Shooters are great fun but sometimes you just want the satisfaction of fighting your opponents up close and personal. That's where melee weapons come in. Whether you play fantasy games like The Elder Scrolls or sci-fi shooters like Halo, it's a challenge not to find a melee weapon in a combat game.
But there will always be some weapons that stand out from the crowd, whether that's because of the damage they deal or simply the visual design of the weapon. Either way, the important thing is that it makes whoever is wielding it look cool and these melee weapons do exactly that.
10 Kingdom Key - Kingdom Hearts
Instantly recognizable even to those who haven't played the games, Sora's iconic keyblade is a staple of the Kingdom Hearts series and no doubt the coolest key in gaming. Even though it doesn't do amazing amounts of damage in all the games, it's got an aesthetic that is hard to beat.
But that aesthetic is also what holds it back from ranking any higher on this list as outside of the context of kingdom hearts the Kingdom Key stands out as a slightly strange or even ridiculous weapon.
9 Falchion - Fire Emblem Awakening
Wielded by many protagonists in the Fire Emblem series, the Falchion has gone through a few different designs over the years, but ultimately its form in the 3DS title Fire Emblem Awakening is its finest. Wielded by Chrom throughout the game, its unique design ensures it stands out even amongst the stunning character design of the series.
The biggest downside is that you never get to wield the blade as a player character, no matter what class you choose as it is restricted to Chrom. However, as you control all the units on the battlefield and Chrom is an essential character, it doesn't make a huge amount of difference.
8 Crowbar - Half-Life
If you've never heard of Half-Life then a crowbar might seem like an odd choice here, but the game's voiceless hero Gordon Freeman makes a convincing argument through his actions. Using the crowbar for anything from killing aliens to solving puzzles will make anyone feel cool.
Not to mention the satisfaction of putting everyone else's fancy weapons to shame when you match their swords with a humble crowbar. It's just a shame we've not had much chance to see it back in Gordon Freeman's hands in recent years.
7 Hidden Blade - Assassin's Creed
It's a series-defining weapon, you can't have an Assassin's Creed game without including the hidden blade in some way. Ever since 2007, this wrist-mounted killing machine has been an icon of gaming and has been the platform for everything from dual-hidden blades to wrist-mounted guns.
And while the recent switch to a more RPG-like style of gameplay has reduced the hidden blade's presence in the series, it's still one of the coolest melee weapons ever to feature in a game, which isn't bad for a tiny blade made for a stealth game.
6 Blade Arm - Prototype
Prototype is a huge open-world just waiting for players to wreak havoc with Alex Mercer's unstoppable powers. But while he has a huge variety of abilities available, it's hard to beat the blade arm that is so effective against his enemies - and let's face it, there aren't many things cooler than transforming your arm into a giant sword capable of destroying tanks and helicopters.
So while Prototype may seem a little edgy more than ten years on from its original release, it's safe to say Alex Mercer's blade arm has earned its place amongst gaming's coolest melee weapons.
5 Energy Sword - Halo
The energy sword of the Halo series is by far the deadliest melee weapon in any of the games with its ability to lunge towards its opponents and kill many of them in a single strike. It has featured in every Halo game in some form, although couldn't be wielded by the player in Halo: Combat Evolved.
But since Halo 2, the energy sword has been available to players both in the campaign and in multiplayer, although getting a hold of one in campaign mode first requires surviving being charged by the Elite that is wielding it, meaning anyone who has one has earned the right to look as cool as they do using it, especially if they killed that Elite with one of the worst weapons in the series.
4 Master Sword - The Legend of Zelda
The Legend of Zelda hasn't always offered much variety in its melee weapons, with only a few options available in each game until Breath of the Wild arrived. But one thing you can be sure of is that the Master Sword will be one of the options available to you. The purple hilt and silver blade are instantly recognizable no matter where you see them.
In fact, the Master Sword is so prolific that it even made its way into Skyrim when the game was ported to the Switch, and it's just as cool to use when you're the Dragonborn as it is when you are playing as Link.
3 Saw Cleaver - Bloodborne
The saw cleaver is one of the most recognizable weapons from Bloodborne and is actually available to you as a starting weapon in the game. But don't let its starter weapon status fool you, as the saw cleaver is far from weak. Able to transform into an extended cleaver for extra range, any hunter who wields it is sure to be a threat.
And as the saw cleaver's prominent position in nearly all of the game's promotional art proves, it always looks cool, even when it's not being used to slay the monsters of Yharnam.
2 Buster Sword - Final Fantasy 7
Being the most recognizable weapon of the entire Final Fantasy series is no easy feat, but Cloud's iconic Buster Sword from Final Fantasy 7 doesn't leave much room for anyone to argue. This gigantic blade is one of the best weapons in the game and is the very definition of the giant anime sword trope, yet somehow gets away with it regardless of whether you're playing the 1997 original or the 2020 remake.
Its simple design and absurd proportions come together to form one of the coolest swords in all of gaming history without trying to be particularly flashy. It's a weapon that just works, but even so, it's not quite the coolest melee weapon there is.
1 Leviathan Axe - God of War
When it was released in 2018, God of War got a huge amount of praise for being a game that got everything right - but ask anyone about the game if there's one feature that stands out to players, and that's the Leviathan Axe. A departure from Kratos's past weapons, the Leviathan Axe is unparalleled in the feeling it gives players when they use it.
Even just seeing someone use the Leviathan Axe is enough to get a sense of its power, and the way Kratos wields it throughout the game makes it a clear winner for the title of coolest melee weapon in gaming history - and possibly even the coolest ranged weapon given Kratos' love for throwing it at his enemies.