The 25 Best Games Like ‘God of War’

Odyssey is credited with being one of the games that helped the long-running Assassin’s Creed series get out of its slump. It's an open-world game that takes place in Ancient Greece, which of course has links to Kratos' adventure. The combat here is a huge step up from previous AC games and should be fun to play if you like the way God of War handles its combat. As far as games like God of War go, this mythical take on historical warfare is a must-play pick.

Released in 2014, Bayonetta 2 is an action-adventure game with many hack and slash elements. You control Bayonetta, whose combat style is a great mix of melee and gunplay that’s fun to be creative with. In fact, you might even prefer the combat here to God of War. Be sure to take the first Bayonetta for a spin too, then transition over to Bayonetta 3 to get your full serving of hype melee combat.

That aforementioned combat in God of War is a massive selling point of the game and another game that you can find great joy in due to its combat system is Bloodborne. The similarities are there, plus Bloodborne, being an all-out RPG, is a little less forgiving, making for a harder challenge for many.

Many consider Dante's Inferno to be somewhat of a God of War rip-off, although that’s not quite a fair assessment. It is fair to say that the game borrows from God of War a lot, which might be exactly what you’re looking for here. The game reimagines Dante Alighieri as a Crusader Knight who must go through layers of hell to rescue his partner.

Although God of War has its fair share of tough boss fights, it wasn’t the kind of game that wanted you to get frustrated at it to make the reward that much sweeter. If you did like God of War's tougher moments though, feel free to take it up about fifty notches with the Dark Souls series. Soulslike games like this one will test you to your very limits as a gamer.

Here you play as War, who is known as one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. A lot of the enemies you fight here will give you God of War flashbacks. You’ll have to fight through hordes of these enemies with the goal of saving humanity as we know it. Hacking and slashing, solving puzzles, and moving through a world ravaged by mythical beings make Darksiders a perfect alternative for those on the lookout for games like God of War.

The Devil May Cry series and God of War have been compared to each other for many years, but throughout all of the comparisons by both fan bases, they’ve both held their own. This upgraded edition of the fifth Devil May Cry game embraces the series’ usual sword and gunplay that fans love from the series and brings back Vergil as a playable character that has access to his own set of unique combat tools.

This is the RPG that’s had the world in a chokehold for months now. Elden Ring takes some of the customizations that God of War allows to a new level. God of War let you adjust character weapons and armors and grow a skill tree, but Elden Ring lets you craft your own character from a basic template. Boss battles here are even tougher than God of War and a bit more rewarding when you complete them.

Far Cry Primal, as the name suggests, is set in the Stone Age. As a result, a lot of the combat here happens with melee weapons, which makes it feel a lot like God of War in some of those close-range, dangerous situations. Traversing the environment with that level of danger will give you flashbacks to being Kratos.

Combat and eccentric characters are one thing, but finding a game that could rival the story of God of War for its fans is a much harder task. It’s worth trying out the Final Fantasy VII Remake, though. The narrative is good enough that the different combat styles here won’t matter too much to you.

In Ghost of Tsushima, you become Jin Sakai, a Samurai who is on a mission that has him focused on protecting and defending his homeland from the invading Mongol Empire. Maneuvering throughout the beautiful, majestic open world here and slicing enemies in half with your sword is a feeling like no other. 

Like God of War, Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice also borrows heavily from Norse Mythology. This game is an underrated one, developed by a small team in Ninja Theory. The game does feature monster slaying, but there’s more than meets the eye too.

Horizon Zero Dawn is one of the better games released in the past few years. Just like God of War, you’ll use the shoulder buttons for combat. The environment is rich and feels alive at all times, often making it a challenge to get through. If you’re a fan of this game, you have Horizon Forbidden West to enjoy.

You might be able to tell from Immortals: Fenyx Rising's art style that it doesn’t take itself as seriously as God of War does, but the Greek mythology and ancient history here might just make up for that.

On paper, God of War and Spider-Man don't have much in common, but that doesn’t mean that fans of the former can’t enjoy the latter. Both games feature fun combat and engaging storylines that will appease hardcore fans of either franchise. Both games were in contention for Game of the Year in 2018, too.

Set a few years after the events of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, Revengeance features all of the action-packed fun that the series has been known for. This game’s close-up, gory combat will give you God of War flashbacks. Swinging a melee weapon through hordes of enemies feels good here. For gamers that get their kicks via melee-focused third-person games, Revengeance is one of the top picks for those searching for games like God of War.

Iceborne is an expansion for Monster Hunter: World and the new tools it introduces for players make it feel a little like God of War in places. There are a few different realms you can visit, too.

Developed by PlatinumGames and published by Square Enix, NieR:Automata is a game that will see you attempting to string violent combinations together in battles just like God of War. Most of these are androids and it definitely has hack and slash elements, but there are also elements from a bunch of other genres that all blend together to make it a worth God of War successor for you.

Nioh is an RPG that isn’t as unforgiving as Dark Souls or Elden Ring but will give players a good balance of challenge and reward. Or at least, it'll make the challenge easier to get through with how great everything else is.

Playing as Arthur Morgan in a time when outlaws were being outlawed is one of the most rewarding gaming experiences ever. It's not unusual for this game to be praised as the best of all time, with its dedication to detail and life-like characters that you feel real emotions for. This is a game you can truly sink your teeth into and escape in.

Lara Croft has been a staple in gaming for decades now, but 2015's Rise of the Tomb Raider is, impressively, regarded by many as the best game in the series. The combat, puzzles, platforming, and characters all really shine here and is the game that many Tomb Raider fans have been hoping for for a while.

Skyrim is of course one of the biggest and best open-world games ever made, so it doesn’t need an intro from me. Even if you’ve tried Skyrim before, if you haven’t played in the last few years, perhaps it’s worth a try with the new mod that actually lets you play as Kratos, albeit from the earlier God of War games.

The Last of Us is a great pick if you like God of War, especially if you enjoyed watching Kratos and Atreus' relationship evolve. Watching Joel and Ellie's growth both individually and with each other is one of the most gratifying experiences in gaming. If you do decide to play this game, it's worth waiting for the next-gen remake which arrives in September (2022). There’s also an incredible sequel waiting for you once you've beaten it, by the way.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt will especially appeal to God of War fans who liked the combat and mythological aspect of the gameplay. Some of the action moments aren’t as pronounced, but there is an extra focus on the story here that more than makes up for that. This game has been praised as one of the best RPGs of all time. 

If traversing the environment in God of War was your favorite part of that game, perhaps the latest main entry in the Uncharted series is for you. Nathan Drake's journey throughout the Naughty Dog games has been exciting and for many, it's the best series out there. Just like God of War, you can play this Uncharted game without the rest of the series and still enjoy it, but you’ll greatly benefit from checking out the previous trilogy.