Skip to content
#5 in C++UdemyC++Paid courseBeginner levelCertificate

Unreal Engine 5 C++ The Ultimate Game Developer Course (Udemy.com)

Learn Unreal Engine 5 C++ Programming by Creating an Action-RPG Style Open World Game! With updates for 5.7!

Created by: Stephen Ulibarri

Last updated February 2026

Our take

Based on the ratings of 9,386 students and a sample of their written reviews, the syllabus, the course as of February 2026. No course pays to be reviewed.

Stephen Ulibarri's course builds one project across 53 hours and 238 lectures: an open world action RPG with a third person character, melee combat, patrolling enemies, breakable pots, treasure, and a Souls style dodge. It starts with an empty level and landscape work, moves through a math section on vectors and trigonometry, then into C++ classes for actors, pawns, characters and weapons. The stated audience, beginners to Unreal who already know some C++, is accurate. One reviewer coming from Unity calls it a good intro to the Unreal Editor, and a 4.7 rating over about 9,400 reviews is strong for a course this long.

Students praise the teaching most. Reviewers call the explanations clear and step by step, and one says the course taught them clean code habits, not just engine buttons. One student followed along in engine version 5.5 with no problems. The low-star reviews are consistent though. The videos were recorded in Unreal 5.1, Quixel Bridge has since moved to Fab, and some assets used are now paid, so early sections need workarounds. The February 2026 update added videos for newer engine versions but did not redo the whole course, and one reviewer says it feels inconsistent. Another found the four hour landscape section a slow start.

Value depends on patience. Only about 1 percent of ratings are one or two stars, but those reviews are recent and specific. One experienced student also notes the finished game is thin: one attack, no inventory, no quests. Fair, but this is a course on engine fundamentals, not a shippable RPG. If you know basic C++ and can tolerate version mismatches, it is a solid path into Unreal. If you want a course recorded on the current engine, the other UE5 C++ course on this list is worth comparing first.

Best forPeople who know basic C++ and want to learn Unreal by building one melee combat RPG project from an empty level to enemies and loot.
Skip it ifYou want videos recorded on the current engine, or a course that gets to C++ quickly instead of spending four hours on landscaping.

Pros

  • Explanations praised as clear and step by step, even by students new to Unreal
  • Teaches Unreal class hierarchy and coding practices, not just clicking through the editor
  • One project covers combat, enemy AI, Motion Warping, Niagara effects, Chaos destruction and a HUD
  • One Unity veteran calls it a good intro to the Unreal Editor and was relieved by how similar the two feel

Cons

  • Recorded in Unreal 5.1; Quixel Bridge moved to Fab and some assets are now paid, so early sections need workarounds
  • The 2026 update only patched individual videos, and one reviewer says the course feels inconsistent as a result
  • Finished game is thin after 53 hours: one attack, no inventory, no quests
Perfect course to learn C++ in context of UE and game dev programming. Instructor is very knowledgeable, and a very good teacher.
Jitender Singh, a student

Marked beginner, but that means new to Unreal, not to programming. Basic C++ or a similar language is required before starting.

icon
What you will learn

  • How to code games in Unreal Engine 5
  • An RPG action game with a third-person character
  • Combat with swords and other melee weapons
  • Creation of enemies that attack the player
  • Health bars and player stats
  • Unreal Engine 5's Open World system
  • Level design and creation of realistic scenes with Quixel Megascans
  • Motion Warping, Unreal Engine 5's new system for customized root motion animations
  • Particle effects like blood splatter and weapon trails
  • Unreal Engine 5's new MetaSounds system and high-quality sounds in game
  • Best coding practices for coding games in Unreal Engine 5
  • Use of data structures and algorithms for games
  • Design patterns used in Unreal Engine
  • Creation of multiple types of enemies, from humanoids wielding weapons to monsters and other creatures
  • Importing entire dungeon levels into our Open World map with Packed Level Instances

Course content

22 sections · 238 lectures · 53 hours of video 11 articles

  1. 1Getting Started 3 free previews8 lectures · 1.4 hours
  2. 2Realistic Landscapes19 lectures · 4.1 hours
  3. 3Vectors, Rotators, and Trigonometry10 lectures · 1.4 hours
  4. 4C++ in Unreal Engine6 lectures · 40 min
  5. 5The Actor Class10 lectures · 2.1 hours
  6. 6Moving Objects With Code13 lectures · 2.3 hours
  7. 7The Pawn Class13 lectures · 2.3 hours
  8. 8The Character Class9 lectures · 1.5 hours
  9. 9The Animation Blueprint6 lectures · 2.1 hours
  10. 10Collision and Overlaps6 lectures · 1.3 hours

Who it is for

The instructor says it suits

  • Beginners to Unreal Engine who have some understanding of the C++ programming language
  • Those who wish to get into game development in Unreal Engine
  • Those who wish to learn the new features of Unreal Engine 5
  • Anyone who wants to make their own games
  • Game developers who want to solidify their understanding of Unreal Engine
  • Those who are interested in making RPG Open World style games
  • Those who want to learn how to implement Souls-like combat mechanics

What you need before you start

  • Understanding of the basics of the C++ programming language or a similar language. If you took my course: Learn C++ for Game Development, you're good!

icon
Quality Score

No CourseDuck member has rated this course yet. Taken it? Give each part a thumbs up or down.

