Best Game Engine: Battleroyale! (Unity vs Godot vs Unreal vs GMS2) 

I love how in the thumbnail Godot was sans from undertale and undertale was made in game maker not godot

I came to this video trying to decide between Unity and Godot for a 2D game now, and maybe a 3D game later. Instead I came away with a hard-hitting life lesson that hit closer to home than I was ready for. Good job, man.

At the end of the video, even if I knew that it was not going to be a comedic bit, I was waiting for you to say after all that deep stuff "But you know, Godot is free".

Biggest takeaway ultimately is: Pick one. Just pick one, and actually stick with it long enough to get good at it. Finish a game. Finish several games. Actually show them to people, get feedback, and iterate. Speaking as someone who struggles a lot with paralysis by analysis... you'll probably end up better off if you pick the 'wrong' engine (or two or three) but actually *do* something with it, then change later. If you're just learning, think of choosing an engine as asking it out on a date, not proposing marriage.

that last bit really helped, honestly it was amazing advice.

i think you forgot to point out that godot is free.

In my personal experience, after trying multiple engines I ended up sticking with godot. The main reason for it was its really simple programming language. My previous place for making games was scratch, but all the other game engines I tried confused me the hell out, then I tried godot, joined the discord, dissected some code from a tutorial and asked questions about stuff I didn't understand, and after a while I barely had to ask questions because I had learned how to do what I needed to do to make the games I wanna make.

I recommend shedding some light on Godot being actually a libre software. You actually own the game that was crated by you in Godot, Unity is proprietary and your game is basically an extension of the engine itself, technically speaking. Whereas, what you make in Godot is actually yours, with the installation of the engine itself. Moreover, you can use Godot to make your own proprietary engine.

at the end of the video I was like now I know all the secrets of the universe D:

I myself have read the Godot documentation, and now Godot's community is growing faster and faster everyday.

I've messed around a bit in the Godot 4 alphas and lemme tell you, it's coming after that Unity 2D-3D crown. Sure, it may not have that huge number of rendering back-ends to chose from, but boy was I able to get a bunch of small things up and running quick, and looking pretty dang good. And after Unity's recent acquisitions + firings, it doesn't look as tempting with all that potential bloatware and non-focus on games.

I switched to Godot From unity Because.. It's open source. It's can animate anything. Blender and Godot goes together very well. Godot is only less than 70 mb and less than 600 mb if you install export templates. And my CPU doesn't sets up on fire..

I feel like everyone always under sells GMS2. It is much easier to make big games in it than you think. So long as you don’t want 3D or online multiplayer, you can make any size game you want.

Meanwhile me,an intellectual: WHY DID YOU PUT SANS UNDER THE GODOT LOGO, YOU'VE LITERALLY GOT GAMEMAKER RIGHT THER- That's a pretty smart thumbnail tho,gotta admit-

This is a well-edited, narrated, informational and humorous video that I haven't seen in a long time. It's almost like I watched a documentary!

Man, love to see you back! I want to thank you for this tutorials, you make everything so simple. I hope more people come to see your hard work, keep at it!!

Dude that ending is so deep what the hell! hahahahaha

Great video! I've been following your space shooter Godot tutorial for a little while now. Had to give it a break though because my daughter was born recently. Looking forward to getting back to learning Godot in the next month or so!

Really enjoyed the video, found it very helpful, and then the ending was just so awesome! Could be an inspirational video on its own, and should probably be tacked onto most "how to choose this vs. that" videos! Loved it! Keep up the good work :)

LOVE the spliced clips when you're talking. Really keeps me watching the entire video lol. I've been on the fence between Unity and UE4 for quite some time. Even finished up your unity 2D tutorial. Never heard someone speak highly of UE4 while also comparing to Unity! Makes me want to give it a shot, but also wary as I'm a 1 person show at the moment!

Fantastic, straight to the point video that covered all engines I wanted to know about. Thank you so much for this it really helped me choose my engine!

Damnnn... I didn't expect the end of the video AT ALL... Instantly pushed the like button when you started with the deep stuff, it's always so nice to hear humanity on someone... Although it's like a completely different video started there HAHA. I loved it!

really well-written video, man. i've been making my first game in GMS2 for almost a year now, and i've gotten used to most of its nuances. that being said, you make a compelling case for godot. i'll have to give it a try for my next game.

