Summary
- Radahn holds back the stars, showcasing unmatched power in Elden Ring lore.
- The Divine Dragon in Sekiro is as close to a god as the player encounters.
- Marika, the God Queen, has the power to shatter the Elden Ring, defining the game's narrative.
It wouldn't be a FromSoftware game if the fate of not just the world, but all of reality, wasn't on the line. Almost all of their games (excepting most Armored Core games) deal with gods, magical artifacts, and reality-wiping devices, meaning there are a lot of powerful characters out there.
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Whether it's Lovecraftian horrors that make dreams realities or god-like beings that can break cosmic cycles on their knee, FromSoftware games are full of powerful characters. This list is ranked purely by power according to the lore.
8 Radahn
Hold Back The Stars
Elden Ring
- Released
- February 25, 2022
WHERE TO PLAY
In a game defined by its demi-gods and gods running rampant over a world, it's hard to stand out from the crowd in terms of pure power. Yet, Radahn manages it, not only by becoming a consort of Miquella in the DLC, but by literally being the only force powerful enough to hold back the very stars in the sky.
Even though Radahn had lost his mind by the time players meet him in Caelid, he is still such a strong gravity magic user that the cosmos bends to his will. Few other characters demonstrate anything close to that kind of power, and players usually need to bring along a lot of friends to take him down, even in his impaired state. He's a wonderfully complex character and a fan favorite.
7 The Divine Dragon
God From The West
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
- Released
- March 22, 2019
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Violence
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG
Though less explicit than many of FromSoftware's games, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice still has a potent mystical edge to its lore, with no moment as potent as the confrontation with the Divine Dragon, a precursor of the Divine Heritage and key to curing Kuro of that affliction.
Yet, when the player arrives, they have no hope of killing the Divine Dragon. Instead, the goal is just to get a single tear, which Sekiro manages with aplomb, delivering one of the best spectacles in the game. It's as close to a god as Sekiro gets, and is probably the most powerful entity in this version of Japan's history.
6 Marika
The God Queen
Of all the gods in Elden Ring, Marika is easily the most important of them all. She is the designated champion of the Greater Will, the most powerful god in the game's cosmology, and she alone has the power to do the unthinkable and shatter the Elden Ring, the metaphysical binder of all reality.
Marika, her actions, her children, her pretty evident evil, and her backstory, define almost everything in Elden Ring in one way or another. Her backstory is fascinating, and though the player never gets to meet her properly in person (Radagon takes that away), her incredible power is evident everywhere.
5 The Old One
Apocalyptic Threat
Demon's Souls
- Released
- November 12, 2020
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Violence
- Genre(s)
- RPG
In more ways than many realize, the original 2009 Demon's Souls set the template for FromSoftware games going forward, including many of the key mechanics, level progression, and most importantly, how lore and story are told.
In Demon's Souls, no demon is more powerful than The Old One, a demon so powerful that it can't be killed, only put to sleep before it rises again. In fact, many believe that the titular demon in the name Demon's Souls is referring to The Old One. It's the biggest bad of them all, and the main instigator of the game's plot.
4 Gwyn
Lord Of Fire
Dark Souls
- Released
- September 22, 2011
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Partial Nudity, Violence
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG, Soulslike, Adventure
In the lore of Dark Souls games, the people who can move reality from one cosmological age to another are considered to be some of the most powerful people to ever exist. In fact, very few exist, and Gwyn is one of them, ushering in the Age of Fire, which is the time when all Dark Souls games take place.
Not only did Gwyn usher in a new age, but he single-handedly kept his vision of reality alive even when he became a hollow undead through sheer stubbornness and power. He's a tragic figure, and quite possibly the most powerful character in Dark Souls.
3 The Greater Will / Elden Beast
The Outer God Of Light
While characters like Marika, Radagon, and Radahn are certainly extremely powerful in the world of Elden Ring, they all source their power from the Outer Gods, divine beings existing on the edge of reality, playing cruel games with The Lands Between. During Elden Ring, the most powerful among them is The Greater Will, represented and embodied by the Elden Beast.
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The Greater Will is a god obsessed with order and smothering The Crucible, a primordial force of chaos. It is the reason the Erdtree shines golden, and why gold is so key to Elden Ring's aesthetics. Only when the player is at maximum power can they finally rise to the occasion and beat back a god and usher in something new.
2 The Moon Presence
The Lovecraftian Horror
Bloodborne
- Released
- March 24, 2015
WHERE TO PLAY
As a game that is defined by its debts to Lovecraftian fiction, the nature of reality and the motivation of the Lovecraftian gods in Bloodborne are pretty vague at best. That's by design. To know the plans of the Lovecraftian gods would literally send humans insane, and many do go insane.
The Moon Presence, the game's secret final boss, is depicted as the most powerful of all, a creature that is seemingly able to manifest people's dreams into overlapping nightmarish realities, and possibly the source of the Beast Scourge itself. Its motivations are inscrutable, but its total power is undeniable.
1 The Ashen One
The One Who Breaks The Cycle
Dark Souls 3
- Released
- March 24, 2016
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood Violence
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG
Believe it or not, the player character in Dark Souls 3 is quite easily one of the most powerful characters in all FromSoftware lore. Not only does the player character beat back the amalgamated incarnation of every champion that linked the fire for aeons, but they are one of the hallowed few people who can usher in a new age: The Age of Dark.
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This incredible feat is almost unparalleled in Dark Souls lore, and it's certainly a bigger challenge than Gwyn faced. The Ashen One essentially becomes the primarch god of a new age by the end of the game, surpassing all others in total domination and power in a brave new world.
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