When it comes to creative weaponry, no other medium comes close to video games where weapons are typically a player's primary way of interacting with the world. They are also often tools for traversal, puzzle solving, and representations of a game's aesthetic. Iconic armaments like the Buster Sword, Fire Flower, Lightsaber, and Hidden Blades express a title's personality at a glance. And whether games gravitate toward melee combat, shooting, or something weirder, weapons are often one of the most satisfying outlets for developers to express creative mechanics and empower players.
It has been a brilliant year for digital arsenals with entries ranging from realistic medieval melee weapons and futuristic firearms to steampunk curiosities and unconventional tools without real-world parallels. Describing these tools of digital destruction may constitute minor reveals about a game's story or mechanics, but spoilers have been kept to a bare minimum whenever possible. For players seeking a catalog of intriguing offensive options they may have missed, or those looking to reminisce about personal favorites, here are ten of the finest video game weapons 2022 has to offer, in no particular order.
Dark Moon Greatsword — Elden Ring
Elden Ring presents players with a truly staggering arsenal of satisfying weapons. For players who want to strike a balance between sorcery and slashing, however, few options will measure up to the Dark Moon Greatsword. The weapon scales with Intelligence, Dexterity, and Strength, and it is one of the few melee weapons that inflict frost build-up on attack.
Laying claim to the Carian blade is far from trivial, as players must advance deep into Ranni the Witch's lengthy quest. But acquiring the weapon is well worth the effort, even if players have no use for a caster great blade. What really makes the Dark Moon Greatsword special is its lineage in FromSoft Games. King's Field, the Souls series, Bloodborne, and even the Armored Core series have all featured a moonlight-affiliated blade with phenomenal stats and high combat potential, and this brings that legacy to bear.
Defluxor — Stray
Stray is one of the year's most-talked-about games, with players guiding an unnamed cat through a haunting, cyberpunk city on a journey to reunite with family. Most of the gameplay in Stray revolves around cat-like agility and exploration, keeping combat to a bare minimum. In fact, the game boasts only one 'traditional' offensive weapon, but that single armament is a clear case of quality over quantity. The portable version of Doc's Defluxor light is extremely satisfying to use, completely flipping the dynamic of predator and prey.
After having to avoid and flee from the Zurks for the majority of Stray, being able to abruptly turn the tables is incredibly empowering. The Defluxor essentially microwaves enemies under a magenta flashlight, causing them to pop after about a half-second. Like most light-based weapons, its wide AOE makes aiming a breeze, allowing the player to quickly take out swarms that would otherwise overwhelm the feline hero. While the Defluxor is an incredibly powerful, game-changing piece of equipment, it isn't an instant-win button. The death-dealing light can only be active for a few seconds at a time before it will overheat, at which point the player will have to wait for it to recharge.
Draupnir Spear — God of War Ragnarok
Kratos' signature Blades of Chaos are some of the best-loved and most iconic video game weapons of all time. Fittingly, the Leviathan Axe added in the franchise's 2018 reboot introduced an entirely new, but equally brutal approach to combat and puzzle solving, worthy of the hero's legacy. Given this pedigree, Santa Monica Studios faced a stiff challenge in rounding out God of War: Ragnarok's arsenal, but it accomplished that with the Draupnir Spear. Forged from Odin's legendary, self-replicating golden ring and Kratos' own blood, the Draupnir Spear is capable of replicating itself, allowing it to be used as a melee weapon or an infinite javelin, giving it all kinds of puzzle-solving abilities in addition to a very creative array of combat abilities.
What really makes the Draupnir Spear stand out as one of 2022's finest armaments, however, is its symbolic value. While Kratos has demonstrated his prowess with every weapon imaginable, the choice of a spear is particularly apt, as it represents a return to the hero's Spartan heritage. This represents a reconciliation between Kratos' past and present selves, bridging the entire franchise in one weapon.
Ignis Araneae Yo-yo — Bayonetta 3
One of the joys of video games is their ability to turn impractical weapons into creative tools of mass destruction and Bayonetta 3's razor-bladed yo-yos, the Ignis Araneae, are a prime example. The set of four yo-yos are affixed to each of Bayonetta's hands and feet; the latter of which act as rollerblades, allowing players to dish out quick, medium-to-long-ranged damage while staying fleet of foot. The weapons' Demon Masquerade abilities further enhance Bayo's movement options by allowing her to transform into a giant spider with eight legs' worth of locomotion, and also bestows the ability for her to latch onto walls, and swing from webs. Most of Ignis Araneae's attacks are based on classic yo-yo tricks, like "Walk the Dog" and "Around the World," but merged with wicked razor blades that will cut a bloody swathe through enemies.
