Conan Exiles Enhanced: Evaluating the Unreal Engine 5 Upgrade

Conan Exiles got my attention a while back when I first researched the game for a look at Gor roleplay in Second Life. As the Second Life Gorean community left, countless players migrated to Conan for its customization, complex gameplay systems, active modding community, and server options. So, exploring this title was an inevitable step for me to understand that massive player migration. Now, the recent engine upgrade to Unreal Engine 5 changes the game at a foundational level. Funcom delivered a major update, bringing modern rendering technologies to a mature survival experience.

The game first launched in Early Access in 2017, leading to a full release on May 8th, 2018. A console release followed later. Game studios rarely allocate extensive resources to update the core engine of existing products unless direct monetization is tied to the upgrade. So delivering an updated version featuring an advanced graphics engine, making it free for everyone who owns the game, and optimizing the core files is a massive positive step for the community. Giving a mature game a fresh coat of paint brings back old players in droves, a trend we noted in our recent WoW Midnight review. If you want to pick Conan Exiles Enhanced up for yourself, you can grab it directly from the Steam Store page.

The Impact of Global Illumination

From the moment you step back into the Exiled Lands, the environment feels alive. Dynamic global illumination replaces the older lighting mechanics. Environments react naturally to the time of day. Sunlight spills across dunes with a nice warmth. Nighttime feels oppressive without relying on artificial contrast tricks. The new lighting model profoundly impacts interiors, caves, thick jungles, and ancient ruins. Good lighting sets the mood for any genre, a graphical impact we also noted in Chandra’s Life is Strange: Double Exposure review.

Geometry detail receives a substantial improvement. The world possesses a strong physicality. Surfaces look layered and tactile, especially in areas like rocky cliffs or structural foundations. Environments feel packed with detail, with terrain, rock formations, building blocks, and foliage carrying profound depth. The visual fidelity aligns perfectly with the established art direction of the franchise.

Different regions now carry a stronger identity. Desert zones feel intensely hostile under the baking sun. Jungle areas appear exceptionally humid with light filtering through the canopy. Snowy peaks project a blinding reflection, and volcanic areas glow with an intimidating heat.

Architecture and Progression

In ancient antiquity, the construction of a Roman domus or the layout of a civitas depended on opus caementicium, a concrete compound combining volcanic ash and lime. This material allowed Roman engineers to build enduring structures that outlasted empires. Conan Exiles mirrors this architectural progression. You start with basic sandstone, harvest fresh wood, eventually construct hardened brick, and finish with steel reinforcements.

The most significant gameplay modification is the unification of the massive open-world maps. Players travel fluidly between the Exiled Lands and the Isle of Siptah using a new NPC-driven teleportation system. Your character retains all progress, levels, followers, and inventory during transit. This merger refreshes the multiplayer landscape, bringing an active population density that rivals the recent New World Aeternum relaunch (until Amazon announced they were closing it down). Servers can concurrently host the entire Conan population across both continents at once.

You will also experience updated companion management and taming systems. The mechanics for managing your followers have seen extensive refinement. The Purge system, where enemy factions attack your established bases, benefits from the new engine. The destruction physics and visual effects during these large-scale assaults look incredibly detailed.

Performance Metrics

Engine upgrades of this scale demand optimization. Conan Exiles Enhanced handles this transition effectively. Frame rates remain stable across a wide range of hardware configurations. Testing on maximum settings yields 80-90 FPS without utilizing upscaling algorithms. Lower and medium settings easily push performance into the triple digits.

Load times drop significantly, ensuring moment-to-moment gameplay feels consistent. Thanks to the inclusion of DLSS 3 and FSR 3, fast frame rates are achievable even at 4K resolutions. This optimization, combined with native Steam Deck support, makes the title accessible.

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About the Author: Jess

Jess is a gamer, writer, hobbyist developer, and virtual world business owner. She has built a brand based in gaming and virtual worlds over the past 5 years.

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