Content Quality
/
Video Quality
/
Qualified Instructor
/
Course Pace
/
Course Depth & Coverage
/

Overall Score : 94 / 100

icon
Course Description

Learn Unreal Engine 5 C++ Programming by Creating an Action-RPG Style Open World Game!

This course will take you from beginner to hero as we create everything in this course project from scratch. Learn Unreal Engine 5's new features from Open World maps, Quixel Bridge megascans for ultra-realistic environments, landscape sculpting and painting, dungeons, free-roaming creatures and humanoids with various weapons, breakable objects that spawn treasure, and more!

Slay your way through your open world level, hacking and slashing creatures, breaking pots and collecting treasure and souls, and try to keep your health and stamina high!

We will implement enemy behavior that can be reused for various creature types, including gruntlings, raptors, insects, and golems. Code your character to be able to pick up and equip better and better weapons as she slays stronger and stronger monsters and collects loot.

We will cover new Unreal Engine 5 features such as Motion Warping, Meta Sounds, Linked Anim Graphs, UE5's new retargeting system with IK Rigs and IK Retargeters, Leg IK with Control Rigs, visual effect creation in Niagara, and more!

We'll start with a completely empty level and add everything from sky and atmosphere, nature, trees and plants, and we'll even import an entire dungeon level with the use of UE5's new Packed Level Instance feature.

We will cover vectors and game development mathematics in a full math section to prepare you for gameplay programming before diving in and creating our first C++ class.

We will then learn Unreal Engine's class hierarchy, creating a basic Actor, learning about trigonometry as we use the sine function to give our items floating behavior.

We then create a Bird using the Pawn class so we can fly around our level and get a literal bird's-eye view.

We then create our Character class, using Echo from the Valley of the Ancient Epic-released free project, a beautiful and lifelike humanoid with cloth physics on her scarf and garments.

We implement weapon equipping and combat. We learn how to calculate directional hit reactions, using root motion animations to make our enemies stumble in the correct direction based on the direction of impact.

We give our enemies patrolling behavior, then chasing and attacking behavior. We make our enemies smarter with the use of UE5's new Motion Warping system, warping our enemy's location and rotation to make it hit the target more frequently, and making it harder to move out of harm's way.

We then give Echo a fighting chance, by implementing a dodge ability, similar to Dark Souls and Elden Ring. She can dodge out of the way while the enemy swings fervently, making them miss so we can move in to counter-attack.

We make breakable pots and vases using the Chaos destruction system, and these breakables spawn treasure when we break them, allowing us to collect loot and increment our gold count in the HUD.

We create a beautiful Soul effect in Niagara, and make enemies spawn souls upon death so we can gain experience points.

We learn how to make enemies stronger with an Attribute component, giving them varying levels of health and damage, and soul spawn counts.

We use UE5's new Animation Blueprint Templates to reuse all of our enemy code to create different types of enemies, from humanoids that wield weapons to creatures that bite, sting, and smash.

Get your RPG project started with this amazing course, which is the product of nearly a decade of professional Unreal Engine experience and teaching.

This course is in a whole new universe than the original UE4 version I created four years ago! Benefit from years of learning, teaching, and implementing Unreal's newly evolved system with its cutting-edge game creation capabilities!

This is my most well-taught course yet, and by far the most beautiful game project of all my courses on Udemy thus far.

Join me and let's have a ton of fun creating the start of an action RPG hack-and-slash Open World game in Unreal Engine 5!

icon
Udemy Discount

The discount is applied through our link. Open the course from here and Udemy's current promotional price is applied at checkout on most courses, no code to type.

Some courses are excluded from Udemy's promotions. If the price does not drop, clear your browser cookies and use the button again.

icon
Instructor Details

Stephen Ulibarri

When I earned my bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering, I was exposed to the world of programming. I was instantly hooked. I have a passion for game development and a love for creative problem solving. I have written and self-published a science fiction novel and love all things creative. I have experience assisting and tutoring in engineering, mathematics, physics, chemistry, and programming.

I have since gained professional industry experience in the world of surgical simulations. It is extremely rewarding and my passion is to pass on my knowledge so others can achieve a highly engaging and fun career as I have!

I enjoy biking, drawing, 3D-design, and procedural generation in video games. I am proud to have many talented game developers and students in my online community: Druid Mechanics.

