Best Games Not Using Unreal Engine

The best games that don’t use Unreal Engine span nearly every genre, from Nintendo’s polished first-party titles to sprawling RPGs built on proprietary engines. These games prove that a great experience depends on design and art direction, not the middleware underneath. Below, we break down standout titles, the engines they actually use, and why they matter.

Why Engines Matter (and Why They Don’t)

An engine handles rendering, physics, audio, and scripting. Unreal Engine (UE) is popular because it’s free to start, has a massive asset store, and powers hits like Fortnite and Elden Ring. But many developers choose alternatives for cost, control, or a specific visual style. For example, Nintendo’s Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom runs on a heavily modified version of their internal engine, allowing for the physics-based building that defines the game. Similarly, God of War Ragnarök uses Sony’s Santa Monica Studio engine, which was tuned for cinematic one-shot camera work. The engine is a tool; the final product depends on how well the team uses it.

Standout Titles by Engine

Here are some of the most acclaimed games that don’t use Unreal Engine, grouped by the technology they use:

• Id Tech (id Software): Doom Eternal and Wolfenstein II use id Tech 6/7, delivering blistering 60fps gameplay and large arenas. The engine’s renderer is famous for its “megatexture” streaming, which allows highly detailed environments without loading screens.
• RE Engine (Capcom): Resident Evil Village, Devil May Cry 5, and Monster Hunter Rise run on Capcom’s RE Engine. It excels at photorealistic characters and smooth action, and it scales well from Switch to high-end PCs.
• Proprietary Engines (Nintendo): Super Mario Odyssey runs on a custom engine built for the Switch, optimized for seamless open-zone levels. Splatoon 3 uses a similar internal engine, tuned for fast online multiplayer.
• Source Engine (Valve): Apex Legends is built on a heavily modified Source engine, originally from 2004. It still handles 60-player battles and complex abilities, proving that age isn’t a barrier.
• Unity: Hollow Knight, Cuphead, and Outer Wilds all use Unity. These indie darlings show that Unity’s accessibility allows small teams to create unique art styles and tight gameplay.
• Decima (Guerrilla/Kojima Productions): Horizon Forbidden West and Death Stranding use Decima, known for its open-world streaming and advanced facial animation.

What Makes These Engines Different?

Each engine has its own strengths. Id Tech is built for raw speed and low-level optimization, which is why Doom Eternal runs at 120fps on consoles. RE Engine is designed for horror and action, with a strong focus on lighting and character detail. Nintendo’s engines prioritize gameplay mechanics over photorealism, allowing for the physics sandbox in Tears of the Kingdom or the fluid movement in Mario. Unity is a generalist engine, but its component-based architecture makes it easy to prototype and iterate, which is why so many indie games use it. The choice of engine often reflects the developer’s priorities: control, cost, or a specific technical feature.

How to Choose a Game Based on Its Engine

You usually shouldn’t pick a game solely because of its engine, but there are a few practical reasons to care:

• Performance: If you have a low-end PC, games on older or lighter engines (like Source or Unity) may run better than those on Unreal Engine 5, which demands a lot of GPU power.
• Modding: Games on Source (like Portal 2) and id Tech (like Doom) have active modding communities because the tools are well-documented. Unreal games also have mods, but the engine’s complexity can be a barrier.
• Art Style: If you love hand-painted 2D art, Unity games like Ori and the Will of the Wisps deliver that. If you want photorealistic worlds, RE Engine or Decima are more likely to impress.
• Future-Proofing: Proprietary engines are often tied to a specific studio, so a sequel might not use the same engine. But that doesn’t affect the existing game.

Common Misconceptions About Non-Unreal Engines

One myth is that games not using Unreal are automatically less impressive or less stable. In reality, many of the best-looking games of the last decade run on proprietary engines. Red Dead Redemption 2 uses Rockstar’s RAGE engine, which renders a living, detailed open world. Cyberpunk 2077 uses REDengine 4, which, despite launch issues, pushed visual boundaries. Another misconception is that Unity is only for small games. Escape from Tarkov and Rust are large, complex multiplayer games built on Unity. The engine’s capabilities depend on the developer’s skill and time.

Comparing Unreal vs. Alternatives

Unreal Engine 5 offers Nanite and Lumen, which deliver incredible detail and lighting without manual optimization. However, this comes at a performance cost. Games like Lies of P and Remnant 2 use UE5 but often struggle to maintain 60fps on consoles. In contrast, Doom Eternal runs at 60fps even on base consoles because id Tech is extremely optimized. Similarly, RE Engine’s RE2 remake looks stunning and runs smoothly because Capcom built the engine around the hardware. The trade-off is that proprietary engines require a large team to maintain, while Unreal provides out-of-the-box tools that save development time.

Cost and Accessibility

Unreal Engine is free to download, but Epic takes a 5% royalty on gross revenue after the first $1 million. Unity has a free tier, but charges per install after a threshold (which changed in 2023 and caused controversy). Proprietary engines are not available to the public, so only the owning studio can use them. For indie developers, Unity and Godot are popular because they are free and have large communities. Godot, in particular, is completely open-source and lightweight, making it a growing choice for 2D games. The cost of an engine is rarely a factor for players, but it affects which games get made and how polished they are.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Unreal Engine the most used engine in AAA games?

It’s common, but not dominant. Many AAA studios use proprietary engines: Nintendo, Rockstar, Capcom, and Sony all have their own. Unreal is heavily used by studios that don’t want to build an engine from scratch, such as those making Final Fantasy VII Remake or Tekken 8.

Can a small team make a great game without Unreal?

Yes. Hollow Knight was made by a team of three people using Unity. Stardew Valley was made by one person using C# with XNA (a Microsoft framework). The engine doesn’t limit creativity; time and budget do.

Do games not using Unreal have worse graphics?

No. Horizon Forbidden West and Red Dead Redemption 2 are among the best-looking games ever made, and neither uses Unreal. Graphics depend on art direction and rendering techniques, not the engine name.

Why do some developers switch away from Unreal?

Reasons include licensing costs (the 5% royalty), lack of control over the engine’s roadmap, and performance overhead. Some studios, like Rockstar, built their own engines to have full control over every system.

What is the best engine for a beginner?

Unity and Godot are the most accessible because they have extensive tutorials and a gentle learning curve. Unreal’s Blueprint system is also beginner-friendly, but the engine is more complex overall. For 2D games, Godot is often recommended for its simplicity.

Are there any famous games on the Frostbite engine?

Yes, Battlefield and FIFA (now EA Sports FC) use Frostbite. It’s known for its destruction physics and large-scale battles. However, it was notoriously difficult for RPGs, which is why Dragon Age: Inquisition had issues.

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