The best games where you fight against hordes of enemies

Action oriented games almost always have sections dedicated to a large number of enemies. Others are all about wave after wave of bandits, monsters, or robots trying to tear you apart, and you can take them down. Getting it right requires great combat, game design, and stellar enemies to kill.

Like everything else in the game, dispatching hordes of enemies is an art. Many games fall short, making it difficult to get through another wave of enemies. However, when done right, it can become a driving force that will burn the hours you spend on the experience. Here are some of the best.

Updated October 12, 2024 by Hilton Webster: There are few joys in life more enticing than charging into the battlefield and tearing a bloody streak through leagues of enemies without breaking a sweat. We've added even more games that let you play out this fantasy.

16 gone days

Days Gone was not the most interesting game in the world and the reaction of the game's author to its reception was strange to say the least. Deacon St. John might not have been the most exciting protagonist, but at least it allowed you to face hordes of zombies with some excitement.

Days Gone's big draw was the hordes of zombies roaming the world. Mind you, these hordes don't actually appear until the end of the game, but they are truly massive, and each member is a well-known enemy. It's silly fun punching their numbers while running on a bike.

15 dynasty of warriors

Everyone's heard of Dynasty Warriors by now, absorbing the absurdity of the games by osmosis, even if you've never played them. Based on the novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Dynasty Warriors games have you play as pseudo-legendary figures from Chinese history.

Of course, people are real. The pseudo-legendary part has to do with the fact that they can take on literally thousands of enemies one-on-one. But what does realism matter when entire battlefields become fodder for your sword slit?

14 Satan's Chaos

Here's one you probably haven't heard of. The PS2 is praised for its technological advances, many of which have not been completely replicated. A lot of that was in the way the graphics were processed, allowing you to do really impressive things without sacrificing performance. Demon Chaos exemplifies the power of the PS2.

Demon Chaos, also known as Ikusagami in Japan, was locked at 60fps and had up to 65,535 enemies on screen at once. In other ways, the game is quite similar to Dynasty Warriors, although the absurdity of having over 65,000 enemies at once is a number that no other game has yet reached.

Ikosagami was never released in North America, and the name Demon Chaos was only used in the European version.

13 Gear 5

Horde mode became a craze after Gears of War 2. The hype died down over the years as the rest of the industry chased after that success, but Gears didn't stop.

The Gears of War formula has changed quite a bit over the years. Its core combat has stayed pretty much the same, with new additions here and there, but the cover shooter still has some of the most badass and satisfying combat in any third-person shooter. If you want to blow up, cut chainsaws in half, and shoot aliens, nothing beats the Xbox flagship series.

12 Fate 2

Bungie stuck to its FPS roots from Halo and took what it learned to Destiny, then expanded the recipe with multiplayer and RPG elements. Between both entries in the series, people have come to know interesting characters, hostile creatures and the best tools to collect it over the years.

Whether it's an event, a quest, or a raid, Destiny 2 likes to throw away all kinds of opponents for you. With fantastic shooting mechanics, time flies as you tear through each incoming wave.

11 Left 4 dead 2

A classic zombie shooter that unfortunately hasn't seen a third entry, although we did get Back 4 Blood. Not many games like Left 4 Dead 2 have stood the test of player count over the years.

There's a good reason why the zombie shooter has endured since its release in 2009 – it's a great game to play with a group of friends. Few things beat rallying your friends as you slash, shoot, and slash your way through the dead to reach a safe house.

10 Warhammer: Vermintide 2

Aliens, robots and zombies are obsolete, so why not kill rats? Vermintide 2 is like a fantasy Left 4 Dead set in the Warhammer universe where you kill rat-like creatures with different classes to choose from.

Combat has that visceral feel that never gets old when hacking away at the flesh of hordes of enemies. Different classes allow for different playstyles, and the loot collected allows you to create your own custom class. This extra depth gives it more meat than a regular slaw.

9 Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord

Mount & Blade II allows you to recreate epic battles virtually, giving you the same feeling you might get from your favorite medieval movies. Seeing an army of armored men has a cinematic quality that lends grand scale to the experience.

Different modes allow you to find different ways to enjoy yourself, with both online and solo offers. Jump into massive multiplayer battles, or melee in a single-player sandbox world. Bannerlord is all about player choice, be it combat focused or not.

8 Killing floor 2

A modern Left 4 Dead-like that takes out objectives and focuses on killing waves of ghosts, each with unique abilities and powers. Killing Floor 2 has many classes that allow you to enhance your skills with assault rifles, fire-based weapons and more.

Making the match more confusing is the mechanism by which the blood does not disappear. Sure, body parts blown across a room eventually disappear. Blood remains, so you paint the surface red as you pass each wave.

7 7 days to die

The premise of 7 Days to Die is pretty simple: survive each night by finding food, water, and shelter. On the night of the seven, the moon turns red and hordes of zombies come to hunt you down. Its twist on zombie survival games is refreshing and brutal.

It's great with a crew, as you create a community and see how many days or weeks you can survive in the wasteland before being eaten alive or dying of dysentery. The second possibility is very high.

6 Hades

Hades is full of sexy gods, and that's not even the main reason it's one of the best fantasy rogues around. People who are hesitant due to its genre should check it out as it is one of the best for beginners.

Getting into the right rhythm on a rogue is critical. The great movement and combat make that click game a game-changing experience. Once you get into that groove, you become unstoppable as you go from zone to zone.

5 Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart

Insomniac is coming with two Spider-Man games and the latest installment of Ratchet & Clank. It looks like the PS5 generation will be the studio's time to really shine.

A good reason for that is that the combat and movement in each version are smooth, polished and satisfying, just like Rift Apart. It doesn't need to grumble to feel good in a fight. An assortment of devastating and sometimes silly weapons means they never get old when the inevitable hordes of aliens and robots come after Lombax and his robot companion.

4 eternal torment

id Software gave Doom an incredible modern revival with its 2016 reboot, followed by Doom Eternal. Going forward, the developers improved every aspect of the game, from fluidity to the number of demons. It's non-stop action and blood to a heavy metal soundtrack.

After release, update 6.66 came with horde mode. While the game used to feel that way, with the constant shooting you did throughout the campaign, it meant that players could now play more violently – something that previously seemed impossible.

3 Vampire survivors

Looking at any video or screenshot of Vampire Survivors might give you a headache. It's full of chaos and enemies to slaughter, with a variety of creatures and colorful pixels filling the screen. In truth, it's a simple game, yet an absolute blast that will keep you glued to it for an ungodly amount of time.

Try to survive 30 minutes in this roguelike game, where all you have to worry about is moving and choosing the right abilities to upgrade yourself in a current run. Your character will automatically attack and focus on strategic moves to avoid taking too much damage to beat your time record and beat death itself.

2 Warhammer 40,000: Darktide

If you like Warhammer but aren't a Vermintide fantasy fan, you're in luck, as Darktide is effectively Left 4 Dead in the Warhammer 40K universe with some light RPG elements.

Darktide puts you and your friends on a team through an epic campaign. You can easily customize each character, but they all stand out with the different play styles they offer. Add that to gear and upgrades, and you can become a killing machine to turn the tide against the enemy.

1 Moghed Ishaq

The Binding of Isaac is a great entry in the roguelike genre, with elements of horror, art style, and other genres blending together for an outstanding experience. Carefully navigate through the randomly generated rooms, as each has something valuable or nightmarish for your sad little hero.

Isaac makes a cute little hero who motivates you by pulling at your heartstrings with how sad and scary he looks. By building up the right skills and abilities, you'll get him out of this horrible situation he's in, or turn him into a monstrous, mutated monstrosity.