Lady Macbeth Fans — Steelrising
Spiders' Steelrising features an intriguing arsenal of weapons, but none seem to capture the tone of its steampunk French Revolution setting better than the elegant-bladed fans named after Shakespeare's infamously bloodthirsty queen, the Lady Macbeth fans. They offer a wide variety of offensive moves, mixing ranged and melee combat into a single package. Perfect for quick builds with 'A' rank Agility scaling, the fans can deal lots of damage up close and personal, while their special move will fling knives at nearby targets.
Morpho Sword — Kirby and the Forgotten Land
Kirby titles have some of the most creative arsenals out of Nintendo's offerings, and Kirby and the Forgotten Land is no exception. In Forgotten Land, the best offensive option in the pink puffball's arsenal is far and away the Morpho Sword. In addition to being a unique weapon in the Kirby franchise, the Morpho Sword boasts the projectile power of the Meta Knight Sword, and the enormous impact and size of the Gigant Sword. If that weren't enough, the Morpho Sword can also enhance Kirby's dodge abilities, and certain moves will restore his health.
The weapon's design is also true to Kirby's signature cute-meets-cool aesthetic, giving him a striking helmet and butterfly wings besides the sword itself, which resembles a jeweled and serrated flamberge. Players won't acquire the blueprints for the blade until very late in the game and for good reason: once players have it as a part of their arsenal, they may not want to use anything else.
N-ZAP '85 — Splatoon 3
Splatoon 3, Japan's best-selling game of 2022, boasts an enormous arsenal of ink-based weaponry that keeps getting bigger, but one stands out more than the others. Nintendo's classic Zapper peripheral is a piece of gaming history that helped the NES revive interest in video games after the catastrophic Atari crash of 1983. And it is fitting that the latest installment of Nintendo's premiere shooting franchise pays an homage to the plastic light gun peripheral with the N-ZAP '85. Even though the N-ZAP seems somewhat out-of-place compared to most of Splatoon's "Paintball gone mad" aesthetic, it is a fun throwback to the earliest days of video game shooting.
The N-ZAP '85, named after the year the Zapper was released, was the first post-release weapon to be added to Splatoon 3, and it is a middleweight, rapid-fire shooter. Even though the weapon's damage isn't that impressive, its ink efficiency and rate of fire are both excellent, and it can quickly charge up the echolocator special weapon. The result is a reliable, versatile all-rounder that is workable in most team comps and scenarios.
Rivers of Blood Katana — Elden Ring
The Rivers of Blood Katana, acquired from Bloody Finger Okina in Elden Ring's Mountaintops of Giants area, is arguably the most infamous video game weapon released in 2022. The jagged, perpetually bleeding blade needed to be nerfed on short order due to its early dominance of Elden Ring's PVP scene. In addition to fantastic Arcane scaling, high bleed application, and its blood flame status, Rivers of Blood's unique Corpse Piler skill is game-changing. The skill causes the player to perform two slashes, similar to the normal Double Slash weapon skill that can be infused in most non-legendary katana, but Rivers projects bloody streaks that drastically increase the attack's range, AOE, and bleed application rate. The skill can also be chained, nearly guaranteeing a hemorrhage proc if a full follow-up combo hits. It is one of the fiercest weapons in the game and the industry overall this year.
Skykiller Spike Thrower — Horizon Forbidden West
As their name suggests, Spike Throwers are a class of weapons in Horizon Forbidden West that launch hard-hitting javelin-like projectiles at foes. Spike Throwers are best-suited for taking on hulking machines that can take a beating, and short of the Old One's heavy weapons, they are the closest thing to heavy ordinance in Aloy's arsenal. The cream of the spike-throwing crop is the Legendary Skykiller weapon. The Skykiller not only compensates for the weapon class' relatively slow reload speed with a flat 10% reload speed bonus, but it also buffs damage to aerial enemies by 15%. If heavy-flying units like Stormbirds are giving players trouble, the Skykiller is exactly what the doctor ordered.
As one would expect from a legendary weapon, obtaining the Skykiller Spike Thrower is no trivial feat. Players will first need to complete "The Wings of the Ten" main quest, and then complete the side quest "The Way Home," available at Legacy's Landfall. Aiming the spikes' trajectories can take a bit of practice, but once players are comfortable with the weapon, the Skykiller becomes one of Aloy's most satisfying and effective tools.
Stun Baton — The Callisto Protocol
The Stun Baton in The Callisto Protocol perfectly accentuates the panic-inducing combat of the horror game, as it brings players into close quarters with the stuff of nightmares. Whether it's up close with a boss or trying to cut down the fodder, there's no denying that the combat is designed to strike fear into the heart of players. This weapon is especially valuable given Callisto Protocol's emphasis on melee combat as opposed to being a shooter with horror fixing. Even though the title boasts a number of different firearms, it is hard to argue with a close-range option that never needs reloading.