5 of the most friendly giants in video games (and 5 that were your worst enemy)

Giant creatures are a common sight in video games, especially in large-scale open-world RPGs. These beasts are often part of the scenery, roaming around across the land, or might be encountered directly over the course of the story, possibly as an important plot point.

Like all sentient creatures, these large behemoths also possess different temperaments, showcasing a varied range of emotions. Some of these could become allies to the player, or might have a non-violent outlook on life. Others could be the exact opposite, having it out for the player.

Both kinds are abundant in video games, in a variety of sizes and shapes. Here are five such friendly giants that players can encounter in video games, along with five more who were not so friendly and put up quite a fight.

Note: This article reflects the writer's opinions.

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5 giants in video games who only wanted to be friends

1. Parthunaux - The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Skyrim is full of Dragonborn who wish to kill the protagonist. These may include, but are not limited to, wolves, sabercats, bandits, necromancers, draugers, and the occasional giant spider. However, one other threat that players constantly have to deal with are dragons, large house-sized winged reptiles who can randomly appear anywhere in the open-world and lay waste to civilization.

By the time players are sent on a quest to travel to the highest peak of the mountain to meet a wise sage, they are all too familiar with how to deal with dragons. But in one of the best video game twists ever, the sage at the top of the mountain turns out to be a dragon, which introduces itself as Parthunaux.

While the Dragonborn is apprehensive at first, the old dragon reassures him that his motives are aligned with the player and wishes to bring down the evil dragon Alduin. Parthunaux aids the player for much of the video game’s story until the very end of the campaign. Players can even choose to become his student, learning the ways of the dragonborn directly from an ancient dragon.

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2. The Lonely Giant - Red Dead Redemption 2

The two hidden Easter eggs in the wide open lands of Red Dead Redemption 2 serve as an homage to a DLC character from a previous video game of the series. The first of these can be found atop Mount Shann - near Strawberry is the skeleton of a large humanoid creature.

The second and more interesting one can be found through a series of difficult steps. This involves following a group of flying birds from the nearby Wapiti Indian Reservation. Successfully following these birds can lead to a cave, the entrance of which is inaccessible. If the player has studied at least 30 animals by this point, a conversation can be struck with the inhabitant of the cave.

The giant initially greets the player as a friend and asks them how they are. Further prompts lead to it saying that it is lonely because it is too big. It offers to be friends with the player, and if visited a few more times, it will talk more about itself.

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3. Trico - The Last Guardian

Trico from The Last Guardian is an amalgamation of a bird and a mammal, retaining the adorable natures of both. It is also a crucial part of the game, as players are required to cooperatively solve puzzles with this lovably fuzzy boy. At about 15 feet tall, Trico is modeled after the behavior of real animals, which results in realistic acting and movements, although it is a purely fictional creature.

Players will have some trouble in the beginning getting Trico to do as they direct him to move a certain way, or look in a particular direction. However, as the game progresses, the player's bond with Trico grows, and communication becomes easier. Trico is easily one of the ‘best boys’ of video games.

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4. War Councillor Iji - Elden Ring

During Elden Ring, the tarnished first encounters the gentle troll Iji near Caria Manor, where he urges the player to stay away from the place if they value their life. Since Elden Ring is a video game where players resurrect when they die, players choose to ignore this advice and head straight for the manor.

After being attacked by spectral arrows along the way, large severed seven-fingered hands inside the manor grounds and dying more times than they can count, the aforementioned advice might sound appealing. Later on during Ranni’s questline, players will get to know that Iji is her war counselor and will advise the player regarding the progression of the quest.

Thus, Iji becomes a reliable source of knowledge regarding Ranni and her other companions, Blaidd and Seluvius, as well as providing smithing facilities. Throughout Ranni’s quest Iji seeks only to further her goals, helping the tarnished by going as far as to sealing Blaidd as a cautionary measure. Unfortunately, at the end of this quest, Iji is found dead, killed by some black knife assassins, presumably sent by Ranni herself.

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5. The World Serpent - God of War

In the 2018 video game God of War, Krato and his son Atreus take on a journey to travel to the highest peak of all the realms in order to scatter the ashes of Atreus’ mother, as was her last wish. Along the way, these two meet many individuals, some friendly, while others not so much.

One such individual is the fabled World Serpent, who awakens when they enter the Lake of the Nine. This colossal serpent, a giant which is wrapped around the entire world, raises its upper body as Arteus and Kratos approach the center of the lake. While initially terrifying, this snake is not hostile towards the duo, instead opting to mostly leave them alone as they go about their business.

