Video games are an incrediblemedium for storytellingand can invoke strong emotions when done correctly.
If you ask me, there’s a time and a place for everything, including games where you canlet your hair down and wipe out everythingthat moves.
If you want some great titles where the violence never ends, try these on for size.
10Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Oh Yeah, “That” Mission
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009)
Call of Dutycampaigns often resemble Michael Bay movies and areperfect when you just want to switch your brain offand mow down nameless bad guys.
Modern Warfare 2makes the list because it’s arguablythe series' peak. The introductory mission, “No Russian,” allows players to take part in a terrorist attack at an airport, and while killing civilians is optional,it’s chilling, to say the least.
What follows is an action-packed campaign where there’s never a dull moment. You visit locales all across the world, leaving a trail of dead bodies in your wake.
As you’d expect from the series, it’s full of cheesy bravado and high-budget thrills, and even the most miserable gamer will crack a smile.
The Seas Will Flow With Blood
Diablo 4is the latest installment in Blizzard Entertainment’s gritty Dungeon Crawler series.
Lilith, the Daughter of Hatred, has come to Sanctuary, and it’s up to you to stop her. You mustdefeat thousands of enemiesalong the way, and if the story doesn’t grab you, the promise of loot should do the trick.
Diablo 4is particularlygrim and bloody, and you’ll battle demons and hellspawn until you switch the game off. Even when you’re on a rescue mission, you usually have to kill the person you were attempting to save; it’s just how things are in Sanctuary!
Whether you’re a Sorcerer or prefer to turn your enemies into a paste as a Barbarian, you have work to do, and if you’re notstained with bloodby the end, you’re doing it wrong!
8Streets of Rage 4
Don’t Their Hands Get Tired?
Streets of Rage 4
TheStreets of Ragetrilogy on the Sega Genesis/Megadrive are beloved classics, and the latest installment proves thatthe genre still has a few tricks up its sleeves.
Streets of Rage 4is a fantasticside-scrolling beat-em-upwith anaddictive combat systemthat forces you to take risks. From the moment the game starts, you’re serving justice with your fists, and the action doesn’t relent until you reach the end credits.
Scores are determined by thelength of your combos, which is a superb way to encourage an aggressive playstyle. It also feels like a modernization to the genre that doesn’t spoil what makes the originals so great.
Streets of Rage 4is also pretty short and can be finished in just over an hour, making it ideal forshort play sessions.
7God of War Trilogy
Immortal Fury
God of War III
Kratos is a legendary video game protagonist who is most known forGod of War 2018andGod of War Ragnarok. These PlayStation classics are even available on Steam, but it’s the original trilogy we’re focusing on for this list.
The trilogy can be summed up as agrand story of revenge. Kratos, the son of Zeus, is tired of being betrayed and deceived by the Olympian Gods and is after payback.
Kratos' earlier adventures are full of dramatic set-pieces as he takes down the Gods one by one.Nothing survives long against Kratos’s unfettered rage, and the games are bloodbaths from start to finish.
One God even gets hiseyes gouged out, which should give you an idea of what our plucky antihero is capable of.
It would be ridiculous to say Kratos has “mellowed out,” but he’s arguably more reasonable in his latest outings.
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6Borderlands 2
Become A Vault Hunter
Borderlands 2
TheBorderlandsgames are all excellent looter shooters, and while you can’t go wrong with any of them,Borderlands 2has one of thebest antagonists in gaming.
Borderlands 2is set on the unruly planet of Pandora, full of Bandits, Psychos, and everything in between. Looter Shooters offer an addictive search for powerful gear, and the best way to get it on Pandora is tokill everything that moves.
There’s a pretty decent story inBorderlands 2, and it doesn’t detract from the combat. Most missions involve eliminating a target, and the ones that don’t are still often solved by shooting something.
TheBorderlandsseries ismarketed as having “87 Bazillion Guns,“and you have plenty of victims to test those on.
5Bulletstorm
It’s All About Style
Bulletstorm
I rarely see players talk aboutBulletstormthese days, but it’s asuperb First Person Shooterwith aunique twist.
If you’re simply shooting your opponents in the face, you’re doing it wrong. Instead,Bulletstormrewards you for dispatching your foes inthe most twisted ways possible.
You have a sci-fi Lasso you can use to grab enemies and toss them around the level. Everything is fair game, from drop-kicks off ledges to slamming into electric fences.
We care about points inBulletstorm, and thehighest scores are reserved for creative killerswho can chain these various punishments together. The funny part is that, despite the body count, the game is pretty lighthearted, and you can even play with friends.
4Doom (2016)
Rip And Tear
Doommarked atremendous return to formfor the series, catapulting what made the classics so beloved into the modern era.
If you’ve not played before, you’re simply known as the “Doom Slayer,” a space marineadept at killing demons. You’re a soldier of few words and solve every problem with bullets or a chainsaw.
In practice,Doomis one of thefastest-paced shootersaround. You can run rings around armies of hellspawn, which is handy, as you will face hundreds during your adventure.Doomisn’t afraid to show off gore either, with the graphic “Glory Kills,” which restores your health.
You can’t go wrong with the retroDoomtitles either, although you can spend a lot of time hopelessly lost if you’re not careful.
3Die Hard Trilogy
Yippee Ki-Yay
Die Hard Trilogy
Die Hard Trilogyon the PlayStation is an impressive pack ofthree smaller gamesof different genres. One for each movie.
We have a 3D shooter, an On-Rails shooter, and a driving game, and blasting bad guys is consistent throughout all of them. You willquickly rack up a body countno matter what you’re playing, and kills are surprisingly bloody.
People can even catch fire and walk a few yards before succumbing to their injuries, which is pretty morbid if you think about it!
The icing on the cake for many players isDie Hard with Vengeance, where you canmow down pedestriansusing your wipers to mop away the blood.
Die Hard Trilogyis a PlayStation classic and far more violent than the movies.
2Serious Sam
An Army Of One
Serious Sam Collection
If you want a shooter with non-stop violence where puzzle-solving and story take a back seat, I’ve got the series for you.
TheSerious Samgames are wonderfully fun first-person shooters with plenty of old-schoolBoomer Shootertropes. Thestory is practically non-existent, and the titles are propped up with satisfying shootouts against impossible odds.
Later levels feel more like grand arenas strung together, and I’m not exaggerating when I say you’re able to facewell over 100 enemies in a single battle.
Violence and gore seem to go hand in hand, butSerious Sammostly steers clear of the latter. Sure, there is some blood, but the focus is on high-octane action.
1Mortal Kombat
Violence Inspires Change
Mortal Kombat Trilogy
Mortal Kombat is arguably themost violent fighting game franchiseand is famous for doing something no other series has.
Back in 1993,Mortal Kombat was deemed so violent that it led to the creation of the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB). Before you history buffs jump down my throat, it’snot the sole title the ESRB was made for, but it’s undoubtedly the most high-profile.
As for the game itself,Mortal Kombathas always prided itself on gore and violence. InTekken, for example, you knock your opponents out. InMortal Kombat, you canrip their spines outor punch them so hard they turn into dust.
This is the part where you’d expect me to say “Mortal Kombat” was violent for its time, but no, it still holds up, and the level ofbrutality has only increasedover time.
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