Over the years video games have become an excellent platform for storytelling, and naturally, the enemies and themes that appear in stories can appear on more than one occasion. When it comes to fantasy games there are quitea few classic tropesthat crop up from time to time and players will eventually start to experience a sort of deja vu, navigating the familiar terrain ofcreaturetypes.
Fantasy creatures and races are a dime a dozen, and they appear in many popular franchises from books such asThe Lord of the Rings,T.V. shows likeStranger Things,and of course,Dungeons & Dragonsthat have inspired many creators since its first iterations back in the 1970s.
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There are conventions surrounding protagonists such asFinal Fantasy’sfated Heroes of Light, to enemy types such as Zombies inLeft 4 Deadand Dragons inSkyrim. Some games have new takes on creatures such asTheLast of UsandThe Witcher,however, there aremany species of creatures and folklore that are unexplored, and maybe, just maybe, they are waiting to become iconic in their own right.
5Alicorn
The high achiever of the fantasy equestrian family takes both parts of what makes their cousins interesting,the Pegasus and Unicorn,and combines them into one resplendent package. A white horse with a horn with medicinal, healing properties and the flying capabilities of the Pegasus it’s confounding why such a creature’s mythology has not been explored.
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Their background is highly contested as some sources like Ancient Achaemenid Assyria texts deliberatewhether such hoofed beasts represent good or evil.With the recent release ofHogwarts Legacyandthe beast breedingin the game providing some more interesting ways of interacting with fantastical beasts (including unicorns), it may be interesting to see the Alicorn mythos explored more.
4Hags
Witches. Crones. Maidens. Mothers.Women of certain magical abilities appear throughout games and our common enemies and plot points for the player to interact with;whether to kill them or make deals with them.
When witches cross over to the fey realm inhabited by fey denizens such as elves, pixies and fairies (to name a famous few), hags are sometimes forgotten in the same breath. A proliferated idea in theDungeons & Dragonscommunity. The idea ofan evil witchmaking dark bargainsalways has potential for narrative plot points and could even feature heavily in afantasy karmic systema laMass EffectorinFamous Second Son.
3Golems
Creatures of earth and clay with a provenance found in Jewish mythology.Golems are protectors of their masters(their human creators) and are inscribed with Hebrew letters giving life to their lifeless form. Only a few depictions are seen in games, and sometimes they are just servants, background flavor or appear for one measly side quest like in the originalDragon Ageon theXbox.
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Unlike the usual henchmen or grunts that plague the monster hordes of yesteryear, the golem is a good alternative, and it has a built-in hierarchy system.Inventivein-game side questscould have the player discover that the golems are following the orders of an evil creator hellbent on destroying the world.
2Dragon Turtle
Perusing the lore of mythology, and in line with the recent uptick in Chinese games, there is a lot about eastern mythology that western games fail to delve into.Apart from the dragon, the phoenix and the white tiger, there is one more creature that is underrepresented:The Turtle.
There have been iterations of the turtle, sure, such as Freya’s house inGod of Warand the Lion TurtleinAvatar: The Last Airbender.However, the Dragon Turtle is its own specific thing.D&Dhas featuredthe Lion Turtle (or Lóngguī) as a giant creature with a shell the size of an island on its back;in traditional Chinese myth, this creature embodies courage, determination, fertility and power among many other aspects.
1Questing Beast
Taking it all the way back to Arthurian legend and the creatures the King fought on his many perilous journeys;depending on the iteration of the myth one reads. When Arthur Pendragon is not fighting Morgana La Fey or succumbing to fate at the hands of Mordred; he was fighting many beasts.
One is a chimeric creature: theQuesting Beast.A creature that might renew interest in chimaera-type enemies. Unlike the Manticore or the titularChimeraof Greece, theQuesting Beasthad the head of a snake, a leopard’s body, a lion’s back and a hart’s feet. A creature worth battling with spells and swords. One of its most recent iconic showcases was in theThrone Of Eldraineset inMagic: The Gathering,however, the creature deserves a headlining role (like a boss fight) all of its own.
