By Some games do a great job of making you feel like a total badass. Like making you feel invincible.
This feeling is indescribable. As you annihilate enemies like One-Punch Man, you get to forget about your daily IRL grind for a few moments while playing these games.
In this list, I’m rounding up some of my favorite games that deliver that exact feeling. Here you’ll find the best power fantasy games that let you be a badass.
For most gamers, power fantasy means gradually getting more powerful with better gear and skill unlocks to be able to obliterate enemies more easily.
There are also games where you “are” a badass from the beginning. I made sure to include both types of games in this list, so there’s something for everyone. Have a look.
1. Batman: Arkham Knight
When it comes to being a total badass and overpowered, you can’t top being Batman.
Batman Arkham video game series still remains the best action-combat game ever made. There’s no other game that even comes close to the level of impactfulness and engagement offered by the combat system in Arkham games.
Every beatdown of bad guys in this game makes you feel like a god. And the combos only make the feeling even more addictive. You start off as a badass in these games but you get more powerful as you unlock new skills and gadgets.
You can easily grab the complete Arkham game series on sale for super cheap. Play them all from the beginning. Of course, Arkham Knight is the best, so if you can only afford one game, go for it.
2. Cyberpunk 2077
Cyberpunk 2077 is one of the few games that I’ve played multiple times, and still go back to from time to time.
In Cyberpunk 2077, you get superpower-like abilities that allow you to be more powerful and badass. The best part is you can choose what type of badass you want to be, thanks to its build variety.
You can create your own builds using skills, gear, and weapon combinations to go down the path you want. You can be a powerful stealth ninja, expert in different weapons, or even go full hacker mode as well.
Taking down enemies using any abilities in Cyberpunk 2077 feels incredibly satisfying no matter what type of build you’re using. I made my own build that still works, and it makes you feel incredible. Just writing about it makes me want to play the game again.
3. Dishonored
Dishonored is one of my favorite franchises of all time, and it’s sad how Bethesda has treated it in recent years. It’s one of the original games that offered a classic power-fantasy vibe.
In Dishonored, you get to become a stealth assassin with very unique abilities like teleportation. It’s basically Hitman with powerful abilities and a more interesting story.
I’ve played all Dishonored games multiple times, and it gets better each time. The story campaign, the setting, and the atmosphere, combined with your badass powers, make this a must-play for power-fantasy game geeks.
4. Diablo 4
The obvious pick for any power fantasy game list is Diablo 4. Diablo 4 offers the textbook power fantasy feeling by providing you with a fixed path.
You start out in the lowest difficulty level with basic gear, and as you go further in the campaign, you meet tougher enemies, get better loot, and get more powerful. And then you get to unlock even greater difficulties to challenge yourself as you get more and more powerful.
In Diablo 4, or basically in any ARPG, you can experience the classic overpowered feeling by defeating mobs of enemies and clearing maps with your powerful builds. If Diablo 4 is too expensive for you, try Grim Dawn or Path of Exile as solid alternatives.
5. DOOM: The Dark Ages
Basically, any Doom game will make you feel like a badass, but the new title in the series, Dark Ages, takes it to the next level.
Doom: The Dark Ages is pretty much like Doom in medieval times, featuring melee weapons and dragons. The new weapons and abilities in this game make it much more engaging and impactful as you take down enemies with badass combos.
This is the ideal game to feel like a god from the beginning. Combining the gun-play mechanics with the finishing combos is easily the most satisfying feeling in the Doom games.
6. Helldivers II
Similar to games like Diablo, Helldivers II also allows you to satisfy your power fantasy by squashing giant bugs.
In Helldivers II, your main goal is eradicating a bug invasion. Every mission you complete earns you money, which you can use to upgrade your arsenal of weapons, abilities, and gear. And you basically rinse and repeat the process until you get more and more powerful.
Helldivers II is a grindy game that also nails the whole aspect of farming money and chasing after the next difficulty level and boosting power. The addictive and satisfying gameplay makes that whole cycle feel much more enjoyable.
7. Quantum Break
In Quantum Break, you get to work with actual, powerful abilities that will make you feel like a superhero.
This game is truly a hidden gem that actually went under the radar for many players back in the day. But it still holds up quite well in terms of gameplay and visuals. It’s a Remedy game after all!
Quantum Break also has amazing acting from its stellar cast. You not only get to work with cool time-bending abilities and weapons, but also get to be in awe of its cinematic cut scenes and the story.
8. Devil May Cry
Devil May Cry is a beat ’em up-style combat game where you are basically invincible.
