Despite being introduced with a fanfare all the way back in 2020 with a glorious tech demo (and reinforced in 2021 with The Matrix Awakens), we’re still in Unreal Engine 5’s early days, even considering how many UE5-based AAA games have been released over the last two years. It’s safe to say that during this time, players have largely established their expectations for the engine: gorgeous visuals often marred by numerous technical hiccups typical of the current version, such as the notorious stuttering caused by shader compilation. This makes the anticipation for upcoming UE5 games like The Witcher 4, Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra, and Ballad of Antara as cautious as it is exciting.
Unreal Engine 5 Games That Look Ridiculous
The graphics of these Unreal Engine 5 games look amazing in nearly every possible way.
While many UE5 games have launched to pretty disappointing results in terms of performance on an average system (including both PC and consoles) for various reasons, today we’re looking at the most notable exceptions to this rule. The Unreal Engine 5 games below deliver strong visuals, backed by impressive details, realistic lighting, and more, while avoiding the pitfalls largely associated with UE5 among the gaming community, essentially serving as some of the best examples of what UE5 technology is capable of in the right hands.
The games below aren’t necessarily the most beautiful UE5 titles released to date, but ones that strike a fine balance between the quality of their graphics and their performance on mid-end modern hardware.
Fortnite
Testing Grounds At The Tip Of The Spear
Fortnite
- Released
- September 26, 2017
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T for Teen - Diverse Content: Discretion Advised, In-Game Purchases, Users Interact
- Developer(s)
- Epic Games
When looking at games that show the potential of Unreal Engine technology to its fullest, Fortnite is undoubtedly right at the top, because of course it is. Developed by Epic Games, creators of the Unreal Engine, Fortnite is an ever-evolving project that receives some of the fastest and best integrations of all the newest engine features.
Just to name a few, shortly after Fortnite's migration to the UE5 framework, it became the first console title of this generation to fully support both Nanite and Lumen, as well as Virtual Shadow Maps, while also ensuring strong performance across the board. Naturally, the game’s mobile version doesn’t use UE5, instead running on an earlier, less demanding version of the engine.
Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2
More Of A Showcase Than A Game
Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2
- Released
- May 21, 2024
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- m
- Developer(s)
- Ninja Theory
- Genre(s)
- Action-Adventure
In the field of best-looking Unreal Engine 5 titles, few can hope to match what Ninja Theory has achieved with Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2, despite the game originally releasing over a year and a half ago. With the game’s recent launch on PS5, even more players can now experience what is arguably the most impressive game of this generation in terms of visuals alone, even if Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 can feel extremely restrictive in its gameplay freedom to compensate for that.
Unreal Engine 5 Games With The Best Performance
Bucking the trend of poor performance, the following are the best-optimized Unreal Engine 5 games.
Still, with its photorealistic landscapes and vistas, as well as unbelievably realistic character models that show their emotions during combat in real time, Hellblade 2 is currently as close to interactive movies as video games get and a must-see showcase of Unreal Engine 5’s prowess.
The Finals
Environmental Destruction? Not A Problem
The Finals
- Released
- December 8, 2023
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T For Teen Due To Violence
- Developer(s)
- Embark Studios
- Genre(s)
- FPS
The Finals is a rare example of an Unreal Engine 5 title with an emphasis on full environmental destruction, which is still something that players in 2025 do not see nearly enough. The destruction in The Finals plays a vital role during gameplay, and even if it might not fully compare to Battlefield 6’s all-out warfare chaos, it is somewhere near it.
Similar to the case of ARC Raiders (more on it below), the wizards at Embark Studio smartly limit the use of the heaviest UE5 features, instead betting on sheer style and flawless performance for The Finals. The result is a fast-paced, well-optimized multiplayer experience with great graphics that many fans would not even recognize as running Unreal Engine 5 under the hood.
Split Fiction
It Just Works
Split Fiction
- Released
- March 6, 2025
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T For Teen // Blood and Gore, Crude Humor, Language, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Hazelight Studios
Given how many UE5 games struggle with steady performance on base PS5s and mid-end PCs, it’s nothing short of a miracle how Split Fiction manages to achieve it for two players simultaneously. Another co-op masterpiece from Josef Fares and Hazelight Studios, players will spend almost the entire runtime with their screens, well, split in two, and they'll still get butter-smooth 60 fps on consoles.
