Games Like God of War: 20 Best Action Picks for PC (2026)

If you’re hunting for games like God of War on PC, the 2018 reboot’s blend of Norse mythology, axe-swinging combat, and father-son storytelling is a tough recipe to match. We spent dozens of hours testing action titles across Steam and Epic to find the closest cousins. The 20 picks below cover Souls-likes, hack-and-slash classics, narrative epics, and open-world adventures.

#What Makes a Game Feel Like God of War?

The 2018 God of War reboot rewired the series around three pillars: tight melee combat with a single signature weapon, a mythological backdrop, and a personal, character-driven narrative. The older trilogy leaned harder on quick-time finishers and hack-and-slash spectacle. According to Wikipedia’s God of War (2018) article, the game has sold over 23 million units across PS4 and PC, ranking among Sony’s top first-party sellers.

Three traits kept rising to the top when we tried sorting candidates: deliberate weight-based melee rather than twitchy button-mashing, a mythic or historical setting that anchors the story, and a quiet emotional core between fights. Games that hit two of the three made our list.

#Mythic and Story-Driven Picks

#1. Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice

Senua’s journey into Helheim is the tonal twin of Kratos’s Norse arc. Ninja Theory built the whole experience around Celtic and Norse mythology, with combat that rewards precise parries and footwork. According to Ninja Theory, Hellblade launched in August 2017 across PC, PS4, and Xbox One. The audio design, recorded with binaural microphones, is worth a headphone playthrough.

#2. Devil May Cry 5

Capcom’s stylish action benchmark is the loudest, flashiest cousin on this list. The Dante-Nero-V rotation gives you three combat styles in one campaign, all built around the SSS-ranked combo system Capcom has refined since 2001. When we tried the Bloody Palace endless mode, the difference in pacing was obvious. This is pure mechanical theater, not slow-burn storytelling.

#3. DmC: Devil May Cry Definitive Edition

The 2013 reboot from Ninja Theory gets less love than its numbered siblings, but the Definitive Edition cleans up the camera and adds Vergil’s Downfall. Combat tempo is closer to the older God of War games. It runs on PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One, and the original PC release is still on Steam.

#4. Bayonetta

Platinum Games’ witch-with-stiletto-guns power fantasy is hack-and-slash royalty. The Witch Time slow-motion mechanic, triggered by a last-second dodge, is the single best dodge system in the genre. Bayonetta 3 arrived on Switch in October 2022. The original Bayonetta runs great on PC via Steam.

#5. NieR: Automata

Yoko Taro’s android-existential-crisis simulator is the most stylistically distinct pick here. The combat is Platinum Games at full power, the same studio behind Bayonetta. Square Enix reported that NieR: Automata has sold millions of copies worldwide, confirming it as one of the most commercially successful action RPGs of its era. Multiple endings, branching difficulty, and a soundtrack that ranks among the best of its decade.

#Soulslike and Hardcore Combat

#6. Dark Souls 3

FromSoftware’s Souls trilogy was a direct influence on the 2018 God of War’s deliberate combat pacing. Dark Souls 3 lets you build a Kratos-style loadout around a straight sword, kite shield, and spear. The bonfire-driven exploration loop will feel familiar to anyone who paused at Mimir to plan their next move.

#7. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

FromSoftware’s parry-driven action game won Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2019, beating Death Stranding and Resident Evil 2. The posture-and-deflection system rewards aggressive play, which is the opposite of Dark Souls’s defensive caution. After a few rough first hours, the rhythm clicks and combat feels almost musical.

#8. Bloodborne

The black sheep of this list because it never came to PC, but it’s the cleanest mechanical match for God of War’s later difficulty spikes. FromSoftware’s gothic horror demands the same patient pattern-reading. It’s PS4 and PS5 only as of 2026; our games like Bloodborne collection covers the PC alternatives.

#Cinematic Story Epics

#9. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

CD Projekt Red’s open-world masterpiece is the heaviest narrative entry on this list. CD Projekt Red confirms that the base game plus Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine delivers a massive story that takes most players well over a hundred hours to finish. Geralt’s signs-and-silver combat is slower and more tactical than Kratos’s axe play. See games like The Witcher 3 for more long RPGs.

#10. Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End

Naughty Dog’s swan song for Nathan Drake landed on PC in October 2022 as part of the Legacy of Thieves Collection. The Drake-Sully banter is the closest analog to the Kratos-Atreus dynamic, even if Nate’s wisecracks land more often than Atreus’s. For more of Drake’s style, see our games like Uncharted roundup.

