Almost every video game ever engages players by throwing conflicts at them, and in order to handle the situation, players make use of weapons, some of which can be unique. This is one of the few points in game design that brings out the fun and whimsy of the developers.
So, below we have made a list of some of these iconic and unique weapons throughout video game history that always come up in discussion.
Important And Unique Weapons in Video Games
Portal Gun (Portal)
What better way to start discussions about some of the most unique weapons in video gaming history than to talk about the all-time favorite Portal Gun? Or, as it is called in the game, the Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device.
Players are able to use the portal gun to literally do what the name suggests, create portals anywhere they aim and shoot. The weapon was revolutionary for when it originally came out, as we are talking about a time when video game loadtimes were slow, and SSDs were not a thing.
Dagger of Time (Prince of Persia)
When Ubisoft decided to bring back one of the world’s first instances of rotoscoped video games, they had plans to completely revamp the series, and things could’ve gone really wrong. Instead, what we got is one of the best 3D Prince of Persia Trilogies ever.
The story revolved around one of the most interesting weapons the developers have ever created, which is the dagger of time. It allowed players to take control of time, slowing it down or reversing it, thus giving a second chance at fixing gameplay mistakes. was
Pandora (Devil May Cry)
The Devil May Cry franchise is no stranger to some of the most insane weapon designs in video game history. This is solely due to the weapons in this franchise being Devil Arms, meaning they are directly made out of devils that Dante beat.
There’s a lot to choose from, and one that catches everyone’s attention is the Pandora, which looks like a weird briefcase. Dante can swing it around at times to hit enemies, but the main attraction is the 666 different weapon types this seemingly harmless briefcase can turn into.
The Pandora can turn into a minigun, a bladed disc that Dante can throw at enemies, and even a hovercraft with multiple firearms that do massive damage.’
Cavelier (Devil May Cry)
We are still not done with Devil May Cry weapons because there are way too many of these to miss out on. Especially when the mind behind the game you like is Hideaki Itsuno. For the longest time, he wanted to implement a whole motorcycle as a weapon in one of his games.
But due to hardware constraints, he was never able to do it until the last decade of console hardware generation. Dante gets his hands on the Cavelier motorcycle in Devil May Cry 5, which can transform into dual-wielding heavy chainsaws, which he can use to cleave through enemies.
Hunting Horn (Monster Hunter)
Capcom games are filled with some of the most whimsical and interesting weapon designs. Even outside the Devil May Cry franchise, when we move on to the Monster Hunter series, which implements various weapon types as class systems.
Out of all of them, the Hunting Horn stands out as the most creative weapon design in a game that is essentially about beating up massive monsters. The Hunting Horn does what the name itself suggests: it’s a musical instrument that can be used as a club to beat up monsters.
But that’s not all, players also get access to several musical notes, and playing them leads to various effects in the heat of combat in the form of assistance.
Threaded Cane (Bloodborne)
It’s a shame we might never get to see Bloodborne fully come back as a remastered title because of the recent developments at Sony. That aside, we believe this was the one FromSoftware title that had some of the most unique weapon designs, accentuated by the trick transformation system.
Players get access to two weapon types by the press of a button, completely transforming their playstyle mid-combat. One of the most unique of these was the threaded cane, which was no doubt an interesting throwback to Konami’s Castlevania.
The threaded cane looks just like a strong metallic cane that the hunter can use to thrash enemies with. But the most interesting thing about it was its transformation, which turns the cane into a chain whip, increasing the range of attacks.
Snark (Half Life)
Grenades and bombs are never a primary weapon type in video games, but they sure can be unique in some games. That is exactly the case with snarks in Half-Life. These are living bug-like creatures that can take you down like trip mines.
Players can harvest them from nests as grenade ammunition. These small and adorable beetle-like creatures will track down enemies like homing missiles and swarm over them, completely annihilating them.
But beware, because they might come for you after they are done with their last target, so it’s best stay away from these little critters.
Gravity Gun (Half Life)
Even though weapons like gravity gun are common occurrences these days, back in the older times when Valve actually introduced this weapon, it was mind-blowing in terms of how much freedom players got when it came to manipulating Half-Life’s physics.
Players could use the gravity gun to fling sharpweapons like buzz saws at enemies, completely slicing them in half, or use it to solve and manipulate puzzles. All of which made Half-Life’s game engine heavily enticing for developers and modders to play around with.
Shrinker/Expander (Duke Nukem 64)
We don’t really get to see unrealistic and whimsical weapon types these days in video games, because everything is leaning more towards realism. But the charm of these fictional weapins are still unmatched in old school FPS.
Take the Shrinker and Expander in Duke Nukem 64, for example, but weapons are like two sides of the same coins and each is able to do what the respective names suggest. If an enemy is hit by the expander, they will quickly start bloating up in size and explode.
The shrinker does the exact opposite and is highly effective against enemies that look bulkier and stronger than the player character.
Cappy (Super Mario Odyssey)
Definitely our most divisive choice on this list, because Cappy is also one of the most important companion characters throughout Nintendo’s Super Mario Odyssey. But that doesn’t mean Cappy cannot be considered as a weapon.
Throughout various media, sentient weapons as companions have been a thing. It’s one of the most unique archetypes, and Cappy is no different. Mario can use Cappy like a boomerang and throw it at enemies to hit them.
But the most unique mechanic of this incredible weapon is Mario’s ability to possess any enemy or object in the game by putting Cappy on them.
.