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There are 5 generations of Unreal Engine, each boasting many epic games.
Of course, it should be mentioned that Split Fiction does not utilize every single UE5 feature, such as Nanite or Lumen, to achieve that performance, but with overall results like this, who could be disappointed? Adding to Split Fiction’s wizardry, it is a cross-platform online experience where players can enjoy the game together on different systems, with stellar graphics, gameplay, and performance, no matter the choice.
Silent Hill f
Say f-arewell To Stuttering
Silent Hill f
- Released
- September 25, 2025
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Partial Nudity
- Developer(s)
- Neobards Entertainment
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror, Action
Few expected a definite hit from Silent Hill f, developed as a debut project for the new NeoBards Entertainment studio. Not only does Silent Hill f represent a breath of fresh air for the franchise, further cementing its bright future after the successful Silent Hill 2 Remake, but the game also stands as one of the better optimized and polished titles in Unreal Engine 5 to date, running at a consistent 60 fps even on the base PS5 with no compromise.
With its graphics on par with SH2 Remake, Silent Hill f is often visually arresting, even with the game’s mostly confined spaces covered in its signature thick fog. The game smartly uses Nanite, Lumen, and Virtual Shadow Maps to deliver its moody interiors and menacingly looming city streets with little to no stuttering, something that was virtually unheard of before.
Manor Lords
Scale Above All
Manor Lords
- Released
- April 26, 2024
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- t
- Developer(s)
- Slavic Magic
- Genre(s)
- Strategy, City Builder
Manor Lords isn’t a UE5-native game, and was initially built on Unreal Engine 4 and later transitioned to UE5 for better visuals (Virtual Shadow Maps) and modern scaling. It shows how beneficial such transitions can be. Given that the title is still in Early Access, Manor Lords will probably only get better in every regard as it nears its full launch, but it is already utterly impressive with its scale alone.
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Manor Lords delivers admirable optimization post-UE5 migration even in the toughest conditions, whether players choose to expand their cities to thousands of units or participate in large-scale tactical battles. Naturally, players should not expect full usage of Lumen and Nanite in-game (at least, not yet), but that is probably for the best.
Satisfactory
Dream Big, Build Bigger
Satisfactory
- Released
- September 10, 2024
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- Everyone 10+ / Fantasy Violence
- Developer(s)
- Coffee Stain Studios
- Genre(s)
- Simulation, Sandbox, Base Building, Open-World, Management
Satisfactory was also built in Unreal Engine 4, only to be transferred in 2023 to the newer UE5 during its Early Access period to great results. It is another game that doesn’t fully utilize everything the engine has to offer (limited Nanite use and no Lumen), but when searching for the most impressive showcases of the UE5's capabilities, Satisfactory surfaces more often than any other title and is often praised for its optimization.
Known for its robust factory-building mechanics in an open world, Satisfactory allows players to create absurdly complex mechanisms with thousands of independently moving parts. Even when handling massive builds on low to mid-end PCs, the game shows spectacular performance and has no hitches after long gameplay sessions, something too many UE5 games are guilty of.
ARC Raiders
Massive, Gorgeous Maps With No Drawbacks
ARC Raiders
- Released
- October 30, 2025
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- Teen / Violence, Blood
- Developer(s)
- Embark Studios
- Genre(s)
- Extraction, Shooter, Third-Person Shooter, Survival
Returning to Embark Studios, which has steadily become a major player in the industry, this season’s smash hit ARC Raiders is also powered by Unreal Engine 5, boasting gorgeous graphics coupled with great performance. To achieve that, just like in The Finals, the devs limit the use of Nanite and Lumen. Such a deliberate shortcut may not please every tech enthusiast, but when looking at the game’s steady performance on expansive maps hosting up to 21 players at once, the trade-off seems more than worth it.
What is most fascinating here is that Embark is currently one of the few studios that chooses performance over visual bells and whistles without hesitation, and ARC Raiders stands as the perfect illustration. Perhaps more developers should follow suit, choosing what works best for them rather than trying to squeeze in as many features straight out of the box with little afterthought.
Best Looking Games That Aren't Unreal Engine 5
While Unreal Engine 5 is known for producing stunning graphics, other engines are just as capable of realism in the right hands.