Godot vs. Unity vs. Unreal Comparison

There are a lot of engines to choose from for a developer, and the answer “which one to choose?” should be answered based on numerous things, which we are going to discuss today in this article. 

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We also are going to compare game engines and discuss the pros and cons of the most popular engines on the market, that are Unity, Godot and Unreal. For your convenience, we made a comparative table that will be straight to the point and show you the best aspects of each engine. Let’s start!

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Unity vs Godot vs Unreal Engine: A Comparative Table

We’re kicking off with a useful image that helps to compare game engines. Here’s a comparative table for all three engines, based on technical aspects, cost, usability and other valuable aspects.

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Godot vs. Unity vs. Unreal: A Closer Look

Unity

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Unity is a great choice for a simple reason: it’s probably the most popular gaming engine that developers use nowadays. Its versatility, practicality and great asset collection make it a very good universal choice for your game.

Pros

• Vast selection of tools: Unity has a great selection of assets and plugins, either free or paid, allowing you to create without the additional work required and focus on important aspects of game-making
• Big community: Unity’s popularity among developers and enthusiasts alike leads to lots of available assets, documentation, assistance etc.
• Versatility: It works very well for all types of genres: platformers, shooters, virtual reality experience – Unity can easily handle basically any type of game.

Cons

• Performance issues: When it comes to resource-demanding and graphically intensive games, Unity tends to have some occasional hiccups, requiring you to spend more time and effort optimizing the project 
• Subscription cost: The basic version with limited selection of tools is free, but the premium version requires you to purchase a pricey subscription plan, which can be an obstacle if you’re a small developer with a limited budget. 
• Takes some time to learn: Unity, in comparison to some other engines, can be pretty challenging to learn if you started to dive into game development fairly recently. UI development, shader programming, object-oriented programming etc. can make it seem all too difficult. 

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Godot

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Of all three engines, Godot is probably the friendliest engine when it comes to indie development, simplicity in user experience and overall presentation. 

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Godot’s greatest strength is that it’s free to use, making it a great choice for indie developers and small studios with limited budget. You will also have access to its source code, which opens doors for tweaking and customization for your exact needs. The node system Godot is using is natural to grasp, making it accessible for beginners and those who aren't into complex programming just yet.

Pros

• Great choice for 2D games: Godot has several tools dedicated to two-dimensional art, making it versatile, flexible and somewhat easier and lighter than Unity if you’re making a 2D game. If you want to look at Unreal Engine vs. Godot in regards to 2D art functionality, Godot will likely be a better choice.
• Simple to use: Node-based architecture (that is basically a hierarchy of actions an engine should make) makes Godot an incredibly intuitive engine that can be easily understood even if you lack the hardcore programming experience, which leads to different kinds of opportunities to create a lot of fun and unusual games, even if they’re your first ones. In comparison to Unreal Engine and Unity, Godot is totally different in terms of usage.
• Free and open-source: You can forget about licensing and revenue sharing, meaning that using Godot is an extremely convenient experience for limited-budget developers, small indie teams and so on.

Cons

• Limited selection of 3D tools: Using Godot for 3D development can be rather tricky compared to 2D work due to the limited selection of 3D tools and the complexity of working with 3D structures. If we compare game engines in terms of 3D functionality, it’s better to use Godot mostly for 2D.
• Less plugins in comparison to Unity: In some cases, Godot is lacking an extensive library of plugins you can find in other engines. If you need an intricate collection of numerous ready-to-use plugins, Godot may create certain complications in game-making for you. 
• Compatibility issues: In comparison to Unreal Engine and Unity, Godot lacks the vast collection of tools, plugins and additional third-party integrations, meaning you have to integrate these things by yourself, leading to it requiring a big amount of experience, time and effort.

Unreal Engine

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If you’re making a particularly great-looking project that’s all about visuals, Unreal has got to be your choice. A popular engine by Epic that originated in the early 00s, Unreal Engine’s iterations have been incredibly popular in game-making during numerous generations of game consoles.

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Unreal Engine tends to be a great choice for an AAA title of high-fidelity, thanks to its focus on immersive, realistic visuals, high-quality rendering techniques and lighting systems that will attract players to the project. 

Pros

• Great choice for 3D projects of the highest industry standards: UE remains a go-to engine for big-budget projects, mostly thanks to its gorgeous visual capabilities. There are rendering features, providing an incredibly life-like image, photorealistic rendering, real-time illumination and virtualized geometry.
• Built-in physics engine: Unreal Engine comes with an advanced physics engine that realistically simulates object interactions, making it ideal for games that demand precise physics to enhance the experience and make players more immersed.
• Big selection of plugins, tools and assets: Unreal’s Marketplace contains a great collection of high-quality assets, shaders, animations and plugins you can use to make your project even better and more gorgeous than ever.

Cons

• Demanding system requirements: Because of the extensive technical side mentioned above, UE requires a lot from your working machine, which may be an obstacle for smaller studios. In addition, extra optimization will require more efforts, especially for indie developers.
• Steep learning curve: Is Unreal Engine good for beginners? Not quite, sadly. When it comes to learning how UE functions work, it tends to be more challenging than Unity and Godot. 
• Additional obstacles: Big project sizes of a project made in UE may lead to longer build times, especially if you’re making a big open-world gaming experience. In addition, compilation times are longer in comparison to other engines, because of C++. Comparing Unreal Engine vs Unity, UE is a bit stiffer than Unity in terms of easy usage. 

Bottom Line

As you can see, to compare game engines is to decide what goals you’re aiming at. It’s totally up to your preferences to decide which engine suits your needs the best. All of them have aspects that can be suitable for your particular project, so keeping in mind what you’re aiming for as you choose the right engine is a must in this case.

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If the game-making process gets too complicated even before the right engine is chosen, you can always rely on a game outsourcing studio to help you with their contributions to your project, to make sure the final result will meet all the right goals and requirements.

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RocketBrush Studio has been working since 2016, collaborating with leading industry names such as Supercell, John Romero’s Romero Games, Paradox Interactive, Applovin, Uken Games and so on. We have provided all types of services: from 3D animation, character design and UI to pixelated art, paintover work, modeling and texturing and even full-scale game development on the game engine of choice. Read our testimonials here. 

We have experience and expertise in vast variety of genres and styles: from sci-fi shooters and pixelated roguelites to zombie survival games and mobile puzzles. You can look at our portfolio here.

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No matter what engine you end up with, we wish you good luck with your project!