That was perfect "cut throat" scene lmao. On the other hand though all of us artists need to stand together against how all these big companies are trying to race to see who can break reality first and most realistic.

I am just happy alvin is back!! yayyy!! awesome unity 2d tutorials my man!

Hi I just finished your 2d unity game tutorial and it was so helpful. Idk why u have only 7000 sub plz. Keep up the good work!

Suscribed and I'll have to admit that for the last 3 mins of this video made it a pure gold find, that narrative was beyond for me, even if you ever see this comment I thank you

Legit; that motivational at the end is better than most motivational speakers. Going to re-listen to that daily for a while. Thanks man.

Well, I wasn't prepared to cry when trying to watch a video about de differences between unity and unreal... I guess I needed that

Thank you for that ending speech. I really needed to hear that. :)

This went from great knowledgable information to inspirational enlightenment… this was great! Thank you, you’re an awesome story teller.

Would love to see an update with the upcoming release this year of RPG Maker Unite where they are putting RPG Maker on top of the Unity engine.

Here’s some valuable insight for aspiring devs who are new to game dev: *the popular “Godot vs. Unity” comparison is only relevant if you only focus on desktop/mobile publishing - and not consoles.* If you want to publish on PS, Xbox, or Switch, Unity is the only option of those two. This makes the decision easy for that demographic.

This is the best video about game engines I've seen. Thank you. I have been suffering from buyers remorse because I feel like a failure switching from Unity back to GameMaker. But your right unity always feels like such leg work just to get to the proof of concept/ demo stage that it can lead to burn out. I love, love, love the little emotional tid bit at the end, it really hit me in the feels.

You deserve more subscribers, more likes and more views, the stuff you said was *actually* helpful and you didn't just stop at the famous "it depends" like most youtube "advisers" do, you actually went in depth and made sure that you're viewers understood what you were communicating to them. I noticed that you repeated some of the stuff that you said so we could *really* get it. And that comment you gave at the end of the video, in all seriousness, like straight face dude, you seriously spoke to me and boosted my dream of becoming the world's greatest entrepreneur even more; so many youtubers try and fail to do what you've accomplished here. The care you put in you video is outstanding, all around amazing video man. You can be sure I liked and subscribed and saved this video.

Thank you for that brilliant piece at the end. All of us go through that decision phase trying to weigh up so many options and so many parameters. If you're like me you will worry that you'll invest so much time in an engine only to find some limitation and the feel regret. In the end I resolved to make a small game in Unity and Godot (I also played with GMS2 as well) and then re-assess once I had experience with them. This is the best advice I can offer anyone. By doing so you will learn enough to make the decision of which engine is for you. The best one for you is the one that most supports you to make a game. Having a working game is much better than having only the promise of a working game while getting frustrated. The one other piece of advice I have is to echo Alvin's comments at the end. Whatever you build, it won't be your last project. Plan to build lots of small projects at the start especially while you're learning, because that way you'll iterate faster and learn more rather than trying to build the perfect game or waiting for motivation to start.

This was fun to watch and most epic final ever! :D

I subbed before watching the ending. Then I bookmarked this video. Great overview and motivation!

Thank you for this video and the advice at the end. Actually useful.

that last bit. I really needed that. thanks.

That last motivational bit felt odd at the start but was just what i needed to hear by the end! I'll start my journey in Godot so I'll probably be watching your tutorials ^^! Nice video.

great content, nice voice and good ending :) thank you

Thank you SO much for this video :) it really helped me out!

Alvin, this is the first video of yours I've seen. I want to compliment you on the wonderful ending to the video! - Jeff

Thanks for the great comparison. There is however one fact that is off. Unreal's license is 1 million per product, not per year. If you make over 1 million on a single game, you owe royalties on everything you make past that million (for that game). If you make a second game that makes 500k, then you owe no royalties on that second game. If after 5 years your second game gets a spike and you now have a total of 1.5 million of revenue from it. You owe 5% royalties on that 500k (amounting to 25k) That's a distinction that seems worth making. The ending was incredible. It hit too close to home. Thanks for the awesome video.

your last part of the video is really touching my heart *sobbing thank you dude

Ok, you convinced me to create my game in assembly :) You hit the nail with that last part. Thank you.

the ending message was so beautiful. Thank you for it

Watched this to see if Godot was right for me, didn't know I was getting free therapy at the end.