I have also written and published a book on Unreal Engine C++ titled: Unreal Engine C++ The Ultimate Developers Handbook.

icon
More courses by Stephen Ulibarri

$139.99

$19.99

$119.99

$24.99

$89.99

$89.99

icon
More C++ courses

$174.99

$84.99

$139.99

$109.99

$84.99

$94.99

icon
Reviews

4.7

9,386 ratings on Udemy

Select a bar to show only those reviews.Select the bar again to show every rating.

By Bearwarden on 8/16/2026

Absolutely slammed it out of the park! This is THE ultimate starter course for anyone new to Unreal Engine. Stephen breaks everything down so clearly that even total beginners can follow along and build a full Action‑RPG from scratch. I went from zero to feeling confident in Blueprints, animation, combat, and game logic. If you're on the fence – just buy it. Best UE investment I've made. Huge thanks, Stephen!

By Aaron Banjoko on 6/28/2026

The instructor explains things well and as someone new to Unreal Engine I felt that he was explaining things well. But the title is misleading. After about 10% of the course so many sections needed workarounds due to it being deprecated. The input section, the mixamo conversion, even some selections with options in the engine. This needs to be updated or at the very least give the students a heads up that it may be deprecated in the description. I also feel like there is more backtracking the further you get into the course. At the start it was good to figure out how to do something on blueprints then do the same in C++, but later in the course he would show one way to do something in C++, then delete it to show another way, then delete that to show another way again which just causes unnecessary frustrations.

By 장준영 on 6/5/2026

As a beginner, I was worried it might be too difficult, but the step-by-step guidance made it so easy to follow. The instructor explains complex concepts in a very easy-to-understand way. I learned a lot from this course and feel much more confident using Unreal Engine now. Thank you for the amazing content! It’s perfect for beginners!

By David Ward on 5/25/2026

Throughout this course I felt involved, challenged, sometimes confused and even frustrated, but I asked questions in the discord and got answers usually within the hour if not within max 24 hours. After reaching the end of the course I am left with an overwhelming sense of joy and accomplishment. Stephen is an absolute master class teacher and has an extremely approachable personality. I entered Unreal feeling intimidated, lost, hopeless. After Stephen's teaching in this course, I feel far far more confident to not only recreate my own small game but to branch out, read and understand new Unreal documentation. This was not just a course on building a small game, it was a course on building the knowledge and confidence to experiment and explore Unreal. Thank you Stephen!

By Ron Hillel on 4/19/2026

This course exceeded my expectations in every way. The content was clear, well-structured, and easy to follow, even for more complex topics. I especially appreciated how practical the lessons were—I was able to apply what I learned immediately. Overall, a great experience and definitely worth it.

By Kelly Costner on 3/11/2026

I put a lot of time and effort into this and learned a lot because of it. I've really enjoyed what I've learned and I'm excited to continue my game dev journey building on this valuable knowledge and skills I've picked up. I love Stephen's teaching style, as it really works for my learning style. I'm excited to put what I've learned to use as a Game Dev, and I would love to check out more of his courses in the future.

By Ioan Ovidiu Cernei on 2/9/2026

As usual, I loved Stephen's course, this is probably my 3rd course I did from him, currently on my 5th. The pattern I see in general is that around the middle there's a heavy code section with refactoring, that can be very daunting, but get through it and the returns are worth it. Take it from a programmer with some 18 years of experience learning Unreal C++, refactoring is always a good thing, even if it's a bit tedious.

By Roger Soimosan on 1/7/2026

I have bought and watched several Unreal trainings: 12 on Gamedev.tv and 8 on Udemy. in my opinion this is the best thorough beginner training and covers well BOTH Blueprints and C++. Stephen Ullibari is a outstanding trainer ... to me. Also check his 107h course on GAS: it cover a full Diablo-like game. Roger from France, near Paris

By Dean Ellis on 12/30/2025

The course is great, Stephen is a good teacher, it's definitely worthwhile. There is some friction: a) when bridging older/newer UE capabilities he tends to refer you to external resources instead of updating the course; b) he sometimes answers questions with the "It works on my system" kind of thing, though other students usually fill that gap thankfully; and c) sometimes he will over-explain something that doesn't benefit from it, and then under-explain something that really needed more, but that is rare and not a big problem. Good stuff.

By Madhav Bhardwaj on 12/1/2025

Well, it was a heck of a journey. I thought 53 hours will take a couple months but then life happened and I completed it exactly on the last day of my 5th month on this course. Talking about the course, it's awesome for beginners. I had experience with developing games with C# in Unity but I'll consider myself as a beginner only. The course never really felt stale or repetitive, it covers vast areas of gamedev, enough to nudge you into the professional area of game development. The course language is simple, Stephen is a great instructor, Highly Recommended Course. Pro Tip: Dont copy and paste code side by side, watch 2-3 videos and try do the same thing after closing Udemy, you'll feel great.

Showing all 10 reviews on CourseDuck

Read all 9,386 reviews on Udemy