emotionally, not just mechanically. That kind of immersive storytelling is part of why Unreal titles stand out.

Accessibility and Inclusivity

Modern games are expected to be more inclusive — customizable controls, subtitles, adaptive systems — and Unreal gives developers the tools to build these features in. It’s not just about technical polish anymore; it’s about making sure as many people as possible can enjoy the experience.

Rapid Prototyping and Early Access

Blueprint also speeds up prototyping. Developers can test mechanics quickly, which is one reason early access and iterative development have become so common. Players get to shape games while they’re being built, and studios save time by catching problems early.

Next-Generation Gaming Experiences

With each hardware leap, Unreal has been ready. UE5 brings in things like real-time global illumination, Nanite for ultra-detailed geometry, and support for 8K resolutions. These aren’t just buzzwords — they’re tools that define what “next-gen” means in practice.
One good example is Tetris Effect. The team behind it chose Unreal Engine 4, and it turned out to be a great fit. The Material and Particle editors gave artists room to experiment visually, while the engine’s VR support made it easier to debug both 2D and VR builds side by side. That flexibility helped them reinvent a classic and make it feel modern without losing its original charm.

Tetris is a classic game that people of all ages enjoy playing on various platforms and formats. While matching brick lines and keeping stacks from rising to the top are the general objectives of Tetris, the new game includes additional twists to help players do this. With its thrilling graphics and techno-inspired soundtrack, this updated edition of the game tests the player’s concentration in addition to their intelligence and strategy. The player must insert tetrominos into a playfield to form complete lines, which are subsequently removed from the playfield, just like in the original Tetris game. With thirty distinct stages and gameplay synchronized to the beat of the music, the Tetris Effect offers themes and music.

Top-3 Games Developed with Unreal Engine For The Past Years

Split fiction

Split Fiction is a 2025 co-op action-adventure/platformer from Hazelight Studios (the folks who made It Takes Two) and published by EA. It’s built in Unreal Engine 5. 

You play as two writers, Mio and Zoe. They get sucked into a machine meant to steal creative ideas. The twist? Their stories – one sci-fi, one fantasy – spill into each other, with weird glitches and surreal level design that forces them to work together to escape. 

It’s not just about story though – the gameplay changes a lot. One level you might be flying a dragon or fighting with a laser sword, the next doing puzzle-platform stuff or dodging hover cars in sci-fi lab hallways. Controls for each character differ, so it’s built around cooperation and variety.

Launch date was March 6, 2025 on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S. A bit later, on June 5, it came to Nintendo Switch 2. It supports crossplay, and there’s a “Friend’s Pass” – only one of you needs the game, so your co-op buddy can join you without buying a second copy. 

Critics loved it. It got near-universal praise, and it sold really well: it hit over 1 million units in the first 48 hours, and by early May 2025 it had sold around 4 million copies.

Image source: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2001120/Split_Fiction/

Kena: Bridge of Spirits

Released in 2021, Kena: Bridge of Spirits marked Ember Lab’s debut as a game studio, and it turned out to be a strong one. Built with Unreal Engine, the game blends action, exploration, and puzzle-solving in a world that looks straight out of an animated film.

You play as Kena, a young spirit guide who helps restless souls move on, while battling corrupted creatures with her staff and magical abilities. Along the way, you’re joined by the Rot — tiny spirit companions that help in combat, solve puzzles, and add a lot of charm to the adventure.

The game quickly stood out for its visuals. Unreal Engine powered lush forests, glowing villages, and expressive characters that felt alive, giving it an art style many compared to Pixar or Studio Ghibli.

Reviews were largely positive. Critics praised the artistic design, music, and emotional storytelling. While some noted the mechanics were fairly traditional, the game’s presentation and heartfelt approach helped it win a devoted fan base. It received several awards and nominations.

The feature added for XBOX one
Source: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1954200/Kena_Bridge_of_Spirits/?l=vietnamese

The Matrix Awakens

Utilizing Unreal Engine 5, Epic Games and Warner Bros. Pictures created the demo game. It is a showcase and demonstration of the business’s Unreal Engine 5. It gives players an idea of the graphical fidelity and capability that the new game engine will enable in future games. The video game demo is free to play and has impressed with more than 6 million downloads since the company released the free software on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S consoles.

The Matrix Awakens Demo was released concurrently with The Matrix Revolutions, which undoubtedly contributed to the already excessive anticipation surrounding the film. It’s just a little game that combines elements of a simulator and action gameplay. Neo and Trinity from the first three movies make cameos, and IO, a brand-new character created with Unreal’s MetaHuman creator tool, also appears.

There are two primary effects of the demo’s entrance on the industry. First, it offers players hope and suggests a potential sequel to the Matrix game. The second is to demonstrate what the new Unreal Engine 5 from Epic Games is capable of. With improved ray tracing capability, the new game engine offers an abundance of further editing and artistic tools to help construct vast, realistic, and immersive landscapes.

