Most action video games revolve around some sort of conflict. Whether it’s about a large-scale war or small struggles, there are bound to be people killing and dying for a cause.
But a select few are a cut above the rest, becoming notorious for their superhuman feats and unbelievably exceptional powers.
What sets a super soldier apart from their “normal” contemporaries? Maybe itscybernetic implants that enhance their perception or space magic that makes them capable of bending the very fabric of spacetime, super soldiers rise to the occasion and fight against insurmountable odds.
While they might not struggle as much with the regular grunt, the only thing that can stop a super soldier is another super soldier or even a god. We’ll be ranking these super soldiers based onhow iconic they are to their respective franchises, and the superhuman feats they possess.
10Warframes
Warframes are biomechanical suits of armor that are controlled by the Tenno, a race of transhuman warriors that channel their powerful energy into killing machines that terrify any Grineer or Corpus grunt that stands in their way.
Each Warframe possesses a stacked arsenal ofpowerful weapons that they can craft, including (but not limited to) rifles, shotguns, dual pistols, swords, and any other exotic weapon that can spew flames and lightning at their enemies.
Warframes are alsoexceedingly fast and deadly,as each is capable of sliding and gliding through the air like graceful ballerinas in a dance of death and bullets.Warframe’sgameplay doesn’t even do justice to just how powerful those biomechanical machines really are.
As one of themost technologically impressive gamesin the 2010s,Crysis 3features amazing stealth combat while you play as Prophet, a super soldier who wears the Nanosuit while fighting a race of ancient, technologically advanced alien species called the Ceph.
Known as Major Laurence Barnes, the Prophet was originally a Delta Force operative who first put on theNanosuit in the firstCrysisgame. He later becomes infused with Ceph technology and becomes one with the Nanosuit,turning into a transhuman consciousness inhabiting the exoskeleton.
With the Nanosuit, the Prophet can use an internal power supply to supplement the suit’s functions: Armor, Strength, Speed, and Cloak. However, the suit’s most notable function isaltering its surface to refract the surrounding light, rendering the Prophet almost invisible to the naked eye.
The Prophet’s weapon of choice is most often the combat bow, in which he can customize different arrowheads to stealthily kill his enemies without breaking out of his cloaking.
8The Guardian
Also known as Lightbearers,Guardians are powerful soldiers risen by Ghosts and are capable of wielding paracausal energy (a.k.a. space magic).
With the power to resurrect from the dead via their Ghosts, Guardians are effectively immortal. Those who fight for humanity become legends as heroes orloot junkies who turn gods into guns and armor on a whim.
InDestinycanon, you play asThe Guardian, the destined hero who is responsible forsaving the world multiple timesover in the franchise’s story.
The Guardian killed Oryx, the Taken King, defeated his sister, Savathun, and eventhe Witness, an eldritch entity hellbent on calcifying the universe into a perfect, final shape.
And while your Guardian is the canonical hero,they’re not the only one capable of such feats. All Guardians are capable of channeling solar fusion, summoning a mini-blackhole, or freezing everything to absolute zero.It all comes down to the Guardian’s talent and experience.
With the addition of the Prismatic subclass inThe Final Shape,Guardians can now mix Light and Dark powers into one, becoming exponentially more powerful than when we first woke up in the Cosmodrome in 2014.
Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
While he was a great supporting character inMetal Gear Solid 4andMetal Gear Solid 2,Raiden’s popularity skyrocketed when he starred in his solo spinoff game,Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance.
The Liberian-American mercenary-turned-cyborg is best known for his silver hair, dashing looks, and penchant forslicing and dicing his foes with his high-frequency sword.
Originally a child soldier named Jack who fought for Solidus Snake,Raiden had an insatiable blood thirst that earned him the moniker “Jack the Ripper.“Raiden joined the Special Forces but was later abducted and turned into a cyborg before he was rescued.
As a cyborg, Raiden is capable of superhuman strength, speed, and endurance. He can lift a Metal Gear Ray andsplit it in half with his sword. Also, he becamevirtually indestructible after his upgrade, capable of withstanding tons of forceand holding his own against many cybernetically enhanced soldiers inMetal Gear Rising,most notably itsnanomachine-enhanced villain Senator Armstrong.
Raiden’s power is perhaps most accurately portrayed in gameplay, as his Zandatsu skill allows him to perceive time at a slowed rate todeliver hundreds of precise slashes in seconds, turning his enemies into minced meat in the blink of an eye.It’s high time we get a sequel for more Raiden.Please, PlatinumGames…
6Soldier: 76
Most hero shooters always feature at least one soldier-type character, andOverwatchis no exception.
Real name Jack Morrison,Soldier 76 was once the former leader of the international hero organization Overwatch.Now a vigilante on the run from the law after the destruction of Overwatch, Soldier 76 now operates on his own, waging a personal war to discover the truth behind Overwatch’s downfall.
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Along with his former partner Gabriel Reyes (now Talon-affiliated terrorist known as The Reaper),Soldier 76 is your run-of-the-mill super soldier, exhibiting extraordinary endurance, speed, and stamina, and is best known for eliminating his enemies with a pulse rifle.
Soldier 76 is also equipped with a visor that lets him target any enemy he sees, automatically locking in and shooting them with extreme accuracy.