You fight hordes of weird creatures as you progress through different levels, wielding swords and pistols. The goal of this game is to defeat enemies while being stylish. Your combat rating is given to you for pulling off the most stylish moves and combos.
I don’t want to specify which Devil May Cry game to buy because they all offer basically the same type of gameplay and vibes. My favorite is DMC 2. The main character, Dante, has some cheesy lines in this game, in a good way, of course. And I loved every minute of it. But if you want a more modern game, go with DMC 5.
9. Borderlands 2 & 3
Borderlands is basically Diablo 4, but in a first-person perspective.
Borderlands games also offer the same power fantasy feeling by giving you more powerful guns and unlocking powerful skills as you progress through the game. It also gives you a wide variety of weapon types to choose from while working on different builds for your character.
You can easily experience the overpowered feeling in Borderlands games as it does a great job of offering infinite loot and skills that enhance weapon abilities.
Borderlands 2 is the best in the series. Borderlands 3 has good guns and graphics, but a terrible story. Borderlands 4 is the latest in the series, but it’s very demanding, and performance is not optimized. I’ll let you pick your poison.
10. Dying Light 1 & 2
For the longest time, Dying Light has been the comfort game that I turn to whenever I feel down and depressed. I would simply dive into the game and start chopping some zombie heads with a machete until I start to feel better.
In Dying Light, you can kill zombies in many ways using various weapons, but the way it makes you feel overpowered is done with the zombies’ reaction system and the way they go flying when you drop-kick them.
The dismemberment system in Dying Light games is also unmatched. It just makes chopping heads, hands, and legs with a machete feel super satisfying. Both Dying Light 1 and 2 are great games.
11. Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2
When playing this game, you will feel like a total badass walking through a battlefield and obliterating everything in your path.
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is designed specifically to appeal to the male power fantasy. You basically get to step into the role of a Space Marine to purge the infestation.
There are many different gameplay modes in Space Marine 2, which you can replay over and over to get even more powerful with upgrades and more brutal skills. Space Marine 2 is well known for its violent gore and brutal gameplay.
Space Marine 2 also features co-op play to play with friends.
12. Max Payne 3
I would highly recommend playing Max Payne 1 and 2 before playing 3 but the first two games are not easy to find and even if you found a way to install it, the game will not run well on modern computers.
However, Max Payne 3 is just as good. This game features the iconic bullet-time mechanic that lets you slow down time and take out enemies with style. And it has an amazing story as well.
This game gives you a whole arsenal of guns to work with and each offers unique playstyles you can master. Max Payne was actually more like John Wick. Back then I used to play the heck out of this game just to feel so powerful.
13. Witchfire
I’ve only recently started playing Witchfire. It’s still in early access and has only a few maps to explore but the gunplay in this game is amazing.
Witchfire combines RPG, roguelite, and extraction-shooter elements to offer a unique experience. You get to unlock powerful weapons as you level up and upgrade difficulty. The game does a great job of making you feel powerful and badass by the modifiers that you can activate in each playthrough.
Witchfire is a great game to play in short sessions. Every time I play this game, I come out feeling satisfied of the time I spent in the game.
14. Warframe
I have to mention Warframe in this list for sentimental reasons. Warframe has a special place in my heart for providing countless hours of entertainment over the years.
This game is super addictive, and it’s super grindy. It’s definitely not for everyone. In Warframe, you have to heavily grind to unlock weapons and different frames (classes), and you have to master builds to get the most out of your abilities.
But all that grinding will be worth it when you get to clear out enemy mobs with your weapons and abilities, feeling like a total badass.
Be warned that even though Warframe is free, you will have to spend a few bucks to unlock character slots, weapon slots, and stuff like that.
15. Max Payne 3
There’s no other feeling like the bullet-time gunplay system in Max Payne games. It just makes you feel invincible and overpowered like John Wick.
Max Payne has a brilliant story with weapon combat. Its’ John Woo-inspired fly-by shooting and bullet-time mechanics made this game an iconic title in the entire video game industry.
If you haven’t played Max Payne games, I recommend playing from the first title. But unfortunately, they are very outdated and might not even run properly in modern PCs. The good news is the developers are working on a remake of the orginal games, which may come out soon.
16. Mad Max
Mad Max is one of the oldest games on this list, and admittedly, it has outdated graphics and a clunkiness to it. But it’s also a great game to be a total badass.
Mad Max video game features its own unique story and has very engaging melee combat. Especially the fist fights in this game feel quite satisfying. You also get to drive around, taking down bad guys as you unlock new gear and skills.
Mad Max is a slow-burner style game that will take a few minutes to kick in, but when it does, you will be hooked on it.
