Eight years after its original release, Conan Exiles returns with an ambitious upgrade that trades its aging Unreal Engine 4 foundation for Unreal Engine 5. Rather than reinventing the experience, Conan Exiles Enhanced focuses squarely on modernizing its presentation, bringing the brutal survival sandbox into a visual space that finally feels aligned with current-generation expectations. Today, our main question isn’t whether Conan Exiles is still a good game. It is whether this overhaul is enough to make the world feel fresh again, and more importantly, whether it finally looks the part. In this review, we try the PC Steam version of Conan Exiles Enhanced and see how the brand-new engine gives it a fresh start.
The shift to Unreal Engine 5 is not subtle. From the moment you step back into the Exiled Lands, the difference is obvious, not because the game looks entirely new, but because it now feels more alive. Lighting is the biggest transformation. With dynamic global illumination replacing the flatter lighting of the original release, environments react naturally to the time of day. Sunlight spills across dunes with a convincing warmth, shadows stretch and soften realistically, and nighttime feels darker and more oppressive without relying on artificial contrast tricks. Interiors, caves, and dense jungle areas benefit the most, where light now behaves with a sense of physical presence rather than acting as a static overlay.
Geometry detail also sees a substantial improvement. Environments feel denser, with terrain, rock formations, and structures carrying far more depth than before. Instead of relying heavily on textures to fake detail, the world now has a stronger physicality to it. Surfaces look layered and tactile, especially in areas like ruins or rocky cliffs, where the added complexity makes exploration visually engaging even in familiar locations.
What truly benefits from the upgrade is the game’s atmosphere. Conan Exiles has always relied heavily on environmental storytelling, but the original visuals often held it back from fully selling that vision. With the new lighting system in place, different regions now carry a stronger identity. Desert zones feel harsh and exposed, with intense sunlight emphasizing their hostility. Jungle areas appear thicker and more humid, with light filtering through foliage in a way that adds depth and tension. Even previously unremarkable areas gain a sense of mood simply through improved shading and color balance.
Shadows, often a weak point in older builds, are sharper and more consistent across the board. They no longer flicker or degrade noticeably at a distance, which helps maintain immersion when moving through large open areas. Whilst we are on the topic of shadows, I think that the biggest missed opportunity by the developers is the lack of RTX when Unreal Engine 5 is fully capable of delivering it. Conan Exiles Enhances is a visual upgrade, and not adding RTX shadows is not acceptable by today’s standards. The lighting overhaul is impressive, but the absence of more advanced rendering options prevents Conan Exiles Enhanced from fully realizing its technical potential.
If I had to pick my favourite element in the visual upgrade, it would be easily the water. It is a treat to look at, as now it forms proper waves and reacts to enemies or your character moving inside it. Instead of large, blue water bodies, you now have properly reflecting rivers and water bodies that not only look good but also react well to changes. Trees and plants are also much more detailed now, with different plants looking exceptionally good. Thanks to thicker vegetation, enemies can now hide in forests much better than before.
Engine upgrades of this scale often come with performance concerns, but Conan Exiles Enhanced holds up better than I expected. Frame rates remain relatively stable across a range of settings, with smoother traversal through large environments compared to the original version. Load times are also improved, and moment-to-moment gameplay feels more consistent, particularly when moving between dense areas.
Apart from the visuals, there are some new additions to the game as well. Probably the most prominent one is the ability to travel between the two massive islands, which is now seamless. Instead of going back to the main menu and switching between the base game and the Isles of Siptah DLC, players can now travel seamlessly between the two maps. A little bit of progress is needed to unlock it, but it is now available for all DLC owners. The game also supports three solo character slots and allows you to craft and build right from the storage. An Enhanced Endowment slider is also part of the new addition.
With all this said, there are still some technical hiccups here and there. Minor stutters can still appear in complex scenes, and performance may dip in heavily built player areas or during intense environmental rendering. These issues are few and far between, but they’re noticeable enough to keep the upgrade from feeling completely seamless. Overall, the balance between visual fidelity and performance is handled well, arguably better than many similar UE5 transitions.
I tested Conan Exiles Enhanced on two of my main machines. My main desktop PC is equipped with a 9950x3d processor and a 5090 Astral GPU with 96 GB DDR5 RAM. The second was my work laptop, which is an MSI Cyborg 15 with a 13th Gen Intel i7 Processor and a 4060 8 GB laptop GPU with 16 GB DDR4 ram. The game performed optimally on both devices with absolutely no framerate dips or hiccups on my desktop on Ultra settings running on a 2K screen; however, on the laptop, the framerates dipped to about 30 on Ultra settings in foggy areas or near water. This is with DLSS set to 2X. On a similarly spec’d desktop PC, the game will run much better.
Apart from the visual improvements, Conan Exiles Enhanced doesn’t really have much on the improvements side. The most noticeable issue is visual inconsistency. While environments benefit significantly from the upgrade, character models, animations, and certain legacy assets don’t always match the new visual standard. This creates moments where the world looks modern, but the elements within it still feel rooted in an earlier generation.
Animations, in particular, can feel stiff when placed against the more dynamic lighting and detailed environments. Similarly, some textures and objects haven’t been reworked to the same degree, making the upgrade feel uneven in places. These inconsistencies don’t ruin the experience, but they do remind you that this is an enhancement, not a full remake. It’s important to be clear about what this upgrade is not. The core gameplay remains untouched. Systems, progression, combat, and survival mechanics are exactly as they were. If you had issues with the original game’s design, this visual design would not do much to change your mind now.
I think Conan Exiles Enhanced is best suited for two types of players: returning players who want a reason to revisit the game in a more modern form, and new players who will now get the best-looking version of the experience. Veterans expecting bigger changes or new systems may find the upgrade underwhelming, but for anyone interested in the world itself, this is easily the definitive version. It is also a free upgrade, so there is no harm in trying it out, and I am sure that even returning players would love to see their favourite in-game spots in a brand-new, greater detail. For what it is worth, Funcom and Inflexion Games have managed to breathe a fresh life into it.
Final Verdict:
Conan Exiles Enhanced doesn’t attempt to reinvent the game, and that is its biggest strength. By focusing entirely on upgrading its visuals, it delivers a cleaner, more immersive version of a familiar world without disrupting what made it work in the first place. The improvements aren’t perfect, and the occasional clash between old and new elements is hard to ignore. It may not feel like a new game, but it finally looks like one that came out recently. Whether you have tried Conan Exiles before casually or sunk hours into it, now is the right time to jump back into the game and experience it in a brand-new way.
Final Score: 8.5/10
Disclaimer: A PC Steam early access version of Conan Exiles Enhanced was provided by publisher Funcom for this review. Read our Review Policy.
