Many games offer the power fantasy dream, where you play an unstoppable (or nearly unstoppable) force and are unleashed on a game world to wreak havoc. Many of these games nail this feeling, and players flock to them because it's a feeling that's nearly unavailable in real life. But what happens when a game takes things a step further?
In these next games, you're not just playing a power fantasy; you play so you can eventually become a god. We cover two types of games here, as these can appeal to different sets of players. Some of these titles allow you to strive to become a god and eventually achieve it, while others are from a genre known as “god games”, where you play as a god and must use your divine powers to help those who worship you.
Fit the 9 games into the grid.
Start
Fit the 9 games into the grid.
Pathfinder: Wrath Of The Righteous
Multiple Paths to Divinity
You may not start out as a god in Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous, but there are plenty of opportunities to transform your character into one after the game's climax. As a CRPG, WotR is about character building and narrative choices, and both play a role in your quest to achieve godhood. You might even be able to get some companions to join you in the pantheon.
5 RPGs with better companions than Baldur's Gate 3
Baldur's Gate 3 may have unforgettable companions, but these RPGs take character development and narrative effects to the next level.
Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous contains a variety of available “mythic paths” (hence the game's title), and almost all of them lead to celestial power of some kind. But to ascend to true divinity, you must progress through the game and achieve the secret ending, literally called “Ascension”. It's a long and complicated process, but as long as you don't follow the mythic paths of “Legend” or “Swarm-that-Walks”, you can achieve true divinity.
Okay
Restore nature as the sun goddess
Okay
- Released
-
September 19, 2006
At the other end of the spectrum, Okay starts you playing as the sun goddess Okami Ameterasu, who appears in the form of a white wolf. After the demon Orochi escapes his prison and curses the land of Nippon, Amaterasu and the artist Issun must restore their former glory using the Celestial Brush.
Using the Celestial Brush pauses the game, allowing you to draw on enemies or the environment in various ways by either moving the left analog stick, using motion controls, or waving your Wiimote or PlayStation Move wand if you're that crazy. By doing this, Amaterasu will gradually restore Nippon to its former glory and drive out Orochi and all the other demons along with him. It's not quite the level of omnipotent divinity that some players might be looking for, though Okay is still a classic that every gamer should experience at least once.
Divinity: Original Sin 2
It's right there in the title
About like Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous, some end in Divinity: Original Sin 2 lead your character towards divinity. The difference is that becoming the divine (aka a god) is the primary focus of the main quest throughout the game, rather than a secret alternate option unlocked through careful roleplay. The twist is that your entire party is technically fit to become the divine, but only one of you can claim the mantle.
As such, the drama is less about how you will become a god and more about how to convince your companions that it will be you who ascends, and not one of them. Or, maybe you think it should be one of them. It also works. While it's not a traditional CRPG, with a lot of tactics and turn-based combat (instead of the genre's “real-time with pause” standard), there's still plenty of opportunity for you to influence the story in both expected and unexpected ways. That should come as no surprise. After all, Divinity: Original Sin 2 was developed by Larian Studios, the team behind Baldur's Gate 3.
Black & White
One of the original god games
If you've ever wondered why Peter Molyneux continues to get money for gambling despite not making much recently, you can of course watch Fable as one reason, but the other is Black & White. It is in many ways a successor to Populous series, also directed by Molyneux, who many credit with creating the “god game” genre. But while Populous was impressive for its time (late 80s), Black & White takes things to another level.
Best Games Edited by Peter Molyneux, Ranked
Peter Molyneux has worked on some very well-known games over the years, and these are the best of them all.
You play the literal hand of God, ruling over a collection of tribes that populate several local islands. You expand each tribe's village, give tasks to villagers and defend against enemy attacks. Added to all of this is your creature, an anthropomorphic animal such as a tiger or a monkey that can perform various tasks in the village and has distinct strengths and weaknesses. Your creature will grow steadily as you evolve, learn and become stronger as a result. The coolest thing about Black & White is that you can approach divinity however you want, and the game will adapt to reflect that. If you want to be an evil god, the music will change to suit your villainous tendencies, and your temple will look more terrifying, while the reverse is true if you play as a benevolent god.
