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Created by developer Epic Games, Unreal Engine is a 3D game engine used in creating and modeling many games. It was first used in making a first-person shooting game in 1998, Unreal, from which it gets its name.
While initially conceived for FPS titles, Unreal Engine has since been employed in various video games as well as the film and television industries.
Favored due to its dynamic capacity to be used to create titles for mobiles, PCs, and consoles, Unreal Engine is one of the longest-running game engines. Its latest version is Unreal Engine 5, utilized in the creation of a large number of video games.
While big-name studios tend to prefer using in-house engines, numerous AAA games have already implemented Unreal Engine to create their game, and many more are soon to release.
Note: This article reflects the writer’s opinions.
Five AAA video games that have implemented use of Unreal Engine
1) Gears 5
Developed by The Coalition, Gears 5 is the fifth mainline entry into the Gears of War series and was released in 2019 for PC and Xbox One. Like all main Gears games and some spinoffs, it also uses Unreal Engine and runs in a third-person shooter perspective.
Kait Diaz is the protagonist after being a supporting character in the previous title. Taking place in the world of Sera and a couple of months after the events of Gears 4, Kait is forced to discover the origins of the Locust Horde, which almost wiped out the human civilization of Sera long ago.
Players can play the game with a squad of two AI players, Kait’s friend Del and a robot named Jack. Gears 5 offers a 3-person local multiplayer option and the usual online co-op.
Competitive multiplayer is also an optional experience, offering users to take each other on in Team Deathmatch, King of the Hill, or Escalation modes.
2) Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
Respawn Entertainment switched to using Unreal Engine in favor of its usual Source Engine when developing its first Star Wars game, Jedi Fallen Order. Released in 2019 for Windows, PS4, and Xbox One, it is an action-adventure game telling the story of a new character known as Cal Kestis.
Set between the events of the Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope movies, this title sees Cal, a former Jedi padawan, on the run from the evil inquisitors of The Empire. When his path leads him across two individuals with a plan to restore the Jedi Order, Cal must choose whether he wants to make a difference again or continue to run and hide in fear.
This game was in the metroidvania style, seeing many worlds gamers could visit and areas they have to later return to as Cal unlocked new equipment and abilities. Its combat mechanics and use of rest points along the world were highly inspired by FromSoftware games like Sekiro and Dark Souls.
A sequel titled Star War Jedi: Survivor is in development.
3) Final Fantasy 7 Remake
Square Enix has relied heavily on Unreal Engine for many of its games, dating back to The Last Remnant in 2008. With the remaster of the fan-favorite Final Fantasy 7, they employed the same, to great and glorious effect.
Leading with some of the best visuals of the year, Final Fantasy 7 Remake was a commercial and critical hit when released in 2020 for the PS4.
This is the first game in a trilogy, which will recount the original game’s events, although with some significant changes. Cloud Strife returns as the protagonist, and so do his allies Barret Wallace, Tifa Lockhart, and Aerith Gainsborough, as they fight against the evil Shinra megacorporation.
Combat in this title is heavily revamped, with gamers taking manual control of Cloud instead of in a turn-based mode. They can switch to other party members during combat to utilize their moves as well.
The next title in the series, FF7: Rebirth, will be released in the winter of 2023.
4) Resident Evil 4 VR
Possibly the most popular Resident Evil game, aside from the remakes and the original, Resident Evil 4 saw protagonist Leon Kennedy head to a village in Europe to locate and retrieve Ashley Graham, the daughter of the POTUS.
This game was initially released in 2005 for the Gamecube and mixed action elements into the horror game series.
As it would turn out, it would set the bar for the perfect blend of horror and action, one which many titles later on in the series would fail to clear. Changing the camera to an over-the-shoulder perspective, improving the aiming and shooting elements, and introducing outstanding survival elements into the series, Resident Evil 4 was a fan favorite.
So, after years of player-made mods, Capcom finally released an official VR version in 2021 for the Oculus Quest. Developer Armature Studio utilized the Unreal Engine to faithfully recreate and adapt the game to a VR experience.
5) Returnal
One of the best releases for the PlayStation 5 in 2021, Returnal, was developed by Housemarque under Sony Interactive Entertainment and was released on April 30, 2021. This game was developed from the ground up on Unreal Engine and was nominated for accolades such as Game Design, Audio Design, and Artistic achievement, just to name a few.
This Unreal Engine masterpiece is a third-person shooter roguelike set on an alien planet, where players must battle various creatures in a 3D bullet-hell-like gameplay. They will gain access to different abilities and perks as they progress through the story and must use these to get ahead of the time loop in which the protagonist is stuck.
The story revolves around a space explorer named Selene Vassos, who lands on a restricted planet, Atropos, to investigate a strange signal. She soon discovers that she is stuck in a time loop, as every time she dies, Selene resets at the time of her crash landing.
Looking to find a way to escape this cycle, Selene ventures into unknown territory to find answers.
Note: This article reflects the writer’s opinions.
