When you hear someone talk about the Unreal Engine, you immediately think about shooters. But although it has been used for a ton of those games, there are also a lot of games on the engine from other genres. We don’t always talk about the engine that is behind the games we love, so we thought we’d find some Unreal-driven games that aren’t shooters, like these eight.
Think we missed one? Tell us what it is in the comments!
Outlast (Unreal 3)
An atmospheric horror game from developer Red Barrels, Outlast burst onto the scene in 2013.It captured the attention of genre fans mostly for what it didn’t do – namely, it didn’t give you weapons to fight back and it didn’t add a lot of UI elements. It relied on its atmosphere to create tension and horror, and it was largely successful. Dropping players into a darkened asylum with only a camcorder for light turned out to be pretty terrifying.
Mortal Kombat X (Unreal 3)
Nerherrealm’s newest entry in the long-running Mortal Kombat franchise is running on Epic’s engine, and it’s one of the most graphically advanced fighting games around. Characters actually interact with the environment, bouncing off obstacles, and even grabbing parts of the background to use as weapons. Upon its release, Mortal Kombat X became the fastest-selling game in the history of the franchise.
DC Universe Online (Unreal 3)
Sony Online Entertainment’s take on the DC Comics universe hit PlayStation 3 in 2011, with a PlayStation 4 version following in 2013. Players create their own superheroes and interact with a bevy of recognizable characters from DC Comics, including Joker, Batman, Lex Luthor, Superman, and more. The game has been quite successful, boating 18 million registered users. It also generates more revenue than any other free-to-play title on PS3 and PS4.
Enslaved: Odyssey to the West (Unreal 3)
Enslaved: Odyssey to the West retells a classic Chinese novel titled Journey to the West. It does this in a brightly colored world that belies what we’ve come to expect from post-apocalyptic games. The characters are great, and the story is compelling. Although the combat and platforming aren’t stellar, they work together well enough to make a game that is definitely worth playing.
Chivalry: Medieval Warfare (Unreal 3)
Chivalry: Medieval Warfare is the standalone version of the Age of Chivalry mod for Half-Life 2. Although it’s surprising it’s not running on the Source engine, the standalone game features improved graphics over the original mod. Chivalry sports a few bugs, but on the whole it’s a very enjoyable medieval combat game. As a bonus, you can dismember an opponent and re-enact the Black Knight scene from Monty Python & The Holy Grail.
Ark: Survival Evolved (Unreal 4)
Technically, Ark: Survival Evolved is still in Early Access, but since I’ve played a ton of it, I wanted to include it here. The open-world survival game feels like a blend of Minecraft and dinosaurs, and that’s a good thing. As you’re trying to scrounge up materials to build shelter, weapons, and clothing, you’ll be surrounded by dinosaurs big and small, some of which will actively try to eat you. It’s a gorgeous game, and keeping yourself alive in its hostile world is no picnic.
XCOM: Enemy Unknown (Unreal 3)
Both XCOM: Enemy Unknown and its standalone sequel Enemy Within utilize the Unreal engine to great effect. The turn-based gameplay the series is known for is captured near-perfectly in this installment, and the challenging difficulty of the missions is a bonus as well. Although there are some missing features from the classic titles, Enemy Unknown largely captures the look and feel of the series to great effect.
Batman: Arkham City (Unreal 3)
When it comes to big-time games on the Unreal engine, there are few bigger than Rocksteady’s Batman: Arkham games, the best of which was Batman: Arkham City. The sequel to Arkham Asylum surpassed its predecessor by carrying over the combat system and turning gamers free in a huge open-world to, well, be Batman. That’s exactly what they did. Gliding around the city, fighting bad guys, and using all of Batman’s powerful gadgets never felt so good.