The biggest factor in choosing a game engine, if you're actually a dev, is development time. Everything else is detail in comparison given that cost of production is measured in work hours. Here, godot wins.

I wasn't quite committed to getting path of exile, but after seeing that clip of their skill tree, I think I'll be getting that after Christmas.

Great video. I used Unity for my game development project for my honours degree in computing science in order to make a fully operational side scroller with multiple levels, but in my research it was a tuss up between Unity and Godot. I went with untily due to time constraints and the community/tutorials being more expansive. Wish I had found your channel then as preliminary work with Godot was actually fun till I lost my way with it. Now I've got a cushy job in IT I'm looking to take up game development as a hobby. Thanks for this video, it's a good reminder of the strengths and weaknesses of both plus a reminder that there are other options I knew about but didn't consider back then. Subbed and will be looking at your content in the days to come :)

What an amazing video, with all the analogies and the end part, just wish there was more in depth comparison between Unity and Unreal

Good to have you back Alvin. Any Godot tutorials on the horizon?

great video thank you I love the way you talk the way you narrated this as a story thank you

This video was so epic, appreciate man.

finally! a explanation that talks my language! not focused on normal talk but on the speech of warlords and conquerors! i am planning on moving from Unity to a other engine and this is a good explanation

Oh my god, this channel is so underrated, I never saw a video with so good editing before.

Wowowoww you deserve more movies this was so good AHHHH

First time watching your videos, subscribed immediately after that ending. haha

That ending of the Video, was awsome - got nearly goose bumps ;) subbed

The ending of the video was astoundingly inspirational

started tinkering a bit with unity, i thought it had too much stuff for me to focus, changed to gamemaker but tutorials were kinda complicated from the start. i'm just learning the basics of python and will try my luck with godot tomorrow. well informed vid, thank you!

do this again when godot 4.0 comes out please :)

Awesome video, thanks! 😀

basics it's encouraging to learn a little bit more! Well done!

Welcome back ;p

I'm still relatively new to Unity and Godot (but experienced dev + experience making games without an engine using SDL etc) and I have to say I've found Godot so much easier than Unity to actually start creating things. I'm only doing 2D so far so my comments only apply to 2D. I understand the basics of how they work, but there are so many features that require assets in Unity but come built-in in Godot. Unity 2D lighting is ok, but shadows are almost non-existent with the new URP. To get shadows you're basically going to need assets (often with minimal documentation and few examples) and I just couldn't get it to work despite paying $20 for an asset that came with big claims. Why was I looking for this? Because I already created something in Godot and adding shadows was literally just another 30-60 mins of work without even needing a tutorial to show me how. Don't get me wrong - I think Unity is a far superior engine in almost every way. The graphics potential is a lot better, and there are just so many more tools available. However, in my experience the asset store is actually not that great. It's like the Google Play store - yeah you get a lot of apps, but the quality of most is pretty low and the documentation is hit or miss. Also bear in mind that unless an asset is really popular, you're probably not going to find many tutorials for it by 3rd parties. If you don't need 2D shadows, then Unity does offer better lighting (I assume the fact you can put 3D elements in a 2D game also helps), better shaders etc, but you really have to work hard to get the most out of them. I also love the fact that you can inspect everything in the Unity editor while your game is running. But at the end of the day Unity just feels too bloated, too complicated, too crowded full of things I don't need and don't understand. Yes a lot of people make great games with it and that's fine. I just feel that Godot lets me do more in less time, and that is ultimately what won me over. I will still keep trying Unity because many of the shortcomings will improve over time, and the same is true for Godot. Either way, it's a great time to be an indie game developer :)

best video I have seen on this topic anywhere - thanks!

The Unity splash screen is one of the main reasons why I'm thinking about switching from Unity to Godot lol.

man, your final secret sauce message really hit me, you got a new follower in a bag :D

End of video is so good! Thanks for those words!

I've had to do some vr work in unity and my god Godot has spoiled me with its clean logic and design. Unity is a mess. But it's got a ton of assets in it's store that do all kinds of amazing things.

subbed for that last message at the end. Thanks for that.

First, this video did a perfect job for me. I now know which I should use and why. And then you have the last part of the video where this guy share us a bit of his wisdom in an humoristic way. Seriously amazing, I had the same reflection that he brings at the end and everything he said is true. It's woth taking the time to really think about it. My conclusion is stop wasting time thinking about the best choice, do some search and then choose and adjust afterward. We humans have not much REAL limits, must of the limit you say you have are some of the comunity limits that you decided giving yourself. You helped me go deeper in my reflection thanks man!

