Complete C# Unity Developer 2D: Learn to Code Making Games – Course Review

Is It Worth Your Time, Energy, and Investment? Let’s Find Out.

Thinking about diving into game development but not sure where to start? You’re not alone. Thousands of aspiring devs type in “how to make 2D games with Unity” every day, and if you’ve landed on the Complete C# Unity Developer 2D course on Udemy, you’re probably wondering if it’s legit—or just another overhyped tutorial. Spoiler: It’s pretty legit, but let’s break it down so you can make the call for yourself.

Who’s This Course For?

This course attracts a wide crowd, including:

Total beginners who have never written a line of code in their lives.
Gamers who want to bring their game ideas to life.
Aspiring game developers looking to build a portfolio.
Self-taught coders wanting to apply C# in a real-world environment.
Designers who want to learn programming to build complete games.

In short, if you’ve got the dream to make games—and you’re willing to put in the work—this course is tailored for you.

Meet Your Instructors: The GameDev.tv Team

The course is brought to you by GameDev.tv, led by Ben Tristem and Rick Davidson. Ben is known for making even the most intimidating coding concepts approachable. Rick adds a ton of game industry insights from his experience at places like EA.

The teaching style is friendly, light-hearted, and beginner-focused. There’s a nice balance between coding, game theory, and fun challenges to keep things engaging.

What You’ll Learn: Game Development, Simplified

One of the best things about this course is how beginner-friendly it is. Whether you’ve never coded before or you’ve dabbled a little bit, you’ll find that it starts from the basics and builds up in a way that’s easy to follow. The course covers everything from setting up your Unity environment to creating full-fledged games.

Here’s a breakdown of what you’ll learn:

Unity Basics: You’ll begin by getting comfortable with the Unity interface, understanding how to navigate the environment, and how to set up projects. It’s an essential first step for anyone new to Unity.
C# Fundamentals: Unity uses C# for scripting, so you’ll learn the core concepts of C# like variables, loops, and functions. No prior programming experience is required—this course breaks it down step by step.
Game Mechanics: As you progress, you’ll start building simple games, such as a Pong clone and a 2D platformer. You’ll learn how to create player controls, collision detection, and how to make your game interactive and fun.
Physics and Movement: Unity’s 2D engine has its own physics system, and this course will help you understand how to use it to make games feel more realistic. From player movement to gravity, you’ll be coding and testing various mechanics.
Level Design and Scene Management: You’ll get hands-on experience in creating and managing different levels and game scenes, which are crucial for making games feel complete and polished.
Sound and Visuals: Adding the right sound effects and visual elements can make or break a game. This course teaches you how to integrate sounds, animations, and visual effects to enhance the player experience.

Course Structure & Format

Length: ~30 hours of video content
Format: Pre-recorded lectures, quizzes, downloadable resources, and community Q&A
Pace: Self-paced (take your time or grind through—your call)
Support: Active student community on Discord and Udemy’s Q&A

What You’ll Build

Here’s a taste of the kinds of games you’ll make:

Laser Defender: A space shooter with enemies, health systems, and sound FX
TileVania: A side-scrolling platformer with double jumps, coins, and level progression
Block Breaker: Inspired by classics like Arkanoid and Breakout

These are more than tutorials—they’re structured projects with real gameplay elements you can customize, remix, and show off.

Pros of the Course

✅ Beginner Friendly – Assumes zero coding knowledge.

✅ Step-by-Step Instruction – Each concept is explained clearly before moving on.

✅ Practical Projects – You’ll build actual games, not just code in a vacuum.

✅ Fun and Engaging – The instructors bring humor and energy to the lessons.

✅ Great Value – ~$15 on sale for a ton of content and reusable skills.

✅ Strong Community – Lots of help available through forums, Discord, and Udemy Q&A.

Cons of the Course

❌ Some Videos Are Dated – Unity gets updated frequently, so you might see slight UI differences.

❌ Not Advanced – If you already know C# or Unity, this will be too basic for you.

❌ Limited 3D Content – This is focused on 2D only. For 3D game dev, you’ll need a separate course.

❌ Not Instant Gratification – You’ll need to commit time and effort. No magic shortcuts here.

Pricing and Value for Money

The price of the course usually ranges from $15 to $25 when it’s on sale, which is an absolute bargain given the quality and depth of the content. For anyone interested in game development, it offers incredible value. You get lifetime access, so you can always return to the course as you progress in your development journey.

