Summary
One of the best things about video games is that they let every player adopt the perspective and form of some truly weird and fascinating creatures, no matter who they are. While sometimes it’s something as simple as a cat, often, games let player take control of mythical creatures instead.
Though mostly the domain of RPGs, there are loads of great games where players can embody a mythical creature and do as they please, whether it’s more familiar creatures like werewolves, or God-like beings from ancient lore. This list is ranked by the quality of the game and how good a representation it is of the mythical creature.
For a long time,The Elder Scrollsgames let players take control of a whole host of mythical creatures, but the deep lore said that there were plenty of people who could turn into werewolves, and players were yet to be given that privilege.
That all changed with the release ofThe Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim, where players, upon arriving in Windrun, discover almost immediately the werewolf cult masked as the Companions, this entry’s version of the Fighters Guild. Becoming a werewolf is a key part of their story, and,with some incredible mods, becomes one of the best ways to play the game.
TheinFamousgames have always toyed with the supernatural, primarily through elemental-based superpowers, but with each game, Insomniac grew ever more experimental, wondering just how far they could push the concept of superpowers. In some cases, that meant smoke and neon being the basis for superpowers. In others? Blood.
That’s the core conceit of the standalone DLC toinFamous 2,inFamous: Festival of Blood.The short but enjoyable romp sees Cole become a vampire and utilise a litany of new blood-based abilities in his quest to try and regain his humanity. It’s an overlooked part ofinFamoushistory, but ideal for gamers looking to play as a mythical creature.
In the mid-2010s, Ubisoft was placing more and more focus on their open-world games, but sometimes massive RPGs likeAssassin’s Creed: Odysseyare just too big, and they’re not very kid-friendly either. So, for younger gamers or those looking for a streamlined open-world experience,Immortals: Fenyx Risingwas the perfect choice to dive even further into the world of Greek mythology.
Not only is the game a great way to learn more about Greek mythology, but it also lets players become mythical creatures from those myths through a series of Metroidvania-style upgrades and abilities. It’s a surprisingly concise open-world game that’s ideal for gamers looking for a breath of fresh air in the saturated genre.
With the newOblivionremaster, many gamers are heading back to the idyllic lands of Cyrodiil to see the pastoral rolling fields and the majesty of Imperial City. However, within those forests lurk many a mythical creature to fight.
While players may have the opportunity to become one of the mythical Daedra later in the game (no spoilers here), they can also become vampires, contracting the curse by fighting others. This affliction has a lot of drawbacks andcan be tricky to cure, but if managed correctly, it can lead to a great foundation for a powerful build.
In most games, becoming a vampire is usually seen as a bad thing. After all, it usually means not going out during the day and having to feed constantly. However,The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowindis one of those special games that not only allows a player to become a vampire, becomingone of the deadliest creatures in Morrowind, but actively incentivizes it with a whole new questline.
The vampire lore inMorrowindis impressively deep, with different schools of vampires with different ideologies, all providing a variety of new questlines to help get a player familiar with their new affliction. In fact, some of the best story content in the game is through the vampire route, so it’s well worth checking out.
At its most fundamental level, an MMORPG promises that players can be whoever they want to be, whenever they want to be them. Obviously, there are limits to that, but it’s a design philosophy that influences every MMORPG in some way, including the biggest of them all,World of Warcraft.
Not only can players start with a variety of baseline mythical creature species, but a druid can transform into mythical creatures, different items can transform players into dragons, and the Worgen is essentially one big werewolf roleplay path for those interested.
EveryFinal Fantasygame has a theme of some sort, whether it’s techno-futuristic or classical fantasy, but one of the most prominent recurring motifs is the Gods of the world that impact almost every story in interesting ways. Yet, none essentialised the Gods quite as much asFinal Fantasy 16.
InFinal Fantasy 16, it becomes clear that Clive, the player protagonist, can transform into Eikons, personifications of the very Gods. In fact,acquiring every Eikonis basically the entire structure of the game. These moments are wild and often lead to bombastic, over-the-top giant monster fights where players really feel the power of embodying a mythical creature of ancient lore.
Sometimes, a game handles it’s subject matter so well that it paralyzes the competition, and few games even attempt to compete. In the case of vampire games,Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlinesremains unbeaten as the ultimate vampire RPG, to the point that many other studios haven’t even tried.
Not only does the game have famously great writing,a roster of incredible characters, and a deep attention to the lore, culture, and ideologies of vampires, but it also fulfils the fantasy of being a vampire better than any other game. It’s the ultimate simulator for becoming a mythical creature that remains unbeaten to this day.