Matrix story unfolds in the near future
Source: https://store.playstation.com/en-pl/concept/10004087/

TOP 10 Games Made with Unreal Engine 4 vs 5

Unreal Engine has become almost shorthand for amazing visuals in modern game development. With features like real-time ray tracing, it can pull off lifelike lighting, reflections, and shadows that make worlds feel more real and immersive. But it’s not just about looks — the engine works across all sorts of genres, from grounded open-world adventures to over-the-top fantasy or horror titles. Big publishers and indie teams alike rely on it, which is why so many of today’s standout games run on UE4 or UE5. Let’s look at some of the biggest examples across sci-fi, adventure, action, fantasy, and horror — and where Unreal is taking games next.

Epic Games’ Fortnite

Fortnite is the Unreal Engine showcase almost everyone knows. On the surface, it’s a battle royale — drop in, fight to be the last one standing. But it’s more than that. Its bright art style, snappy gameplay, and constant updates turned it into one of the biggest cultural hits in gaming.

Part of what makes Fortnite special is how flexible it is. The building mechanic gives it a unique twist, while Unreal’s rendering and physics tools keep the action smooth across platforms. And then there’s Fortnite Creative, which lets players build their own maps and modes inside the game — essentially turning players into developers.Over the years, Fortnite has grown into something beyond just a shooter. It’s become a social hub, hosting concerts, movie events, and wild crossovers with everything from Marvel to Star Wars. That constant evolution is only possible because of Unreal’s tools, which make it easier to keep adding and iterating at the scale Epic has pulled off.

Kevuru Games is proud of our collaboration with Epic Games. Our artists have created over 120 distinct skin concepts for various theme sections. Every character that our team produced had an exclusive attachment. It is known as “back bling” and has unique characteristics that fit the character’s attributes, such as color, form, and appearance. It could be a helmet, wings, shield, backpack, emblem, patch, or other object.

Fortnite - Character Concepts That Rocked Fortnite Players [Case Study]
Source: Fortnite

Mortal Online
It is an MMORPG marvel that takes players on an epic virtual journey. Star Vault, an independent video game business based in Sweden, is the developer and publisher of Mortal Online, an open-world first-person shooter mixed with PvP and PvE. The idea behind the game is to bring back the player-controlled, sandbox-style gameplay of Ultima Online. It utilizes Epic Games’ Unreal Engine 3 and has a skill-based, real-time fighting system.
With stunning visuals and intricate gameplay mechanics, Mortal Online 2 truly showcases the power of Unreal Engine. It offers a world filled with warriors, magic, and treacherous battles as you embark on your game adventure.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chernobyl

The new S.T.A.L.K.E.R. game puts you right back in the Chernobyl zone, only this time it looks and feels more real than ever. Built with Unreal Engine 5, the world is moody and dangerous — one moment you’re creeping through empty villages, the next you’re fighting off mutants or running into a storm that changes the whole tone of the game.

It’s not just a straight shooter. Survival elements mean you’re always short on something — ammo, food, trust. Every decision feels risky, which is exactly what made the original series stand out. It’s on PC and Xbox, and if you like your games bleak and tense, this one fits the bill.

Survival horror game set
Sources: https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/games/stalker-2

Tomb Raider Reloaded

Reloaded takes Lara Croft in a different direction. Instead of the big cinematic adventures we’ve seen lately, this one focuses on short, action-heavy runs. You dodge traps, solve small puzzles, fight enemies, grab loot, repeat.

It still carries that Tomb Raider spirit — crumbling ruins, hidden treasures, plenty of danger — but it’s wrapped in a quicker, more arcade-like style. Think less sprawling drama, more “pick up and play.”

Four in-house game engines have been used throughout the franchise to support all the titles developed. The franchise is switching to Unreal Engine 5; Shadow of the Tomb Raider (2018) was the last main series game to employ a proprietary engine. The modification reflects the industry’s recent move away from proprietary engines.

Game developers team created an action-adventure with UE
Source: https://raidingtheglobe.com/news/tomb-raider-reloaded-has-been-delayed-to-2022

Games Made with Unreal Engine 4

Some of the most captivating and visually stunning games that use Unreal Engine 4 by Epic Game as their creative powerhouse. UE’s impact on the gaming industry is evident in titles like Observer, Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, and Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order.

Observer

Bloober Team’s cyberpunk masterpiece, “Observer,” is a testament to the atmospheric and narrative prowess of Unreal Engine 4. Set in a dystopian future, players step into the shoes of Detective Daniel Lazarski, voiced by the late Rutger Hauer. The game immerses players in a decaying world filled with nightmarish visions and psychological horrors. Unreal Engine 4’s capabilities in rendering detailed and immersive environments are pivotal in delivering this hauntingly beautiful and unsettling experience.

Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice

Ninja Theory’s “Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice” is a game that mixes deep storytelling with psychological exploration. Senua’s journey into the depths of her mind is a visually striking and emotionally charged experience. UE 4 brings to life the intricate details of Senua’s character model, the eerie Nordic landscapes, and the terrifying manifestations of her inner demons. It’s a prime example of how Unreal Engine 4 can elevate storytelling to a new level.

