There are lots of reasons to incorporate gods into a video game. Need a fierce opponent for the player? Need a reason to give the player a quick boost? Trying to build a larger world and culture? Whatever the case, gods have an otherworldly, overwhelming presence that can serve a game world in any number of ways.
Love gods and goddesses (though usually goddesses) can be found throughout gaming franchises. Some of them pull gods from established mythology, while others invent entirely new characters. These love goddesses are not to be taken lightly, though – each and every one is capable of bringing down their wrath and is essential to the larger world they inhabit.
10 Nayru – The Legend of Zelda
Nayru is a Goddess from The Legend of Zelda franchise. She was one of the "Golden Goddesses" – the others were Farore, the Goddess of Courage, and Din, the Goddess of Power.
Nayru is usually known as the Goddess of Wisdom, but she is also considered a goddess of love. This trio of deities is worshipped for creating Hyrule (and the other realms of existence). The power of Nayru and her sisters makes up the "Golden Power" within the Triforce.
9 Aphrodite – Hades
Aphrodite is a familiar figure in Hades. She, like much of the game's content, is pulled out of Greek and Roman mythology. As the daughter of Zeus, Aphrodite is an often-underestimated goddess of love and beauty.
In this game, Aphrodite is especially significant for the boons which she provides to the player. Her abilities emphasize survivability, but she is one of the three gods of Olympus who do not appear in the first run. Players will have to wait until their second to earn her boons.
8 Freya – The Witcher
Freya is a nordic goddess who, like Aphrodite, appears in several video games. She is the goddess of love, fertility, and beauty and, in The Witcher, is worshipped especially in the Skellige Islands.
However, any woman, and anyone who works with nature (farmers, hunters, foresters, etc.), will often pray to Freya for aid or guidance. While a famous statue shows Freya as a pregnant woman, this goddess is also said to travel the land, and disguised as a cat no less!
7 Mythal – Dragon Age
Mythal is a member of the elven pantheon (known as the Evanuris) in Thedas. The Dalish – elves who maintain their cultural heritage – worship her as the goddess of love, motherhood, and justice. She is known by a number of titles, including "the Protector" and "the All-Mother."
Dragon imagery is commonly seen associated with Mythal, and she may appear as a dragon or as a woman with dragon features. Many of the other members of the elven pantheon are considered to be Mythal's children, and the stories portray her sometimes as a warm, maternal figure and other times as a vengeful, protective one.
6 Auriel – Diablo
Auriel is an Archangel of Hope from the High Heavens. She values love and compassion above all, in peace and in war. Even among chaos and strife, Auriel can find harmony; she works as a mediator, seeing the good in every side, every being, every conflict.
Auriel's voice leads the blissful choir of the High Heavens. When she has been locked up, humans are despondent and depressed, even though they have no idea she is trapped. Once freed, humanity becomes optimistic again, eager to continue.
5 Erollisi Marr – EverQuest
Erollisi Marr of EverQuest is known as "The Queen of Love." While her followers prefer peaceful solutions to problems, they also accept violence as a part of life. They will fight fiercely for the people, places, and things that they love, and would be honored to die in defense of them.
Many Paladins, Clerics, and Bards, in particular, revere her. Erollisi Marr has a brother, Mithaniel; together the two of them created the barbarians, and it's thought that humans only evolved out of barbarians thanks to Erollisi's influence.
4 Mara – The Elder Scrolls
The Imperial Pantheon is the most widespread religion in Tamriel. It consists of the "Nine Divines," including Mara. Mara is considered the mother goddess, the goddess of love and compassion, and (in Skyrim) the handmaiden of Kyne. Skyrim players become familiar with Mara because wearing her amulet is a sign that you are available to wed, and couples must then be married in her temple.
Depending on where in Tamriel one finds themself, Mara may have different features. In Morrowind, Mara is called Ama Nin. In some regions, she is thought to be married to Akatosh, while others believe she is married to Lorkhan.
3 Monika – Doki Doki Literature Club
While Monika isn't a goddess in the traditional sense, she's certainly the goddess of Doki Doki Literature Club (a visual novel dating simulator game). Monika is the president of the school's literature club, so she motivates lots of the activities that players participate in, like writing poems.
By the end, it's obvious how much control Monika has over the game world. Only breaking the fourth wall and deleting her file on your computer is enough to stop her machinations for good.
2 Lyssa – Guild Wars 2
Lyssa is one of "the Six" – a pantheon of human deities in Tyria. These deities all represent a number of things. Lyssa is said to represent (among other things) water, beauty, love, and illusion. As a result, many Mesmers pay special reverence to her.
Lyssa is said to be a figure of ultimate beauty who causes men to become so entranced that they die of thirst while staring at her statues. All the aspects of her are difficult to pin down, and Lyssa herself is just the same; she occasionally appears as not one goddess but as two twins named Illya and Lyss.
1 Venus – Assassin's Creed
In traditional mythology, Venus is the Roman counterpart to Aphrodite. In Assassin's Creed, she is an Isu – a member of a powerful race who created humanity. Isu eventually fought a war against humans and both sides suffered tremendous losses.
While humans were able to recover, Isu never substantially repopulated. Humanity continued to worship Isu as gods, so Venus (or Aphrodite) was prevalent in Greece and Rome during Assassin's Creed: Odyssey. Her statues in that game were based on the Venus Genetrix style, and certain items and places were said to be blessed by her.