Trope or not, gods just end up being a common target for games about heroes escalating in power while fighting increasingly world-destroying consequences.
So, for each post, name a game and describe it, with the assumption being that every description automatically ends with the phrase:
“…and then it ends with you fighting a god.”
I haven’t seen it mentioned yet, but Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice is a great game…
I do agree on it being a great game, and she fights gods on her way to her final goal but
spoiler
she doesn’t really fight any gods though - it is all in her head
I found when they used that same device to explain the ending of Hellblade 2 really unsatisfying.which is a shame because I’d really enjoyed the journey.
That is a shame, I would have thought that she would have some measure of control after the events of the first game
Especially, since the burden she was carrying was lifted.
spoiler
I guess she has a severe case of the “blessing” that she disassociates with reality regularly and is unable to discern what is real and what is not as she lives a life of what she thinks is real as truth.
I guess I can see that happening without any form of medication or therapy and only having her own thoughts to live with after the traumatic events of her past
Morrowind
How can you kill a god? What a grand and intoxicating innocence.
I remember that the sound of his voice surprised me a lot, but I really like it. It honestly sounds a lot more normal than I would have expected - but I guess the voice is the difference between a god and a fake god!
Someone had to put it in a song https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=iR-K2rUP86M
And oblivion, and skyrim
There is an argument to be made that neither Dagoth Ur not the tribunal are strictly speaking “gods” by Elder Scrolls’ definitions. They have godlike powers thanks to the heart, but they are referred to as false gods by all the Deadric gods you interact with.
Heck, the main quest is basically Azura using you as her vessel to expose the falsity of the Tribunal’s claim to godhood.
Although, if you go one level deeper and you buy into Vivec actually achieving Chim, then it could be argued he is at least as godlike as Talos (who used his understanding of Chim to retcon the actual history of Tamriel). Which is another can of worms, because his godhood is also questioned and the whole reason his worship was outlawed in the white-gold concordant…
Oh Elder Scrolls lore, how I love your convoluted nature.
Xenoblade Chronicles
Technically you don’t, just a very powerful being who was allowed to powerful by an AI “god”.
Yeah, but you don’t find that out until later games. At the end of Chronicles, it certainly looks and feels like fighting a god.
The AI stated that it was an computer intelligence at the end of the first game. There’s even the cutscene of the project at one point showing what happened, with the computer having the same voice.
Hollow Knight is a game where you start out as a little bug discovering a bug’s nest. Then you unlock some secrets, find the secret true final boss, and next thing you know, it ends with you fighting a god.
Immortals Fenyx Rising
Most of the Dark Souls are like that, ain’t they? I’m too weak sauce to ever reach those levels, though. Black Myth Wukong has you starting Heaven’s entire army, so I guess that qualifies too (I’m assuming you end up fighting a god at the end, but again, I’m not worthy)
Monkey canonically kicks all the gods’ asses, but then loses to Buddha, who is not a god. That’s because instead of using force, Buddha preys on Monkey’s ego by giving him an unwinnable bet. And THEN Buddha drops a mountain on him.
Path of Exile has you clearing out the entire pantheon. Then the main campaign is over and you begin the post-game part, which is what actually matters.
Final Fantasy Legends!
The original Baldur’s Gate story (1 and 2 + expansions) begin with you being a barely trained orphan sent on an unexpected journey by your foster father…
Fantastic games. Irenicus while not the god boss you’re referring to, is my favourite villain ever.
Another Crab’s Treasure is a cute, fun, cartoony soulslike game where you play as a hermit crab whose shell has been stolen! He heads out on an adventure to get it back.
Persona 5 starts with you being transferred to a high school far from home in Tokyo due to being expelled…
I mean… Dark Souls is the game that essentially created this meme.
Your entire goal is to beat up God and take his place so you can keep things going as they’ve been going for an untold number of centuries. Though IMO that’s one of the bad endings; the good ending is ending the status quo and becoming a new, different god. A god a humanity instead of… Whatever the fuck the gods before were (they are separated from humanity, even though they look like humans) 🤷🏻♂️.
For a much older game… EarthBound. Starts off just being a quirky, modern day (modern day being the 90’s in this case) RPG; ends with you fighting a literal space god that looks vaguely like a fallopian tube.
I’m fairly sure the meme was popularized way back with old JRPGs; just that they tended to be the ones with long enough stories to gain that kind of path of progression.
Yeah if I had to take a guess shin megami tensei series (1987) is solidly in the “… And then you fight God”, but a lot games even earlier probably did the same.
Actual gods, or do self-proclaimed gods that are actually something else count?
Cuz if the latter, Final Fantasy 1 (same year, few months earlier) might be Patient Zero for killing “gods” in jRPGs.
I just checked, and Dragon Quest 2 released in January of the same year as both of those games and ends with you fighting Malroth, god of destruction. If anything is patient zero, it’s the Dragon Quest series.
Haha, I think it’s very likely there are even earlier examples than both of those. I debated counting final fantasy, and did not recall the final boss of Dragon Quest 2.
I think ultimately, Man v God is a story that’s existed for a looong time.
God of war?
I mean you fight all the Gods
And it starts with you fighting a God!
Pretty much any Final Fantasy game fits this to some extent.
- Divinity Original Sin
- Soul Reaver through to Legacy of Kain - Defiance (Elder God)
- Titan Quest
- Shin Megami Tensei
- Cat Quest
- Hades
- Smite
- Mortal Kombat?