Came for a game engine, left with an existential crisis

Dude, that ending, tho! Thank you so much!

Thank god that this video exists! I've been sitting here, unsure what engine to use for literally 4 hours!

This was very informative and helpful. Thank you for sharing your opinions! Also curious -- what game is featured at 19:35 in the video? It looks cool. 🙃 [EDIT] Also WOW, my gosh. I hadn't quite gotten to the "secret sauce" ending, but that's extremely good advice. I am so impressed with most of the seasoned gamedevs I follow dropping seriously heavy (but good!) existential advice that transcends such a niche topic. ...Subbed! LOL

I like Godot. I use it to make 2D games. But, if I need 3D, then I just go low poly. One could make some GREAT looking games with low poly. Btw. I love the ending of this video. I agree, in the end, instead of one worrying so much about which engine is better, one should just PICK A DAMN ENGINE, don't take too long and after picking it, make the best of it. They're all great for that. And there's a lot that can be accomplished with all of the ones mentioned on this video. And the sky is the limit. So thus, get your dream going!!

Best advice you gave... Choose a game engine and start. Ty. 😊

i was not ready the existential crisis at the end of the video

Started with RPGM, which gave me a taste for creation. Went to GameMaker when I wanted to make something that wasn't an RPG. Eyeing Godot now that I want to try a bigger project.

Welcome Back Alvin!

honestly the best soft tutorial ive ever seen. short and straight to the point ! i love it

Late to the game Alvin, but I truly wish you the same success, find what you're looking for .... I've had a bad week and I needed to hear that. Cheers!

Roe sensei。 Arigato gozaimasu! I really liked the video but the life lesson at the end hit it out the park.

The ending was veeeeery unexpected to me. It felt like if you were meaning me personally, because what you said, was exactly what I needed now. Thanks!

How many cuts you have in this video?

Which game engine would you suggest for blue screen/projection screen background generation?

Wonderful video. Thank you!

Best video ever. The life lesson at the end, awesome.

Dude I know you'll probably never see this and if you did you probably wouldn't get the compliment but man you're built different dude. 👏I have very, very, very rarely in my life been as impressed with anyone as I was with you after only watching one and a half of your videos.

I think every aspiring creator should watch the last few minutes of this video. Great advice, brilliantly said. And - mission accepted!!

At the end of the video my guy became philosophical, we went from talking about game engines to questioning life’s purpose

Love this explanation, thank you. I am hoping you can help me out... I would like to build a game that is browser-based with mobile as the controller. Any idea on the game engine I should use? (2d)

I came to find out what engine I would be using I come out with a life lesson. love u man

I love your vids man and I wanted to donate you on ko-fi but when I saw USD to PLN conversion I realized I would better keep that money for myself but don't worry, when the better future comes I will toss you a penny

So efficient to watch this and choose an engine!

Loved this video. I would make one observation which Unreal absolutely can make 2d games... which it admittedly does in 3d but provides tools like flip books and tile sets, but I personally found this less finicky than 2d in Unity. I would also say that for new devs the number 1 thing you should care about (which you kind of come to at the end) is how easy does it make producing your game. A beautiful but unfinished game is never released but a less pretty finished game is. For me, even as a professional software engineer, Unreal's Blueprints (haven't needed C++ yet) make production trivial vs Unity which requires C#, but for others the community and asset store on Unity might be just the trick. A note on C++ vs C#, the way they compile and run is different, C++ compiles to machine code but C# compiles to an intermediate byte code which is then run through a virtual machine. C# compilation is faster which is good for productivity, but C++ will be faster at runtime. You _probably_ won't be doing anything where the difference in runtime speed matters that much compared to, for example, scene optimisation, but it's worth calling out I recommend doing a short tutorial in each engine to see how well they work for you. Keep in mind platforms too (lack of WASM support in Unreal is killing me on my current project, not a deal breaker but irritating). I want to give Godot some time soon as I hear using Rust with it is pretty trivial but don't know enough about it yet to comment. I ought to check out Game Maker too, you can start learning for free but have to pay to produce a distributable binary (not a lot but it is a subscription... though that's fair for an evolving product).