For this particular list, I’ll be going into games from Norse, Greek, Egyptian, and Japanese Mythology! I’ll also break up the list into sections to group the different mythological games. Enjoy!
Norse Mythos:
15. God of War (2018 edition) (PS4 exclusive)
Gameplay:
Oh, how I wish I had a PS4 so I can have this game! Our boy Kratos returns to the God of War series as a sort of “remake” to the game, now in Norway and focusing on the Norse as opposed to the Greek gods. Though there are some inaccuracies in it, (Freya is not Baldur’s mother - Frigg is) the game has received an intense amount of love! I never played the original God of War games, but I want SO BADLY to play this one! One of these days, I pray to the gods that I will have the chance to get one and finally get to play this gorgeous, gorgeous game!
14. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla (Windows, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One)
Gameplay:
Be prepared for many Assassin’s Creed games, and I have no shame about it. Here, you play as a Viking as he and his sister explore the world of ancient England in an attempt to spread their Norwegian empire. You get revenge, empire building, and explore the world of Asgard and the Æsir! My favorite part is when Loki reveals he has an unusual offspring - the wolf Fenrir!
13. Jotun (PS4, Xbox One, Linux, Windows, Stadia, WiiU, Mac, Switch)
Gameplay:
This game is absolutely beautiful! It’s hand-drawn which makes me think of old Disney movies and their gorgeous hand-drawn movies! You get to play as a badass warrior lady fighting for the GLORY OF ASGARD AS YOU EARN YOUR PLACE IN VALHALLA against the FEARSOME JOTUNS that are the ONLY THINGS standing between YOU and the GLORIES OF VALHALLA! It’s certainly a great adventure!
12. Skyrim (Xbox360, Xbox One, PS4, Switch, Windows, Linux, PS3, Xbox Series)
Gameplay:
This game has been around since I was in middle school! The amount of hours I’ve put into it in the past year on just my switch is probably 400 hours. This isn’t even accounting for my old Xbox 360! It’s an addictive game that even without quests, you can have fun running around raiding dungeons, fighting dragons, and stuff like that! You of course also get to giggle over the Skyrim means you’ve probably heard for years like “What? Someone stole your sweet roll?” or the infamous “arrow to the knee”. Also even with the old graphics, the game can be truly beautiful! I often take snapshots on my switch of the scenery, especially at night! And we can’t discuss Skyrim without discussing the connections to Vikings and Viking Mythos. From Sovngard being symbolic of Valhalla, the aedra, and Daedra being connected to the Æsir, to Viking culture being slipped in here and there including my favorite thing - dragons. It's super fun and one of my favorite games I’ve ever played and one I’ll likely never stop playing.
11. Northgard (Android, Switch, PS4, Xbox One, Windows, Mac, Linux)
Gameplay:
A goofy, fun little strategy game but with Vikings! Time to fight to take over your continent! I honestly don’t really like strategy games, but this is one of the sides of strategy games I like a lot! Not to mention you get dragons. And dragons make EVERYTHING better!
Greek Mythos:
10. Assassin’s Creed Odyssey (PS4, Xbox One, Switch, Windows, Stadia, Amazon Luna)
Gameplay:
Continuing my obsession with Assassin’s Creed, we start our Greek Mythos games with Odyssey - a reference to the play by Homer which I prefer to the Iliad! This game is the predecessor of Origins and takes place during the Peloponnesian War. You can play as either Kassandra or Alexios. (Though only 1/3rd of players choose her, I’d choose her only because it reminds me of the same Kassandra from the Iliad - the Trojan princess. But I think that’s a choice you’d make as a history/classics nerd) You can, of course, meet other historical figures like Greek philosophers. And, you get the chance to have same-sex romance as either Alexios or Kassandra, and, as you may know, if you read my other articles, gay stuff makes everything better to me.
9. Hades (Switch, Windows, mac, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series)
Gameplay:
This one follows the story of Zagreus, the son of Hades, who tries to escape the Underworld to reunite with his mother, Persephone. The game acts as a sort of retelling of the traditional stories of Hades and Persephone as well as the birth of Zagreus. The game itself is a dungeon crawler battle game where you have to fight against Hades along the way and meet/connect with some of the Olympic gods along the way which is nice for me because it means I get to simp over Dionysus and Aphrodite and gush over how cute Hades and Persephone are!
8. Kid Icarus (3DS, NES, GameBoy Advance)
Gameplay:
So this is a much older game that I’ll admit I don’t have much experience with other than playing as Pitt in Super Smash. So, this description will be focused more on the newer game from the 3DS. This particular game has many references to actual Greek Mythos with figures like Medusa, Poseidon, and Thanatos. It’s certainly far from myth accurate, but I try not to judge how good a game around mythologies is on myth accuracy because sometimes you gotta twist them around a little bit to make a more interesting game which I understand!