#11. Red Dead Redemption 2

Rockstar’s western is the most patient game on this list. Arthur Morgan’s redemption arc is the heaviest narrative payoff in any open-world game. The hand-cranked Dead Eye gunplay feels weighty in the same way Kratos’s axe does. Browse games like Red Dead Redemption for similar slow-burn westerns.

#12. The Last of Us Part II

Naughty Dog’s most divisive game found that the dual-protagonist structure could be used to interrogate Kratos-style violence rather than celebrate it. Ellie and Abby’s parallel campaigns total roughly 25 hours. The Last of Us Part II Remastered launched on PC in April 2025. For more of Joel and Ellie’s tone, see games like The Last of Us.

#13. Marvel’s Spider-Man

Insomniac’s web-swinger is the PS-exclusive that arrived on PC via Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered in August 2022. The traversal-as-gameplay loop is unlike anything else here. The cinematic set-pieces and the Peter-Miles dual-protagonist beats in Spider-Man 2 hit the same emotional notes as Kratos and Atreus.

#Open-World Adventures

#14. Horizon Zero Dawn

Aloy’s robot-dinosaur safari runs natively on PC and the upcoming Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered. The bow-driven combat, with elemental ammo and trap chains, gives you a tactical layer God of War doesn’t really have. It earns its slot if you want a female-led narrative epic. See games like Horizon Zero Dawn for the broader open-world subgenre.

#15. Ghost of Tsushima

Sucker Punch’s samurai epic released on July 17, 2020, on PS4, and Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut hit PC in May 2024. The game is set during the first Mongol invasion of Japan in 1274. The kata-based combat, with four stances tailored to different enemy types, is the single best sword system on this list.

#16. Assassin’s Creed Odyssey

Ubisoft’s Greek-mythology entry is the closest Assassin’s Creed has come to the God of War template. The dialogue choices, Greek-god side quests, and the choice between Alexios and Kassandra give the story more weight than the older AC games. See our games like Assassin’s Creed list for the wider series.

#17. Skyrim

Bethesda’s evergreen RPG has more Norse mythology than any other entry on this list. The Dragonborn shouting at draugr in a Nordic ruin is functionally a 60-hour God of War prequel mod that ships with its own engine. The Anniversary Edition adds the survival mode and creation-club content. Our games like Skyrim post covers the deeper RPG corner.

#18. Far Cry Primal

Ubisoft’s Stone Age detour from the Far Cry formula. Bows, spears, clubs, and tamed sabre-tooth tigers replace the usual arsenal. The setting is more grounded than mythological. The spear-throwing animation cycle is the closest you can get to swinging Mjolnir without playing Ragnarok.

#Exploration and Sword Combat Hybrids

#19. Rise of the Tomb Raider

Lara Croft’s middle outing leans on exploration, tomb puzzles, and survival systems over straight combat. The map is bigger than the old linear Tomb Raiders. If you liked God of War’s Lake of Nine hub design, this scratches a similar itch. We also have a roundup of games like Tomb Raider for deeper Lara fans.

#20. For Honor

Ubisoft’s medieval brawler swaps mythology for historical sword combat between Vikings, samurai, and knights. The Art of Battle directional-stance system is closer to a fighting game than to Kratos’s axe play, but the visceral one-on-one duels capture the same weight. Our games like For Honor list covers the deeper competitive scene.

#Which God of War Like Game Should You Play First?

It depends on what part of God of War 2018 hooked you. If it was the Norse atmosphere and Senua-style intensity, start with Hellblade. If it was the father-son banter and cinematic pacing, Uncharted 4 is the cheapest entry point on Steam. If it was the brutal, deliberate combat, Sekiro or Bloodborne (if you have a PS5) deliver the closest hits.

When we tried Hellblade right after finishing God of War Ragnarok, the tonal handoff felt natural. Sekiro felt different but scratched the same itch by hour three. Skyrim is the safest pick if you want hundreds of hours of Norse-flavored content without the difficulty spike.

A note on hardware: Sekiro, The Witcher 3, and Hellblade all run on a five-year-old gaming laptop. Red Dead Redemption 2 and Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut want a current-gen GPU to look their best.

#Bottom Line

For the closest combat-and-story package to the 2018 God of War, install Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice tonight. It’s short (about 8 hours), runs on almost any modern PC, and the Norse setting hits the same emotional register as Kratos’s arc.

If you have a PS5 and want the sharpest action-game challenge, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is the pick. For the longest narrative payoff, The Witcher 3 plus its two expansions is still the best value any open-world RPG has ever offered. Pair one slow-burn pick (Hellblade or Ghost of Tsushima) with one mechanical-depth pick (Sekiro or Devil May Cry 5) to cover both halves of what God of War balances internally.

#Frequently Asked Questions