They say a story is only as strong as its antagonist. The same is true of video games. Some games live and die by the strength of their playable characters, but just as many put their focus on the bad guys. Even if you have the tightest controls and the most exciting, fluid gameplay, players won’t remember a fight if their opponent was boring and generic.
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Not every video game monster is an antagonist. Some of them are friendly, while others are passive creatures. No matter their role in the story, a good monster design can really elevate a work. Here are some of the best ever.
10Pokemon
Let’s get this one in right off of the bat.Pokemonis, to most people,thegame that comes to mind when it comes to monsters. It’s arguably the biggest video game franchise ever. With just under 900 species over 25 years, not every Pokemon is going to be a hit. But the ones that do hit the mark hit it hard.
Charizard, Pikachu, and Mewtwostole the hearts of every child in the ’90s with their simple, punchy designs. Debate on which generation is the best is constantly raging, but the newer installments have their standouts for sure. Just look at Dragapult, the supersonic-jet-slash-ancient-salamander-slash-dragon, or Snom, which is just plain cute.
9Shadow Of The Colossus
There’s only oneShadow of the Colossusgame, so it’s hard to call it a series. It’s still one of the biggest cult hits in gaming history, for a lot of reasons. The game has beautifully minimalist landscapes, an emotional story, andincredible boss fights.
The colossi are humongous, armored creatures, part organic and part mechanical. Next to no information is provided on the colossi – they don’t even have names. Some of them attack the player on sight, but others are peaceful. The final colossus is particularly amazing, a towering humanoid with the bottom half of a fortress.
8Bayonetta
Bayonetta’stitular protagonist is an eight-foot-tall witch with gun stilettos and hair that turns into dragons. That’s pretty hard to overshadow. You’d expect the enemies to turn everything up to eleven to not be forgotten. And that’s exactly what the Angels do.
The Hierarchy of Laguna draws its inspirations from Judeo-Christian descriptions of angels. Covered in gold armor with eerie, statue-like faces, they give off an uncanny sense of dread. Pictured above is Fortitudo, one of the most powerful angels. It takes the form of a huge two-headed wyvern with an upside-down human face for a shell.
7Kingdom Hearts
Kingdom Hearts' stock enemies, the Heartless, are extremely important to the franchise’s tangled lore. They are emotionless creatures that know nothing but the desire to devour hearts. Some appear naturally when darkness consumes a person’s heart. Others were created by Xehanort in a lab.
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Most Heartless have blank, black faces with glowing yellow eyes. Having to fill out the bestiary of many, many games and spinoffs meant the designers had to get pretty out there. They rangefrom the size of a catto multiple stories tall. Many Heartless can use magic, and some of them even fly through gummi space.
6Mother
TheMotherseries, known asEarthBoundoutside of Japan, has a modern-day setting. Without the typical dragons and hobgoblins, you have to be a bit more creative.EarthBoundfeatures angry ducks, piles of puke, and possessed circus tents as baddies.
The sequel,Mother 3, turns the weird dial even further. The villainous Pigmask army creates monsters called Chimeras. Chimeras are cyborg fusions of multiple animals with robot parts. Some of them are pretty creepy, like the Horsantula and the Rhinocerocket. The strongest of all, the Ultimate Chimera, appears inSuper Smash Bros.
5Castlevania
The beloved 2D hack-n-slash series takes most of its cues from classic horror. Makes sense, considering the main villain of the story is Dracula himself. Some of the most well-known baddies appear in almost every game. These include the Grim Reaper, Blood Skeletons, and those awful Medusa Heads.
Castlevania’s magnum opus,Symphony of the Night, has one of the creepiest bosses in gaming history. Legion is, put simply, a floating mass of zombies. Hitting it causes the animated corpses to fall off. It has a bizarre, tentacled core that shoots lasers as well.
4Monster Hunter
Much likePokemon, theMonster Hunterseries is only as strong as its cast of beasts. The creatures of the Old and New Worlds range from pretty standard dinosaurs to the truly bizarre.Monster Hunteralso takes a very grounded, scientific approach to its worldbuilding, so the ecosystems feel incredibly real.
The designers certainly aren’t afraid to go high-concept. Look at Shara Ishvalda. This enormous Elder Dragon takes cues from Hinduism and ancient Sumerian myth. Its face looks like aBalinesebarongmask, with creepy eyes that track the camera, not the player character.
3Silent Hill
MostSilent Hillmonsters represent something about the main character’s past and often deal with trauma or mental illness. Much of the encounters take place outside of grounded reality. This doesn’t stop the creatures from being uncomfortably visceral and disgusting to look at.
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Everyone knows Pyramid Head, one ofSilent Hill 2’s main antagonists and unofficial series mascot. It’s even appeared in other franchises likeDead By Daylight. ManySilent Hillencounters are mostly humanoid, like the Nurses. A few of them defy description. The Glutton, fromSilent Hill 3, is a barely visible twitching mass of flesh with two mouths.
2Dragon Quest
Akira Toriyama, the creator ofDragon Ball, designs the characters forDragon Quest. He’s mostly known for human characters, but monsters are arguably where he shines.
Dragon Questhas many iconic enemies, like goodybags, drackies, and hammerhoods. Each one has a small army of variations and their own personalities. The weakest enemy of all, the ever-present Slime, is the series mascot. It’s even got a handful of its own spinoff games. That’s pretty impressive for a raindrop with a face, no?
1Dark Souls
Dark Soulsis widely known for its crushing difficulty. Fans of the series will know it for its worldbuilding and lore. Every boss has its own lengthy backstory, and the game also pays its respects to gothic horror. Many of these baddies aren’t just there to provide a challenge, they’re aiming to give players the creeps.
Standout include the sly Basilisks, the startling Mimics, and the rare Deep Accursed. And, perhaps the most terrifying creations of all, Wheel Skeletons. Which are skeletons attached to wheels. They’rethe most frustrating enemiesin the game.