7. Okhlos (Windows, Mac, iOS)
Gameplay:
In this particular game, you get to do one of my favorite things - rioting and overthrowing an oppressive government! Or in this case, oppressive gods. This takes more of an Ovid view of the gods that they are harsh and cruel to humans. At first, the good people of Greece praise and worship their gods as any good citizen would when being ruled by all-powerful beings. But after your character (a philosopher) witnesses just how cruel the gods can be, they begin their plan to rally the people and overthrow the gods! Yeah, down with the man!
Egyptian Mythos:
6. Assassin’s Creed Origin (Windows, PS4, Xbox One, Stadia)
Gameplay:
Welcome back to this episode of “I’m obsessed with Assassin’s Creed”. On this particular adventure, we start our mini list of games around ancient Egypt. In this particular game, we get to experience Ptolemaic Egypt and the struggles of Ptolemy XIII against his sister, Cleopatra. Now she is a woman that commands power, no matter how much the history books try to twist her. This game, as the name implies, acts as a precursor to the Brotherhood of Assassins and explains the origins of the group. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go be a simp for Cleopatra.
5. Kamigami No Asobi (PSP, PS Vita)
Gameplay:
So this game may be one where my readers will have a harder time getting to it. Frankly, I don’t know a single person that still has a PSP. But, even if you don’t have one of these old-school handhelds that were ahead of their time, you can still watch the anime! This game is one of the sillier ones on this list as it plays as a dating sim but with gods. There are lots of gods between the Greek and Norse, but the ones I’ve always heard about when this game is brought up are the Egyptian ones - Thoth and Anubis. Anubis tends to get more attention, but hey, Thoth isn’t bad on the eyes either. I’m just saying! As I said, this game may be a bit tougher to access but even if you can’t get your hands on it, you still have access to it in anime form!
Japanese Mythos:
4. Okami (Wii, Windows, PS4, Switch, PS3, PS2, Xbox One)
Gameplay:
Oh my gosh, we’re coming in hot here with another one of my favorite games - Okami. It is a beautiful style meant to resemble Japanese brush paintings and tells the story of the sun goddess Amaterasu in the form of a white wolf trying to regain her power amongst the humans. This game is chock full of Japanese myths like Kaguya, Momotarō and Oni Island, the Jorogumo, and the tale of Orochi. (No, not Orochimaru; just Orochi) It’s not your traditional myth, but I LOVE IT! I’ve replayed this game at least 10 times now! It’s so fun and includes lots of little bits of references to Japanese mythology! While I LOVE Okami Amaterasu, there is a teeny-tiny part of me that wishes they hadn’t used her, considering Amaterasu isn’t…well…a wolf. Or at least included the myth where Amaterasu hid in a cave and was drawn back out by the dawn goddess doing a strip dance. Yes, that is a real story.
3. Nioh (PS4, PS5, windows)
Gameplay:
This game is a dark fantasy game set during the 1600s and Japan’s late Sengoku period. The clans are at war and as they fight amongst themselves, Yōkai (Japanese demons) begin to attack the humans and raise the death toll. This is when an Irishman comes to Japan to follow an enemy. He’s trained in combat and allies to attack the yōkai and follow his enemy who’s under the orders of John Dee, the…the advisor to Queen Elizabeth. Now, I could go on and on about the fact we’re having a white man as your main character in 1600s japan a little before the Edo period and the time of Japan’s isolation era, but I’ll be kind and still say it is a beautiful game that like Assassin’s Creed, brings in many historical figures of the era. Which, I will say, is pretty cool considering I don’t often see games that focus on Japanese history. Granted, I’m not saying there aren’t any, I just don’t see them very often!
2. Ghost of Tsushima (PS4, PS5)
Gameplay:
Now I can talk about a game similar to Nioh in regards to it being a combat action-adventure game, but here we have an actual Japanese protagonist. This game takes place in 1274 during the Mongol invasion of Japan by Khotun Khan. The main character, Jin Sakai, has to change his method of fighting by going through the world and learning new fighting styles, and gathering allies. Of course with most games like these, you can play the main quest and side games as well. (I get tired from side games though, and prefer the main plot) It is a truly GORGEOUS game! I love the landscape and how gorgeous it is! I’m an absolute nerd for things like that and when games include historical events. It’s truly gorgeous!
1. Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin (Switch, PS4, windows)
Gameplay:
The game follows princess Sakuna, a young goddess that has to watch over a group of humans while they try to survive the Island of Demons. It’s Sakuna’s job to protect these humans and defeat the demons so the humans can be sent to their world and the gods can restore peace to their realm as well. It’s a super cute game that kind of reminds me of a modernized version of Okami in terms of style and story. Little Sakuna is so cute and as I’ve said before, the landscape is so beautiful which is always one of my favorite parts of a game! If you love Okami, you’ll probably love Sakuna!
