#10 Hidden Blade – Assassin’s Creed
Not all weapons are so overt, some in fact are more deadly for the fact that your opponent never sees them coming. Case in point, the stealthy and ever so satisfying Hidden Blade from the Assassins Creed series.
An elegant weapon, the Hidden Blade is used to devastating effect from extremely close range. The spring-loaded blade is silent, exceedingly subtle and takes various forms depending on the time period in which the particular game is set.
The Assassin’s Creed series has found many ways to keep this weapon fresh and satisfying through its many iterations, from multi-takedowns, poison coatings and even duel wielding them, and its longevity is a testament to its design.
#9 Super Shotgun – Doom
They say you can tell how good a shooter is from how well its big, bad shotgun performs… Well, the Super Shotgun from the Doom series is just about as big and bad as they come, and is the benchmark for shotguns in gaming.
Capable of cutting the most hideous demons in half with its high caliber discharge, the Super Shotgun performs like a dream and is the nightmare of anyone on the receiving end.
It has appeared in almost every iteration of the Doom series, and the hefty BOOM of its report and the resulting satisfying SPLAT of its pellets finding its mark is like a direct feed of dopamine to a players brain, and it never gets old.
#8 High-Frequency Blade – Metal Gear Rising
High-frequency blades are wielded by many formidable foes in the Metal Gear universe, but it is the blade wielded by the cybernetic-ninja Raiden in Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, that this particular accolade goes to.
Vibrating constantly at a frequency so high that it causes the very molecules of whatever the blade touches to come apart, it is as capable of cleaving flesh as it is stone or steel.
In fact, the only thing capable of standing up to its touch is another HF blade, and it is in encounters with other wielders of such blades that some of the games most thrilling encounters occur.
These encounters occur at incredibly high speed, and leave the very environments they take place in slashed to ribbons.
7# BFG 9000 – Doom
The BFG is an intentionally over-powered weapon from the Doom series that utilizes Ardent energy to reduce even the largest and most ferocious demons to their component atoms.
It has appeared in various different incarnations, and the acronym “BFG” has stood for different things, depending on its appearance. In all cases, though, it is frightfully powerful and satisfying to wield.
The plasma projectile the BGF unleashes is generally a large green sphere that can be used to clear hallways of lesser foes or inflict crippling damage upon larger ones.
In fact, it is so powerful that in the recent Doom 2016, it can actually be used to interrupt boss attacks, stunning them and stopping them in their tracks.
Interestingly, in Doom 2016, The BFG 9000 itself seems to worshipped by the UAC, as the weapon is more heavily guarded even than the Doom Slayer’s sarcophagus.
The weapons awesome power and majesty inherently demands respect and firing it is almost a religious experience.
6# Lasergewehr – Wolfenstein
The Lasergewehr (literally “laser gun”) is a weapon developed by the Nazi’s in Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus as a heavy support weapon for their Super Soldiers.
It fires a sustained laser beam capable of incinerating foes or cutting through steel, as the situation requires.
In the hands of B.J. Blascowicz, the Lasergewehr has some drawbacks. In addition to slowing movement speed, the ugly, brute of a weapon has a short spin-up time before engaging, in a similar manner to convention miniguns.
Thankfully though, the power of the weapon more than makes up for these downsides and will leave broken bodies in its wake in a matter of heartbeats.
The fearsome weapon runs on electricity, and it requires the use of charging stations to replenish its power reserves. It is also especially effective against robotic enemies, making short work of foes like Zitadelle or Laserhund.
5# Plasma Cutter – Dead Space
The Plasma Cutter from the Dead Space series is an immensely useful cutting device, capable of cutting through steel or xenomorph limbs like a hot knife through butter, and at perfect and exact angles.
The coolest part of most of the weapons from the Dead Space series is their everyday utility; they are mostly repurposed mining tools, which become incredibly deadly when used against flesh-and-bone foes.
In addition, there is something so satisfying about lining up the perfect blast, bisecting and dissecting the alien creatures that are out for your blood, leaving them limbless and helpless before you, to be finished off at your leisure.
4# Needler – Halo
The Halo games have a plethora of interesting and unique weaponry, from the Energy Sword to the Storm Rifle, but it is the Needler that has been the most enduring, with the strange little weapon appearing in every game in the series to date.
The Needler fires shards of a crystalline substance that will home into organic targets which, when sufficient shards have found their mark, will super-combine and cause a small but devastating localized explosion very likely to kill, if not maim, its target.
The closest thing to fire and forget weapon system to be found during infantry engagements, UNSC forces have long feared this strange pink weapon, and make terminating their wielders a high priority.
Need some weaponry with a little more “oomph”? Be sure to check out our list of the 10 Most Powerful Weapons in Gaming.
#3 Leviathan Axe – God of War
Some video game weapons are just so effortlessly satisfying to use that to just wield them is pure pleasure. A prime example of this, is the fearsome Leviathan Axe, from the PS4 exclusive, God of War.
While Kratos’ iconic Chains of Chaos themselves are a fantastic weapon and worthy of a place on this list, the Leviathan Axe just has so much more utility, and the wizards at Sony Santa Monica designed a combat system that really let the wicked weapon shine.
Kratos is able to throw the Leviathan during combat at any point, but that’s only half the fun, as there is a dedicated face button to call it back to his hand, cleaving in half any foe foolish enough to stand in its path.
This means the Leviathan is in an incredibly adaptable weapon, and the rhythm of hacking, throwing and recalling it is deeply satisfying and one of the most memorable in modern gaming.
#2 Lancer – Gears of War
Nothing says Gears of War like the Mk 2 Lancer Assault Rifle, the devastatingly effective standard issue weapon of the COG armed forces.
This is conveyed suitably through both in-game lore and in actual gameplay, and the Lancer is a trusty companion in any situation. It’s tough, solid, and capable of bringing a world of hurt to Locust at short-to-medium range, and up close and personal.
The immediately identifiable Chainsaw Bayonet is a big part of why and is still, after all these years and multiple Gears games, just such an awesome concept.
There really is nothing like popping out of cover, revving this bad boy to life, and carving your way through a foe that strayed to close, in suitably bloody fashion.
The Gears series Active Reload system also plays a part, where tapping the reload button again during the animation at just the right moment will cause the action to finish quicker, and also give a boost of damage to the next few shots.
This gives combat a rhythm that just feels so, so good.
Honorable mention to the Longshot, a futuristic bolt-action rifle, and the Gnasher, a breech-loading shotgun that both particularly benefit from the Active Reload system, you can play through an entire game with these weapons and never get bored.
#1 Home-Run Bat – Super Smash Bros.
Perhaps the most fearsome weapon on this list, no other weapon in gaming is as reviled and respected as the Home-Run Bat, which is easily capable of decimating opponents and friendships both.
Its ability to one-hit KO any opponent, even at full health, is perfectly balanced by its long wind-up time. But even the most seasoned of Smash veterans have felt its bitter sting, simply by being in the wrong place at the worst possible time.
The Home-Run Bat is now an iconic weapon in the pantheon of Smash Bros. weaponry, and it deserves its place there.
But an honorable player will throw that cursed item off the nearest ledge available to them, or play without items on in the first place, as is right and proper.
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