There's been some great and interesting bad guys throughout gaming. Weird aliens, cryptic creations, and blood spilling warlords to name a few. But what about fungus? Well, in games, the probability of a mushroom being just a simple mushroom is pretty slim.
Deadly fungal based plagues, seemingly normal mushrooms given the thirst for blood, and spore based monsters the likes of which defy most description are just a few options when looking at mushroom driven enemies in video gaming. What of the cream of the fungal crop though? Here are the deadliest fungi in gaming.
10
Puff Stool - Pikmin
Seeing a giant mushroom on the horizon isn't a surprising thing in the world of Pikmin, but upon closer inspection the Puff Stool is an enemy that can really throw a wrench into your plan.
They are large, in relation to the Pikmin you control of course, faceless, and surprisingly sturdy for just a mushroom. They have the uncanny ability to release a cloud of spores that will turn your Pikmin against you. An unfortunate turn of events that can really catch you off-guard in your travels. Thankfully, throwing a handful of Pikmin can take these fungal creatures down.
9 Shrooms - Tiny Tina's Wonderlands
These little guys seem like something out of a fairytale at first. Little more than three foot tall, they really are quite cute. But, once they reveal rows of shark-like teeth and begin rushing you in numbers, you'll realize they're more out of a nightmare than anything.
Coming in a variety of enemy types, from spore lobbing ranged units to wizard-like enemy summoners, the Shrooms of Tiny Tina's board game adventure are not to be taken lightly. Especially when they show up in swarms in the later forest levels of the game.
8 The Mushroom Clan - Hollow Knight
In the tiny world of Hollow Knight, even the seemingly harmless creatures are out to get you. Mushrooms are no exception here.
Found in the Fungal Wastes, The Mushroom Clan make up a series of shroomy baddies that block your way from time to time. There is a varying power level among the clan, from the tiny Fungling to the heavy hitting Shrumal Ogre, these creatures that make up the Fungal Wastes harry your path from the moment you enter to the moment you leave.
7 Mushroom Heartless - Kingdom Hearts
Few enemies in the Kingdom Hearts series are as surprisingly difficult as the Mushroom Heartless. These guys look like mysterious little wizards in their bulging caps and long robe-like clothing. However, they really are a pain to deal with. Highly aggressive towards the player and their team, very sturdy to incoming attacks, and with their own mushroom related attacks that can really lower your health, these guys are not to be underestimated.
With some hard hitting attacks, or the right items, they can be taken out after a bit of effort. Which is quite nice since they drop the valuable Mystery Mold or Mystery Goo.
6 Paras - Pokemon
The bug-fungus hybrid Pokemon, that is Paras, and its evolution, Parasect are absolutely adorable, but boy do they pack a punch. This Gen. 1 Pokemon is one of the few mushroom type plant Pokemon in the series, with other notable mentions being Amoonguss and Shroomish.
Knowing this, they are one of the few Pokemon that can learn and use the Spore move, which can effectively put an opponent's Pokemon asleep upon a successful hit. It's not a very rare Pokemon, but given the right amount of training and proper move set, it can be an invaluable asset to any trainer's team.
5 Mushroom Men Spore Wars
Newly sentient, thanks to a mysterious meteor from outer-space, the everyday mushrooms that you could find in your backyard have banded together and formed various a society. Unfortunately, like any society, they have chosen to fight one another. The war that follows is gruesome, despite its size. The mushroom soldiers are incredibly resilient and pretty clever when it comes to making their own weapons.
Any sort of local trash or object small enough can be transformed to a deadly melee weapon given a bit of ingenuity. This takes them a step above a lot of other fungal enemies out there and many steps above any normal mushroom.
4 Custom Fungus - Plague Inc.
This end of the world pandemic game has plenty of options for spreading pestilence, both manmade and natural. One such overlooked plague type is the fungus option. While not as instantly fatal or infectious as some of the other plague options in the game, it does come with some "interesting benefits". It is far harder to spot than viral infections or more fatal diseases.
With evolutions like Hematophagy and Necrosis it can really up the rate of spread and fatality, wiping the world clean in a short amount of time.
3 Black Mold - Resident Evil
A seemingly normal mold from a cave in Eastern Europe. Thanks to it's rather interesting capabilities when combined with humans, it was weaponized by the Umbrella Corporation. Those the virus has infected may not find it fatal, but they will quickly realize just how much the fungus alters the host.
Various telekinetic properties, large bodily mutations, and increased resilience to damage are just some of the properties the Black Mold can give to its host upon prolonged contact. It is easy to see how this seemingly normal fungal growth could be weaponized and used to create some real havoc.
2 Goombas - Super Mario Series
The common foot soldier in Bowser's army, and the cause of many a dead plumber, truly there is no end in sight to these fungal monstrosities. They're menacing bulldog faces and squat bodies may be horrifying to behold, but they cover up a few glaring weaknesses. Armless, they have no way to attack other than if the player comes into direct contact with them from below or the side. Sadly, if that happens they are instantly fatal.
Thankfully, they are rather slow and not the brightest enemy, walking back and forth in simple patrol patterns. With a properly timed jump even the toughest Goomba is no might for Mario's prowess.
1 Cordyceps (The Last of Us Series)
The cause of one of the more gruesome zombie apocalypse games out there. The Cordyceps fungus made the wide jump from infecting ants to infecting people. Just a short breath of the poisonous spores or one bite from one of the prior infected is enough to infect you as well. It doesn't take long for said infection to take hold.
It doesn't take you long to come in contact with one of the more advanced infected and see the skull splitting reality that is the Cordyceps fungus before you realize just how horrifying it is.