5Cloud Strife
Final Fantasy VII
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
Perhaps the most iconic protagonist of theFinal Fantasyfranchise, Cloud Strife is a mercenary who was once a part of SOLDIER, Shinra Corporation’s super soldier program.
During the events ofFinal Fantasy 7, he works with the resistance (or ecoterrorist) group Avalanche, along with his Barret, his childhood friend Tifa, and a whole other cast of characters.
Those who doubt Cloud’s wiry frame should look no further than hisunwieldy Buster Sword, which looks more like a hunk of metal with a thin handle than a real blade.He can jump to great heights,swing the Buster Swordlike it weighs nothing, and move with superhuman speeds almost imperceptible to the naked eye.
But Cloud’s supersoldier abilities have come at a cost. His identity as a SOLDIER wasn’t because he was conscripted by Shinra, butthe result of human experimentation with JENOVA cells by evil mad scientist Hojo.
While this gave Cloud exceptional power akin to Sephiroth,he has suffered severe psychological damage and amnesia,suppressing his true memories and leading him to adopt the identity of his late best friend Zack Fair.
4Doom Slayer
Doom Eternal
DOOM Eternal
Possessing an obsessive, violent rage and hatred against anything demonic,the Doom Slayer is reviled and feared by theforces of Hell,so much so that they sealed him when they could not kill him prior to the events ofDOOM (2016).
WithDoom Eternal, the Slayer’s hunger for demon guts comes in full force, ripping and tearing to no end.
While he was originally a marine in the olderDOOMgames, the Doom Guylater found himselfin the world of Argent D’Nur, where he became a hero in an otherworldly society, becoming an elite warrior of the Argent society as a Night Sentinel.
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Not only does the Doom Slayer have superhuman abilities, but he is also best known for hisarsenal of weaponsthat he can use anytime in combat, especially his iconic double-barreled shotgun that can blast demons into gory pieces, andthe BFG-9000, a super weapon that destroys everything and anything caught in its neon-green aura.
The Doom Slayer isa taciturn yet brutal killer who is only interested in destroying Hell and anything and anyone who dabbles in demonic power.He is more than a force of nature, but rather a being whotranscended into an avatar of divine wrath.
3Demetrian Titus
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marines 2
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine II
The world of Warhammer 40K isa bleak and merciless one.Almost everything in this world–from Xenos to Chaos demons to even humanity–can and will kill you at a moment’s notice.Even Space Marines, one of theImperium of Man’s greatest soldiers,aren’t impervious to the dark forces they fight.
Aside from the tabletop,most named and fabled characters in Warhammer 40K are generally considered exceptionally powerful, even by Warhammer standards. Demetrian Titus is one such character, the protagonist ofSpace Marinesand its sequel.
Like his fellow Astartes,Titus possesses superhuman strength, speed, durability, and a suite of enhancements that make him transcend humanity, extending his lifespan to centuries.
As a Space Marine, he is also equipped with tough power armor that is iconic to the Adeptus Astartes and is an expert marksman withmany weapons that the Imperium has to offer.
But what makes Titus special is hisexceptional resistance against Chaos, which is known to corrupt even the most resilient Astartes.
His extraordinary survival rate from Chaos and its heretical followers even caused him to be wrongfully accused of heresy and corruption, but that hasn’t stopped him from fighting for his Emperor.
2BJ Blazkowicz
Wolfenstein: The New Colossus
Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus
William Joseph “BJ” Blazkowicz, AKA “Terror Billy” by Nazis, is the protagonist of theWolfensteinseries. While he may not be a super soldier for most of the game’s history,Blazkowicz’s hatred towards the Nazis has carried him through battles that no normal soldier could ever survive.
Blazkowicz didn’t gain his super soldier abilities untilNew Colossus, when he wasdecapitated by Frau Engel and his body was transplanted to a Nazi bioengineered super-soldier bodyappropriated by the Resistance.
Evenbefore gaining his super soldier body,Blazkowicz demonstrates peak physical condition, and with his new body, he gains the ability to shift his body based on the contraptions he dons, from reaching higher places with the Battle Walker suit or becoming an unstoppable force with the Ram Shackles.
As time went on, Blazkowicz’s power never dwindled as he approached his 70s inYoung Blood, andis capable of fighting in peak condition alongside his twin daughters.We all know thatKilling Nazis will never get old.
1Master Chief
John-117 is perhapsthevideo game super soldier.He is without a doubt the most iconic supersoldier in gaming, thanks to the cultural impact that theHalofranchise had on the industry.
A product of the Spartan supersoldier program, the Master Chief rose above his peers and has cemented himself as a legend among humanity.
Not only is he a highly decorated war vet, the Master Chief name is ubiquitous both in his and our world. As a Spartan II super soldier, he has had thirty years of active service, becoming a terrifying figure for the Covenant, and earning him the nickname “Demon” amongst the aliens.
As a pop culture figure, Master Chief is considered not just one of the most iconic super soldiers, but the greatest video game character of all time. He’s Xbox and theHalofranchise’s mascot, and has evolved from the player-surrogate to a fully realized character inHalo’slater years.
With an unbreakable will and expertise in many types of weaponry, the Master Chief has saved the galaxy several times with his AI companion Cortana. The Master Chief will fight for humanity–all he needs is a weapon.
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