This is a great engine for both non-programmers and more advanced users. The event sheet makes it very easy for anyone to pick it up and make a 2d game, but it shouldn't be underestimated-as it packs quite a punch.It has reusable functions and extensions with premade logic that make it easy to very quickly build and experiment with gameplay prototypes. This makes it a great prototyping tool for programmers. If you are a programmer, GD lets you write actual javascript straight inside the event sheet if you want to- with monaco code editor- being embedded.
Speaking of editors, gdevelop 5 can now be used to author the game sprites too- as piskel is now integrated into it. Animations with layers and a palette editor. I don't think even Construct3 has support for frames AND Layers in its sprites editor. Gdevelop is going further with editors too- there is a sound effects editor included too- very similar to BFXR. A full music tracker is planned for inclusion soon- making Gd5 a complete dev environment - for the whole team. It is near of becoming a fantasy console without limitations! You can export your games to both mobile and desktop targets and sell them with no royalties required.
Best of all - these technologies come together from a number of open source projects - completely owned by the community of users and free of charge. No hidden catch, no monthly or yearly subscriptions for the features you get- it's completely free. Unlike some of the other software out there, gdevelop will not ask you for subscription fees to make your game. There is no limitation on the number of events you can use in your game. If there is something that you want to change or add to the engine or the editor, you can actually change it- as the source code is right there- with GD you and your team are not at the mercy of a third party company. You own Gdevelop , for as long as you want to :)