If you have been carrying out game engine research, you will have noticed certain names keep coming up – Unity and Unreal. These 2 game engines are some of the most popular engines on the market, for both large commercial games and indie game development. As with anything – it is subjective to say that Unity is the best game engine, as it depends on what you are trying to make and why.
However, due to its popularity – here is a strong set of reasons why Unity is the best game engine, or at least believed to be by many. And why it could be the best game engine for you!
Unity is one of the best game engines owing to its versatility and power for creating both 2D and 3D games. The Unity community is a large one, filled with both indie and commercial game creators that can offer tips and advice to help you create your best game. Unity developers have created a large selection of game assets and tools, some of which are free and further increase the power and capability of Unity as a game creation tool.
As the other reasons why Unity is regarded as one the best engines. Unity also has a low point of entry, making it accessible for new game developers and seasoned professionals in the game development industries. In addition to all this, you don’t need to know how to write code in order to use Unity. Unity can use visual scripting in order to create games, again making this a very appealing tool for those that cannot code.
If you want to start making games in either 2D or 3D – Unity or Unity software is a superb engine to select for your project. It is such a capable and accessible game engine.
Other reasons why Unity is the best game engine
It is not by accident that Unity is widely regarded as one of the best game engines on the market, especially in indie game development.
To further answer the question above, about why Unity is one of the best game engines, I’ve compiled together a detailed list of what makes it such a popular and widespread game engine. Aside from the engine being powerful and intuitive, it has many other attributes that show it to be a viable engine for game development.
If you are already convinced by how powerful Unity is, you may be interested to read more on what are the best starter assets in Unity.
It has an active community
The power of a community should never be underestimated. Especially one as thriving as Unity’s. One of the best things going for Unity is the fact that it has a very large community using its software on a daily basis, it is forever being updated with new assets and users are frequently using the forums.
Question & Answers
Another very strong reason why Unity is a very good game engine to use is… If you run into technical problems with making your game in Unity, you can always turn to the question and answers in the forum, or look online for answers. I have personally used the Q&A forums in Unity and I found it to be very helpful. Simply put, without the help on the forums, I wouldn’t have been able to make some projects that I have already made. Thank you for any pointers Unity community.
Unity is a great game engine with free assets
Free assets, does much more needs to be said? This is another reason why Unity is a great game engine. The Asset Store comes with a whole selection of assets and tools you can import and use in your Unity game, whether it is 2D or 3D. For free!
Paid assets and great assets
To get the maximum out of Unity – and what makes it greater still, are some of its exceptional assets you can purchase. One such example is a set of tools called Adventure Creator, which extends Unity so that you can create classic adventures without having to code everything from scratch. This is just one example of many other reasons why Unity is the best game engine ( in my widely shared opinion ).
Unity is great for 2D games
Being somebody who works predominantly in 2D. I can say that Unity is a brilliant engine for making 2D games. Unity comes with a range of powerful 2D tools and assets that is intuitive to use and streamlines the process of making 2D games. Everything just works together in Unity 2D.
You can make 2.5D games
Although this type of game is much less common now, Unity can make 2.5D games. Whether Unity is actually true 2D can be read here – 2.5 D is something Unity is more than capable of doing.
Why Unity is the best game engine? It can make high-end 3D games
In the right hands, Unity can create some brilliant 3D visuals which are on par with some of the AAA games you see today. Not only can it do 2D games very well, but it can also deliver stunning 3D visuals too.
To offer a fair, and unbiased point of view for Unity, it should be noted that not all gamers and developers agree. It has also been noted by some developers that Unity lacks the powerful 3D capability of some of the other 3D engines on the market.
However, as shown above and below, in capable hands, developers can make some absolutely outstanding visuals when using Unity for 3D.
The video here is an example of Unity’s 3D prowess, this video is of Book of the Dead.
It is free to use for personal development – when others aren’t
Unity is free to download and use for small indies, students, and hobbyists making the all the more appealing to those wanting to get into the gaming industry or make games for fun.
Although it should be noted, it is only free to use if you earn under $100,000 ( at the time of writing this ). Do make sure to check with the Unity website. Things can change! But at the time of my writing this, it is for free.
You can use Unity for app development
If you’re making a 2D or 3D app, be it a jigsaw, car game, puzzler or anything else of the like. Unity is a great solution to consider and further stacking as to why Unity is the best game engine… or at least one of the best.
Unity can run on lower-spec computers too
If you’re lacking in hardware, using Unity in 2D mode is a viable option for game development. Although it may run slower on older or weaker systems you can still use Unity to make games or puzzles without too much effect. Other more heavyweight 3D software may struggle to run or not run at all on old systems.
It’s popular and doesn’t stagnate
As the market changes and improves, so does Unity. Unity is ever creating new updates and adding new beneficial features to their software. Not only this, the asset store frequently comes out with new tools and assets to use in your games. You may find this post helpful if you are just getting started with Unity – great beginner assets from the asset store for Unity.
Why Unity is the best game engine | the final takeaway
Unity is a great engine for those lacking in funds, who love indie games and wants something that runs well on their computer. It is such a versatile and capable piece of software!
But the bottom line…