Summary
Video games are the perfect gateway to living all the fantasies anyone could ever want, whether it’sruling entire kingdoms, becoming a Jedi warrior, or shooting down hordes of aliens. But of all the enemies players may face, there is no greater feeling thantaking down a literal God.
There are plenty of games and experiences that offer the opportunity to battle mighty foes and gear up to take down intergalactic threats, but when things get Godlike, that’s when the real fun and challenge begins. Theseopen-world gamesoffer just that, as players have to use everything at their disposal to take down mighty deities and planet-sized entities.
The Gods have returned and it’s up to Nor Vanek to take back the world from the dead and banish the deities back to the Great Below. Described as a “Souls-lite” experience, it certainly rings true.Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn’scombat introduces more rhythm, as players switch between magic, melee, and gunfire to take down the vengeful Gods and their minions.
Movement and traversal feel crisp and rewarding, acting as a navigation tool but also a method of dispatching foes with style. And thankfully, players do not have to face the Gods alone; theirtrusted companion Enki,a sentient fox filled with knowledge and power provides Nor with the perfect partner for banishing the mighty foes that await.
Ahead of its time and straight into the hall of fame, Team Ico delivers one of the most memorable and unique gaming experiences that anyone can ever play inShadow of the Colossus. It’s haunting, it’s beautiful, and each encounter gives the feeling of felling a titanic God with precision and strategy.
It replaces quick combat with puzzle-like encounters, with each battle feeling distinct and providing a new challenge for even seasoned gamers.The storytelling is also second to none, being fairly minimal and yet deeply touching as players wrestle with the consequences of their actions, all in the pursuit of answers and resolution.
Not all Gods are spiritual. Some are created or born out of technology, morphing into artificial intelligence capable of wiping out entire civilizations with their influence. Hephaestus acts as this threat inHorizon Forbidden West, an AI gone rogue that adapts and creates near-endless threats and is almost God-like in its power.
Taking the term “deus ex machina” in its most literal sense, these artificial enemies provide a unique spin on what it means to take down a God, with Aloy defeating an interconnected network rather than a single individual. And with the looming threat of Nemesis on the horizon, the next installment in the series will surely up the ante in terms of God-like evil and destruction.
Final Fantasyhas always pushed limits with its spectacles and battles andFinal Fantasy 15is no different. The fights are personal and pair an emotional and gripping story with epic encounters that keep on giving in terms of difficulty and power.
Players traverse across Eos, taking down fearsome foes and building up to the ultimate fights that transcend the definitions of a battle into cinematic masterpieces that are worthy of the big screens. Noctis and his crew take on everything from lowly foot soldiers to massive Astral Gods, which can then be summoned into battle once they’re defeated.
Widely praised asthe greatest Metroidvaniaever created,Hollow Knighthas players dive into the deep depths of Hallownest, taking on powerful bug-like warriors and God-like beings like The Radiance.
Fights are about personal stamina, requiring precision and patience to take enemies down, with each divine entity offering a distinct battle that must be learned in order to master. With such a rich and intriguing world, players can search for hours and get lost in the caverns, exploring crystalline mineshafts and pulsating forests in search of answers and to quell the infection.
Praey for the Godsis very clearly inspired byShadow of the Colossus,where players enter a haunting frozen wasteland filled with giant, towering Gods that appear from the icy mists and must be conquered with careful mechanics and climbs that can only be described as mountainous.
It’s aneerie and elusive worldthat rewards careful exploration, and the cinematic nature of each fight is perfectly outlined by the surreal landscapes and atmosphere that oozes from the screen with every passing moment.
Azeroth is filled to the brim with God-like enemies ranging from gigantic eldritch horrors to angered kings of old, each of which bring entire parties together in the pursuit of victory. There is a vast list of nightmares and battles to conquer inWorld of Warcraftand, due to the game’svariety of classesand items, players can tackle each one with different characters for some added satisfaction.
What sets it apart is the immersion and experience. Entire areas are transformed into cinematic encounters, and each God acts not as a standalone fight but as an overarching lore component that affects the world in strange and mysterious ways.
After a decade and a half of crafting and perfecting the Soulslike genre,Elden Ringserves as the magnum opus of FromSoftware’s work,taking all their previous triumphsand combining them into a title of excellence and utterly flawless gameplay. Moving to a true open world allows even more lore and, of course, a long list of original deity-level enemies waiting to be conquered.
The Lands Between are littered with demi-gods and god-like bosses that put up more than just a fight, requiring dodging precision and pinpoint healing management to take down. By the end of a single playthrough, the player goes from a lowly maidenless knight to a God-killing unstoppable force that takes their rightful place on the Elden Throne and defies the Gods themselves.