How It Compares to Other Courses

vs. Unity Learn (Free)

Unity Learn is a great resource, but it’s scattered. This course gives you structure, support, and fun projects. Great for folks who like a step-by-step guide.

vs. Coursera or edX Game Dev Courses

More academic, less practical. Those courses dive into theory, but this one’s about building games now. If you’re hands-on, GameDev.tv wins.

vs. GameDev.tv 3D Version

Both are excellent. Start with 2D if you’re new—it’s easier to grasp the basics. Move to 3D after if you want to expand your skills.

When compared to other Unity courses, this one stands out because of its practical approach. Other platforms, like Unity Learn, offer free resources but lack the same structured path and hands-on projects. Similarly, courses from GameDev.tv are good but might not have the same level of clarity and step-by-step progression that John Bura’s course provides.

For those considering whether to learn Unity or Unreal Engine, keep in mind that Unity is more accessible for beginners, especially if you’re interested in 2D game development. While Unreal Engine is powerful, it’s often better suited for 3D games and has a steeper learning curve.

Deep Dive: What Makes This Course Shine

Let’s go a little deeper into why people love this course and how it stacks up in practice—not just on the course landing page.

First off, the teaching style. A lot of beginner-friendly courses can feel either too hand-holdy or too vague. Not this one. Rick and Gary strike that perfect balance of explaining the “why” behind the “how.” For example, they don’t just show you how to make a player move; they dive into why Rigidbody2D and colliders behave a certain way in Unity’s physics engine. That deeper understanding really sets you up to build your own systems later.

Another major win? Gamification of the learning process. They structure the content like a video game itself—you level up from simple projects (like a basic laser shooter) to more complex games (like a tile-based RPG). Each lesson gives you just enough of a challenge to keep it fun, but not so much that you feel lost.

Oh, and let’s talk about community support. This course is linked to a super active Discord channel and a lively Q&A section on Udemy. Whether you’re stuck on a bug or just need someone to sanity-check your code logic, there’s usually someone around to help.

Now, a big worry beginners often have is: “What if I forget everything after the course?” Totally fair. That’s why it’s awesome that Rick and Gary encourage project repetition and personal twists. You’ll often hear them say, “Try tweaking this mechanic,” or “Why not add your own level design to this?” That encourages creative thinking and long-term retention.

Also worth noting: You’ll learn C# fundamentals in the context of actual use cases. So instead of just learning how a for loop works in isolation, you’ll apply it to, say, controlling a wave of enemies. This means you’re learning programming logic and Unity mechanics at the same time—super efficient.

Now, let’s address the elephant in the room: 2D vs 3D game development. Some folks might think starting with 2D is “too basic,” but here’s the truth: mastering 2D is the best foundation you can build before tackling the complexity of 3D. The skills you learn in this course—like player movement, animations, UI, and scene management—are all directly transferable.

Another area where this course really stands out is course pacing and layout. It’s broken into modules that can be tackled in 20- to 40-minute bursts. Perfect for busy people who can’t dedicate hours at a time. The shorter videos also mean you can easily find specific lessons when you need a quick refresher—no scrubbing through 2-hour marathons.

And while this course doesn’t promise you a game dev job at the end (because, let’s be real, no course should), it absolutely gives you the portfolio pieces and foundational knowledge to start freelancing, applying for internships, or building out your indie game portfolio.

Want to monetize your learning? The course even touches on topics like game publishing and where to go next—Unity Asset Store, itch.io, or even Steam (if you’re feeling bold). They don’t dive super deep into that, but they point you in the right direction.

One last highlight: frequent course updates. The world of Unity changes fast, and this course actually stays current. Whether it’s adapting to the new Unity Input System or fixing broken packages, you’re not stuck using outdated tools.

Final Verdict: Should You Take It?

If you’re an aspiring game developer who’s never coded before—or you’ve tried and failed to learn on your own—this course is a fantastic starting point. It’s clear, fun, and full of hands-on projects that will actually keep you motivated.

But if you’ve already got a few Unity games under your belt? You might want to skip ahead to intermediate or specialized topics.

Either way, this course has helped lots of students learn to code and build games. If you put in the time, it can do the same for you.

✅ Super beginner-friendly and fun
✅ Great projects to build and show off
✅ Awesome teaching style and pacing
❌ Not for advanced devs
❌ Slightly outdated in some areas

Ready to build games instead of just playing them? This might be your best first step.