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order

Respawn’s single-player adventure brings the Star Wars galaxy to life with Unreal Engine 4 – weighty lightsaber combat, tight platforming, and planets that feel lived-in. It’s the mix that sells it: cinematic set pieces without losing responsive controls, ancient ruins right next to shiny Empire tech, and a world that looks and moves like Star Wars should.

Best Games Powered by Unreal Engine 5

UE5 ups the bar – sharper lighting, denser worlds, better tools for big teams and small ones alike. Recent projects like ArcheAge 2 and Ark II show how studios are leaning on it for scale and fidelity across MMO sandboxes and survival worlds.

ArcheAge 2: A Sandbox MMORPG with Endless Possibilities

Think sprawling seas and cities you can actually shape – housing, ships, even castles. Guild wars, sieges, PvP on land and water. UE5’s visuals do the heavy lifting – water, weather, and massive environments feel believable – while the sandbox loop stays player-driven instead of checklist-driven.

Ark II

Survival first – gather, craft, build, try not to get eaten. The hook is the ecosystem: dinosaurs to tame and ride, systems that punish sloppy planning, and co-op that swings from chaotic to heroic in seconds. UE5 helps with the “feel” – animation, foliage, lighting – so the world looks dangerous even before it proves it.

Game Of Thrones

Telltale’s episodic take on Westeros is all about choices – five big decision points per episode, with the game tracking what you picked and reflecting it later through character reactions and scene changes. It’s less about raw tech, more about tension and payoff as the story branches.

Game of Thrones unreal engine game
Source: https://store.epicgames.com/pl/p/a-game-of-thrones-a-game-of-thrones-a-dance-with-dragons-cbb4ad

Technical Aspects of Game Development with Unreal Engine

Game development with UE involves a wide array of technical aspects that underpin the creation of immersive and engaging gaming experiences. Here are some key technical facets that game developers must consider when using Unreal Engine:

Real-Time Rendering

UE’s real-time renderer – including ray tracing on supported hardware – gives you lifelike lighting, reflections, and shadows while you iterate. What you see in the editor is close to what ships, which speeds decisions.

Blueprint Visual Scripting

Blueprint is node-based logic – great for designers and artists who want to prototype without writing C++. It’s quick for gameplay hooks, UI flow, and interaction – and you can mix it with code when performance matters.

Physics Simulation

From ragdolls to destructible walls, UE’s physics stack handles collisions, constraints, vehicles, and chaos-driven destruction. The result: interactions that look right and feel right.

Audio and Sound Design

Built-in tools cover spatial audio, real-time effects, and mix control. Good sound sells scale – wind in canyons, crowds in arenas – and UE lets you wire that up without bolting on a dozen plugins.

Networking and Multiplayer Support

Replication, sessions, voice, cross-play workflows – the engine ships with the pieces you need for online features. You still have to architect smartly, but the baseline is there.

Performance Optimization

Profilers for CPU/GPU, stat views, LODs, Nanite/Virtual Shadow Maps on UE5 – the toolkit helps you find hotspots and tune for each platform instead of guessing.

Integration of Third-Party Tools

DCC pipelines and plugins slot in – from Blender/Maya to Perforce/Jira – plus marketplace add-ons when you don’t want to reinvent wheels.

Version Control and Collaboration

Multi-user editing, source control hooks, and asset diffing keep big teams from stepping on each other’s toes – crucial when levels and blueprints change daily.

Unreal Engine 5 showed up in April 2022. It didn’t replace UE4 overnight, but it added a bunch of tools that make life easier for developers. Better lighting with real-time global illumination, improved physics and animation, and workflows built with massive open worlds in mind.

In practice, it means games can look sharper and feel more interactive without studios spending extra years building custom tech. If you want to delve into the difference between Unreal Engine 5 and 4 have a sneak peek in our research.

Kevuru Games Expertise in Game Development with Unreal Engine

Our Unreal Engine game development company has expertise working with publishers and top AAA studios to develop games. We are devoted to delivering cutting-edge visual experiences to our clients and are enthusiastic about creating UE-powered games. Kevuru Games team provides 100% customer-driven, full-cycle Unreal game development services. All we need from our clients is to share their concepts with us. Since every project is unique and might be complex, we recognize that while creating games of various scales and genres, our skilled experts can add value to any project by guaranteeing a well-thought-out user experience and delivering high-performance solutions with VR/AR/MR platform integration.

We offer solutions in many fields, including games, education, and commerce. We can assist if the client wishes to make the game available to a larger audience on a different platform. At Kevuru Games, we recognize the critical role that animation and the arts play in engrossing viewers and transporting them to a universe of seemingly endless possibilities. Our group of skilled animators and artists can offer you full-cycle game production.

You can also rely on us to successfully migrate your Unreal Engine 4 projects to the ground-breaking Unreal Engine 5 if you hire Unreal Engine developer from Kevuru. Our team of knowledgeable engineers and developers guarantees a smooth transition. To find out how our team works with porting projects, read a case study on how we ported Poppy Playtime 2 from PC to console.

Leading game companies like FoxNext, EA, Epic Games, and others trust us, and this enables us to use best practices in projects that we still work on. Our flawlessly crafted workflows allow us to provide Unreal game development services with complete transparency throughout every phase.

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