Shadowy cult-like organizations, religious zealots, and warmongering aliens who see themselves as keepers of the faith are just a few examples of fictional religions depicted in video games. It's not that video game makers have a bone to pick with organized faith, but there's something truly sinister about an enemy that's rooted in radicalization. Think about it — fanatical members of an organization awash in their own piety will never see reason over their own truth.
In video games, religion isn't always bad, but sometimes it presents multi-layered villains who often view their own goals and deeds as heroic from a certain perspective. Some of the most prominent triple-A games on the market have employed the use of fictional religions in their respective narratives.
7 Church Of The Children Of The Atom - Fallout 3
The world of Fallout is driven by an alternate version of history where a devastating nuclear holocaust forced survivors into vaults, only to emerge much later. In Fallout 3, a famous town known as Megaton is built around an atomic bomb that never detonated during the Great War.
The Church of the Children of the Atom emerged in Megaton, thanks to zealots who preached of the power behind the atom bomb and its destructive force — and also its ability to enable creation. There's a fervent following in Megaton led by the church's leader, Confessor Cromwell. The Church of the Children of the Atom has a mighty interesting history that you can certainly dig into if you're interested in the lore.
6 Unitology - Dead Space
What's worse than worshipping a nuclear bomb? How about devoting oneself to a horrifying alien monolith that emits a genetic-altering signal, and turns living organisms into bloodthirsty monstrosities? In Dead Space, Unitologists ultimately aim to achieve Convergence — an event where beings affected by the marker are "made whole." Really, this means that human biomass is consumed and used to form Necromorphs.
Radicalized Unitologists revere Michael Altman, the first to discover the Black Marker, as a Messiah and martyr. Truth be told, he opposed the effects of the Marker, and was killed by conspirators who used his death to form the Church of Unitology.
5 The Founders - BioShock Infinite
As you may know well, the BioShock series is saturated in political philosophy, and BioShock Infinite is no different. In the floating city of Columbia, The Founders are considered a political group that propagandizes nationalism and xenophobia. As Booker DeWitt quickly finds out, the party is full of jingoist zealots who revere their own leader, Zachary Hale Comstock, as a god among men.
Clearly, this is more than a political party. It's truthfully a radicalized religious sect that targets its opponents with extreme prejudice. The Founders are named as such because they believe that they are abiding by the principles set by the Founding Fathers of the United States of America. This gives them the license to perpetrate racist and elitist attitudes in an effort to protect "what's theirs."
4 The Order - Silent Hill
Silent Hill is famous for the horrifying monstrosities that stalk the streets of the foggy town. While they may be a manifestation of a protagonist's psyche, we learn that the "real" monsters in these games are human by nature. The Order is a fanatical cult that represents the worst of humanity. In the first game, a figurehead for The Order, Dahlia, sacrificed her own daughter to birth a demonic entity into the world she perceived as divine.
In later titles, the cult is the perpetrator of the worst atrocities you might encounter throughout your journey in Silent Hill. In their quest to revive the "old ways," they kidnap, torture, and murder those who oppose them. There is plenty of lore behind this cult, dating back to the 17th century.
3 The Covenant - Halo
In the realm of sci-fi, we all know the Covenant. If you've played any of the Halo games, you've spent hours slaughtering their kind as Master Chief. The Covenant is a collective of alien races who are clearly militant when it comes to their own religious beliefs. They often revere the extinct Forerunners, the architects of the Halo Array, as divine. The Forerunners built Halo to combat the Flood, an alien parasitic plague that spreads rapidly causing mass extinction events.
Within the Covenant hierarchy, the collective is ruled by those designated as High Prophets. They have deemed humanity as "demons" and a threat to their way of life by the Hierarchs for simply being the species the Forerunners chose as the inheritors of their work. They often seek the destruction of humankind.
2 Los Illuminados - Resident Evil 4
Let's face it, there's nothing that sounds more "culty" than a religious order with a name that resembles the Illuminati. The Los Illuminados is led by Osmund Saddler, a perceived prophet who leads this religious order revolving around the Las Plagas parasite. In Resident Evil 4, Leon Kennedy is forced to contend with the Los Illuminados, and ultimately, Saddler himself.
Saddler saw the Plagas parasitic infection as a form of ascension, and he managed to refine the parasite into something controllable. He sought to infect the leadership of the U.S. by using the President's daughter to spread the infection, so that he could take control. Like other fictional video game religions such as Silent Hill's The Order, Los Illuminados has a lengthy history with practices worshiping the Plagas dating back nearly a millennium.
1 Golden Order Fundamentalism - Elden Ring
Throughout FromSoftware's collection of Soulsborne games, there have actually been numerous religious orders buried deep within the lore of the developer's titles. However, this particular religion, the Golden Order, can be found in their mega-hit, Elden Ring. The primary mascot for this religion is the Noble Goldmask, who can be found in Altus Plateau.
Elden Lord Radagon is the progenitor of Golden Order Fundamentalism. Famously, in Elden Ring lore, Radagon created the Erdtree, and as such he's perceived as a deity. They hinge their faith on an unseen power known as the Greater Will. Like most FromSoftware games, it's up to you to dive into the history and lore as presented in the game. However, if you're aiming to read more on Golden Order Fundamentalism and the Noble Goldmask, we've got you covered.