Gods & Monsters is one of the most anticipated RPGs of 2020. In this game, you play a champion of the gods who must stand up to the epic beast Typhon. Fortunately, it's releasing early in the year, February 25, but that's still more than two months away. If you're jonesing for a mythological fix in the meantime, don't fear.
Greek mythology is one of the most popular themes in games, so there are plenty of options. Of course, not all of these games utilize the theme to best advantage, so we've chosen ten of the better ones that are insightful, fascinating, or, at least, enjoyable.
10 Kid Icarus
Kid Icarus is a classic platformer. And by classic, we mean frustrating. It's a challenging game that requires you to jump high and far to progress through the levels. As far as the Greek theming goes, it's fairly light.
The big bad is Medusa and the background has a somewhat classical appearance. Many of the enemies are generic and the hero, Pit, is supposedly an angel, not a child with crafted wings as in the mythology. But it captures an essential feeling of seeming mythological, so people should check out this classic NES game available for Nintendo Online.
9 Age of Mythology
In this exciting real-time strategy game, you pick one of three pantheons--Greek, Egyptian, or Norse--to champion. You create buildings and make units as fast as possible to defend yourself and conquer your enemies.
You can also upgrade through different ages, culminating in the age of mythology. Each culture has three major gods to choose from and numerous minor gods you can add each time you upgrade from one age to the next.
Each god gives you unique powers and units, giving Age of Mythology incredible variability and high replayability. If you've never played this game or if it's been awhile, it's worth revisiting. It's a bit fiddly compared to more modern RTS but still holds up overall.
8 Fight of Gods
In Fight of Gods, you pick a god to fight against another god in this 2D fighter. We are a little ashamed to put this entry on the list because it looks so bad. And many religious people might find it offensive because the cast of characters isn't just gods from ancient religions, but also many gods and prophets from the current world's leading religions.
The thing is, if you can just let yourself laugh at the ridiculous representations of the different gods, the gameplay is fun.
7 Zeus + Poseidon (Acropolis)
If you're looking for a city builder full of mythology, you might choose Caesar III if you like Roman mythology or Pharaoh if you like Egyptian mythology. But if you're looking for a Greek mythology city builder, then this is your best bet. This new title of the Steam release combines the Zeus: Master of Olympus and Poseidon: Master of Atlantis games.
These are classic games from the Silver Age of city builders when the tropes and concepts were refined to their full potential. The graphics may be primitive but the gameplay rivals any modern city builder.
6 Titan Quest
Titan Quest is an adventure game based on Greek mythology. This game falls into the gap between Diablo II and III. It plays like either one of these games: you move around the map and click on enemies to fight them.
You gain equipment, magic, and other supports that can be equipped on your character in a number of slots associated with hotkeys for quick use. The game was very popular and continues to get expansions and updates to this day, expanding beyond Greek mythology into other myth systems.
5 NyxQuest: Kindred Spirits
In this game, you play Nyx, a winged girl (recently referenced in Netflix's The Dragon Prince). Your titular quest is to recover Icarus, who has disappeared. Throughout the campaign, you will receive special powers from gods.
NyxQuest: Kindred Spirits combines some light action, platforming, and puzzle-solving to create an engaging experience that is fun and interesting on all the different platforms where it's been released, which is quite a few. Although it started on the Wii, it's since been released on PC and mobile devices, something the simple controls are well-suited for.
4 Apotheon
Apotheon is a stylish action platformer and does a better job than most games of incorporating the appearance of classical art into its gameplay. Played in 2D, Apotheon has the visual style of classical red-figure pottery. This gives the game a distinctive appearance.
The theme is that the gods have abandoned humans to their doom but the playable character can gain their powers to save humanity. The gameplay is enjoyable but the weakness of the classical style is that the appearance is fairly monotonous. If you can lose yourself in the quest, you will love Apotheon; if you don't, it might not be as interesting.
3 God of War (Series)
If you are looking for a big action game that draws from Greek mythology, look no further than this sprawling series of games. Introduced in 2005, God of War helped redefine what games could be like.
The combination of epic boss battles and intricate storylines that take Kratos through a full arc of character development rather than just skill development. Its massive success led to numerous expansions and revisions, for a total of eight games in the series. There are more than enough play hours in this series alone to keep you occupied.
2 Assassin's Creed: Odyssey
If you are looking for a game that is a spiritual predecessor to Gods & Monsters, you should play Assassin's Creed: Odyssey. Ubisoft is responsible for both titles, so Odyssey should provide some insight into how Gods & Monsters will work.
This action role-playing game pits your hero against mythological monsters and scheming cults. Set during the Peloponnesian War, you play both sides of the conflict in an attempt to unite your family.
1 Breath of the Wild
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is not technically a Greek-themed game. However, there are hints that this is the game that Gods & Monsters is actually trying to emulate.
Breath of the Wild's open-world and open-ended gameplay has made it one of the most beloved releases in recent years. It's been highly acclaimed by critics as well, winning numerous awards. And it's won extensive commercial success, too, selling nearly 15 million copies on the Switch alone to become the best-selling entry in The Legend of Zelda series. If you like Breath of the Wild, Ubisoft is probably hoping you will enjoy Gods & Monsters as well.