Gaming engines often become as famous as the games they run, and it’s understandable. You can usually tell instantly what engine was used for a game if you’re familiar with them, and knowing that a game is using a particular engine can give you an idea of what kind of gameplay you can expect. Some engines have been around for decades while some are beginning to gain recognition. Let’s take a look at some of the best game engines for 2021.
Frostbite
The Frostbite engine is known for first-person shooter games but can be used for all types of games. FIFA esports fans might be familiar with this engine as the franchise has been using it for years. It’s fast and reactive, making it a great option for fast action and smooth play. It’s also one that many developers appreciate because of its ease of use, which makes for better framerates with few bugs and twitches. We can expect many games to come out using the engine this year, and we can see it still being popular years from now.
Unreal Engine
This is probably the most legendary engine ever created and is still being used after it was first showcased in 1998. This is another engine that is commonly used for first-person shooters. What makes the Unreal Engine so popular is the ability to mould and customise it enough so that games can feel unique even with some of the same mechanics.
Another great benefit of this engine is how scalable it is. Creating massive environments can be done fast and easily. It also has an extensive library of real-life images that you can use to create vivid environments, along with 3D capabilities.
One thing about this engine, however, is that it demands a very specific set of skills, which means that games are not always executed properly. Some games may also come out feeling like copies of Unreal, which is the game the engine got its name from.
The engine has seen many versions since it came out. Games like Valorant used the fourth version of the engine. This year is a year to watch for the engine, with its fifth version being available for early access. Many developers have said that they were pleased with some of the changes that have been introduced which make programming on the platform much more intuitive.
Amazon Lumberyard
No one would have expected Amazon to make one of the best gaming engines on the market, but they did with the Amazon Lumberyard. It makes it super easy to create large and lightweight games and supports a wide variety of programming languages. It's also very easy to use and versatile. Not only that, but since it's powered by Amazon's trusty cloud platform, it makes creating games built for online play much easier. This is an engine that we can expect will see a lot more attention this year.
If you’re an avid gaming fan and want to know what the future has in store for gaming development, these are all engines you should start looking at. We can expect these to shape what games will look and feel like now and tomorrow.