Megatons of rain
Become a superhero so powerful that you are God in all but name
It's not unusual for people to look at famous superheroes like Superman or Doctor Manhattan and notice how they blur the line between mortal being and god. They are so powerful, and the world is so completely at their mercy, that the difference between the two is quite minimal. That's exactly the kind of superhero you play as megatons of rain, a first-person VR game with a shocking degree of emergent gameplay and a dedication to offering pure, unlimited power fantasy.
As said superhero, your main goal is to defend the Earth from an alien invasion, use your powers to destroy their ships and prevent the destruction of human cities. But once you finish the main campaign, you will unlock the Free Roam mode. At this point, nothing is stopping you from just flying off and exploring the world. You can dive to the bottom of the ocean, fly into space and even leave the solar system. You cannot die from aliens, although during the campaign you can “lose” when the capital is destroyed. In Free Roam you are literally unstoppable and basically a god in all but name. The only way to “die” is to charge your most powerful attack and aim it at the ground, which will destroy the planet and trigger a hidden ending sequence.
Age of Mythology: Retold
Battle of the Gods
Instead of playing as the God, Age of Mythology: Retold casting you as one of many distinct gods from history. Whether you want to play as Zeus, Ra, Kronos or Odin, the option is there. The only catch is that you must then gather your forces and wage war against the armies of the other gods.
Age of Mythology Retold: All Cheats
These Age of Mythology: Retold cheats can be quite useful so check them out.
An RTS through and through, the god you choose will give a god power to use on the battlefield, from removing the fog of war to throwing down lightning (guess which god does that). Meanwhile, your units – both mythic and standard – fight against the opposing armies to gain a tactical advantage. The DLC expansions add more pantheons to explore, including Chinese, Japanese, and Aztec gods, giving you plenty of variety in the type of deity you want to play with.
From Dust
Manipulate the country itself
When Ubisoft was still willing to experiment with game design, they developed From dust, a god game with a significant twist. Instead of controlling your worshippers, their villages and the buildings there, you have control over the terrain itself, as well as certain subjects. For example, you can raise or lower the ground level, move water from the sea to a lake, or cool lava to make molten rock.
However, the terrain is not in your way. Natural disasters such as tsunamis and volcanic eruptions must be stopped if you want your tribe to survive. Even small-scale changes, such as water eroding surrounding soil, can affect the environment, which you need to anticipate and plan around. By completing missions, you unlock expanded abilities, which in turn unlock new ways to manipulate the terrain, while guiding your tribe closer to their goal. From Dust is a fascinating, unique god game that came and went without much fanfare, but if you're looking for something fresh in the genre, it's worth checking out.
Syntopia
Optimize the living world and the underworld
God games are almost always focused on the living world, but very rarely have an afterlife. Syntopia changing that dynamic. Although among your fellow demons you are not a god by any means, you still boast plenty of divine powers that would easily convince mortals that you are a divine being. That is, until you condemn them to the underworld for all eternity.
Instead of focusing solely on the world above, you must balance your attention between the living Humus and the souls of the damned below. The Underworld plays like a chaotic management sim where you create an efficient system to manage the sentencing of souls to their doom while planning for their inevitable resurrection. Meanwhile, the overworld is more about making sure your steady stream of incoming souls remains plentiful, using your “divine” powers to propel Humus in one direction or another with a well-placed flash or a well-timed inferno. Syntopia is a very unique game that will probably surprise you with its depth and complexity. There's a lot to unlock, and it all changes the tools at your disposal. What you do with these tools is up to you.
10 Best Open-World Games to Feel Like a God, Ranked
Some open world games aim for realism, while others are power fantasies that make players feel like OP gods.
