Best game engine to start with in 2026?

I’m getting into game development (mainly mobile & indie games) and I’m trying to choose a game engine.

Between engines like Godot, Unity, Unreal, LibGDX, etc:

Which one would you recommend today?

And why?

I’m mostly interested in 2D / 2.5D, good performance, and a smooth learning curve.

Thanks! 🙏