Most Unique Ranged Weapons In Gaming

Video game weapons are a dime-a-dozen. From swords to staves and crossbows to assault rifles, we’ve seen characters wield all kinds of different tools to challenge foes throughout video game history. Ranged weapons, in particular, have been a part of gaming since the early days, with the likes of Contra and Mega Man utilizing guns and lasers to rip through levels and take on bosses.

As is the case with most things, ranged weapons are not created equally. Some are incredibly powerful, some challenge the very notion of physics, and some are just downright bizarre. Here are some of the most unique weapons around.

10 Wrath Of The Ancients – Black Ops 3 Zombies

An Upgradable Powerhouse

There have been a ton of games over the past decade or so that have featured bows as weapons, but this bow, the Wrath of the Ancients from Black Ops 3’s Zombies mode, is a special one. The bow can be acquired on the game’s Der Eisendrache map after hunting down and activating a series of dragon statues.

On its own, the bow is a force to be reckoned with, but it’s through upgrades that its true power shines. The bow has the ability to upgrade into different forms, including a fire bow, a lightning bow, and perhaps the coolest of all, the Void Bow, which opens portals that summon skulls to attack zombies. Of course, getting the bow is no easy task, and it’s likely you’ll have to follow a guide if you want to upgrade this impressive weapon.

9 Plasma Cutter – Dead Space Series

Mining Tool Turned Weapon

Dead Space is considered to be one of the best horror games of all time, with a great atmosphere, an intriguing story, and a unique assortment of Necromorph-slaying weaponry. The most notable of these weapons, however, is the standard Plasma Cutter, a mining tool that Isaac Clarke uses as a brutal killing tool.

The Plasma Cutter can be found as the standard weapon in every Dead Space game, and while there are a lot of weapons that are more powerful, its quick fire rate and precise shots make it ideal for tearing apart the game’s many, many Necromorphs. The tool can even be upgraded to set enemies on fire, which is always a nice bonus.

8 The Cerebral Bore – Turok Series

A Real Headache

Weapons in Turok games range from those grounded in reality, like your standard shotgun, to more classic sci-fi weapons, like the plasma gun. There are few weapons, however, as horrifying as the Cerebral Bore, which was first unleashed on gamers in Turok 2: Seeds of Evil.

While the weapon can’t hold much ammo, it more than makes up for it in terms of firepower. The Cerebral Bore fires a projectile that homes in on enemies, ultimately, as the name implies, boring into their skulls and exploding from within. It’s a particularly gruesome way to dispatch the hordes of dinosaurs and aliens you face throughout the game, but it’s incredibly satisfying to use. It was such a popular weapon that it came back in both Turok: Rage Wars and Turok 3: Shadow of Oblivion.

7 Skippy – Cyberpunk 2077

Artificially Intelligent Weaponry

There is no shortage of unique weapons in Cyberpunk 2077‘s sprawling Night City, but perhaps the most interesting of these is Skippy, an AI-assisted pistol. He has his own personality, and often judges you for massacring enemies, but depending on your choices, he can be set to two different firing modes; one homing in on enemy limbs, the other strictly for dishing out headshots.

Skippy even comes with his own quest, but you want to be careful in the way you progress after finding him, because making the wrong choices can lead to him losing his AI chip, effectively rendering him just another ordinary pistol. Play your cards right, though, and you get a friend for life.

6 Tediore Guns – Borderlands Series

Who Needs To Reload?

The Borderlands series is filled to the brim with cool weapons to loot in your journey across Pandora and the outer reaches of space, each developed by one of the game’s many manufacturers. From the old-school western vibes of Jakobs weapons, to the shielded Hyperion guns, there’s a little something for everyone. The most interesting of the bunch, though, are the Tediore weapons.

No need to reload a Tediore gun. Who has time for that? Instead, throw it at your enemies and watch it explode. Sometimes, a Tediore shotgun explodes on impact, or SMGs might turn into drones or turrets that can help you mow down enemies. With so many randomly generated guns in Borderlands, Tediores stand out as some of the most unique in terms of features.

5 Johnson – Shadows Of The Damned

Your Best Boneheaded Buddy

Shadows of the Damned revolves around Garcia Hotspur and his trusty sidekick, Johnson, the floating skull of a demon who acts as Garcia’s guide to hell, as they traverse the Underworld in search of his girlfriend. The game is an awfully silly trip through hell, with Johnson providing some of the game’s funniest moments.

Johnson acts as a jack-of-all-trades weapon, able to change into different forms that use bones and skulls as ammo. The main weapon is a pistol known as the Boner, which can eventually be upgraded into a long-range rifle called the Big Boner. You see what kind of jokes the game has to offer, but that’s what you get when the great minds of Suda51 and Shinji Mikami make a cult hit.

4 The Fat Man – Fallout Series

Your Own Personal Nuke

What’s better than launching a nuke on your unsuspecting enemies? Nothing, that’s what. The Fat Man from the Fallout series allows you to do just that; launch mini-nukes that explode in a giant mushroom cloud, wiping bandits and deathclaws off the map. If the blast doesn’t get them, the radiation will.

While the Fat Man is a great weapon for instantly clearing out super mutant camps and dealing devastating damage, it does have the drawback of having such a massive explosion radius that it’s hard not to get caught up in it yourself. Definitely don’t try to use this one indoors.

3 Shark-O-Matic – Saints Row The Third

Weaponized Sharks

There are shotguns that shoot shells, shotguns that shoot rockets, and then there’s a shotgun that shoots chum. Found in the Shark Attack Pack DLC for Saints Row The Third, the Shark-O-Matic is a special shotgun that fires a spread of fish guts, covering enemies and NPCs alike.

After a few moments of watching these poor NPCs writhe around, a gigantic shark will erupt from the ground, devouring the unlucky souls covered in chum. It’s brilliant and bloody and entertaining in a way only Saints Row The Third can be, and stands as one of the coolest weapons in the game.

2 RYNO 8 – Ratchet And Clank: Rift Apart

Rippin’ Ya A New Dimension

The Ratchet and Clank series has always had interesting weapons to play with, from the shotgun-like Blitz Gun to the wacky Sheepinator, which itself could be on this list. However, one mainstay of the series is the mega-powerful weapon called the RYNO, with each incarnation offering different ways to devastate your enemies. Arguably the most interesting of these is the RYNO 8 from Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart.

While most RYNO weapons pack a serious punch in the form of screen-clearing rockets, the RYNO 8 tears holes in the fabric of the universe to unleash chaos on unsuspecting enemies. Use the RYNO to open a portal and a series of items will travel through and wreck your foes. The coolest part is that some of these items are related to PlayStation, like Horizon’s massive Thunderjaw or Sly Cooper’s van.

1 The Gatlians – High On Life

Guns With Real Character

We’ve already covered a couple of talking guns, but what about a whole race of talking weapons? High on Life is a first-person shooter from the minds at Squanch Games, which thrusts you into a funny, action-packed adventure where your arsenal just so happens to be a group of Gatlians, an alien race that takes on the form of various weapons.

Throughout High on Life, you gain a number of these Gatlians as allies, giving you new means of battling aliens and traversing the world. Being a sentient race, the weapons each have their own personalities, from a nervous pistol named Kenny, voiced by Justin Roiland, to a polite Gatlian named Creature who births tiny beings that attack bad guys. They’re easily some of the most charming and unique weapons in video games.