Atreus learns its name is Jormungander, and it will fight Thor during Ragnarok. Later on in the video game, the serpent even assists Kratos and Atreus by moving the realm travel bridge after a chat with Mimir. And finally, to come to aid when called by Atreus during the ultimate battle, taking down the reanimated corpse of a giant and giving Kratos a fighting chance against Baldur.

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5 video game giants that wanted to kill the protagonist

1. Engels - NieR:Automata

During the prologue of NieR:Automata, protagonist 2B has to initially take on a sentient oil rig, which tries to kill her using various drilling and mining equipment. Once the initial part of this is cleared, however, the fight quickly escalates as a colossal-looking robot, which is itself an oil rig, lands in front of the player.

This is Engels, and it serves as an introduction to boss battles in the video game. The game itself seems to know that fighting this humongous robot might seem a bit too daunting, which is why co-protagonist 9S also shows up now to assist 2B. Fighting the giant sentient oil rig goes about as well as one would expect, with battle being multi-staged.

This boss fight starts with a normal hit to the enemy when the opportunity presents itself, but evolves as enough damage is dealt to it. It is followed by a flight sequence/bullet hell phase, a phase where players need to run away from it, along with a platforming sequence, which finally leads to 2B cutting off its own buzz-saw arm, and using it to finish the fight.

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2. Gongen Wyzen - Asura’s Wrath

Asura’s Wrath is a video game from developer CyberConnect2 and published by Capcom. It tells the tale of Asura, a demigod who was betrayed by the rest of the pantheon of Demigods. One such Demigod is Wyzen, who is the Guardian General of Violence.

After the betrayal, Asura meets Wyzen near a village where Wyzen attempts to capture Asura and bring him to the other demigods. A fight ensues, which sees Wyzen even change form once to compete with Asura. The latter is no match for him and is knocked out of the planet. It is now that Wyzen unleashes his full power and transforms into his final form, Gongen Wyzen.

The form is seemingly larger than the planet itself and sees him use only a finger to squish Asura to death. However, Asura is filled with rage upon seeing this, remembering the betrayal and uses it to empower himself and assault on Wyzen’s finger. Through the sheer force of willpower and rage, Asura can shatter Wyzen’s finger, causing a chain reaction that ultimately destroys him.

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3. Zorah Magdaros - Monster Hunter World

Monster Hunter World features a ton of gigantic creatures to kill and salvage materials from throughout its gaming world. However, none really compares in size to the Zora Magdaros, one of the largest creatures ever to grace the monster hunter franchise. As confirmed by Capcom, the creature is about 846 feet tall, towering over the modern Godzilla, who comes in at less than half that length at 394 feet.

The best news for monster hunter fans is that this creature is plot-specific, driving much of the larger narrative until it is finally available for hunting later on in the video game. This fight does not involve directly fighting the creature; instead, players need to climb around it and attack its vital organs.

As a testament to how large this creature is, this beast carries a large landmass on its back, like some sort of giant turtle. Another comparison comes during the fight, when hunters need to fight another monster, while traversing the hide of Zora Magdaros, a first for this video game series.

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4. Fire Giant - Elden Ring

While Elden Ring is filled with giant dragons, not one one of them comes close to the Fire Giant found at the very top of the Mountaintop of the Giants area. As the last living member of its race, this giant guards the only path to the forge of the giants. The largest boss in the video game, this giant is nothing like Iji and is immediately hostile.

This humongous figure is coated with orange hair and fur, with a giant humanoid face on its chest, and a single closed eye and mouth. The giant also carries a large plate along with it, which it uses to attack and perform a few areas of effect moves, to squash the player.

In the second phase of this boss fight, however, the giant, upon receiving enough damage, rips off its leg and burns it in an offering. This allows the face in its chest to come alive, with a large orange eye, now glaring at the player along with a mouth full of sharp teeth that can breathe fire.

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5. Hræzlyr - God of War

While The World Serpent was an example of a good giant in the video game, God of War also has an evil giant, whose hostility is only matched by Kratos’ aggression. While traveling up the mountain, where they intended to scatter the ashes of Atreus’ mother, the pair come face to face with a dragon, earlier named Hræzlyr, which translates to “terror” in the old Norse tongue.

Initially, the two escape this encounter, but have to face the monster eventually, as it threatens one of their allies. Kratos, having prior experience dealing with giant things wanting to kill him, takes the lead on this assignment and engages the beast on his own. The dragon is a formidable opponent that can use its claws to strike and spit lightning.

Despite this, it is no match for Godkiller Kratos, who uses the environment to his advantage and deals some heavy damage. Finally, with a little help from Atreus and a large metal claw, Kratos is able to drive a giant spike through the dragon’s neck, effectively killing it while also pulling off a superhero landing.