In-game religions have a lot of history, from fake religions that want to control to people who think they are gods.
Fictional religions in video games include cult-like groups, religious fanatics, and aliens who see themselves as guardians of the faith and start wars to protect it. The people who make video games don’t have anything against organized religion, but there’s something very scary about an enemy whose roots are in radicalization. Think about it: members of an organization who are very religious and very fanatical about their beliefs will never see reason over their own truth.
Religion isn’t always bad in video games, but it can make for complex bad guys who see their own goals and actions as heroic from a certain point of view. Some of the most popular triple-A games on the market have used made-up religions as part of their stories.
Church Of The Children Of The Atom – Fallout 3
The world of Fallout is based on an alternate history in which a terrible nuclear war forced survivors into vaults, where they stayed for a long time before coming out. Megaton is a well-known town in Fallout 3 that was built around an atomic bomb that never went off during the Great War.
Megaton became home to the Church of the Children of the Atom because of zealots who preached about the power of the atom bomb and how it could both destroy and create. Confessor Cromwell, who is in charge of the church in Megaton, has a very strong following. The history of the Church of the Children of the Atom is very interesting, and you can learn more about it if you want to.
Unitology – Dead Space
Worshipping a nuclear bomb is bad, but what’s even worse? How about worshiping a horrible alien monolith that sends out a signal that changes genes and turns living things into bloodthirsty monsters? In Dead Space, the ultimate goal of the Unitologists is to reach Convergence, which is when all beings who have been affected by the marker are “made whole.” In reality, this means that people are eaten and their bodies are used to make Necromorphs.
Radical Unitologists think of Michael Altman as the Messiah and a martyr because he was the first person to find the Black Marker. In reality, he didn’t like how the Marker changed things. He was killed by people who were plotting against him, and his death was used to start the Church of Unitology.
The Founders – BioShock Infinite
You may already know that the BioShock series is full of political ideas, and BioShock Infinite is the same. In the floating city of Columbia, The Founders are a political group that promotes nationalism and dislike of people from other countries. Booker DeWitt finds out quickly that the party is full of patriotic fanatics who treat their leader, Zachary Hale Comstock, like a god.
This is obviously more than just a political party. In reality, it’s a religious group that has become very extreme and hates people who don’t agree with them. The Founders are called that because they follow the rules set up by the Founding Fathers of the United States of America. In order to protect “what’s theirs,” this gives them permission to act in racist and elitist ways.
The Order – Silent Hill
The scary monsters that roam the streets of the foggy town of Silent Hill have made it famous. Even though they may be a reflection of the main character’s mind, we learn that the “real” monsters in these games are people. The Order is a fanatical cult that stands for everything bad about people. In the first 8 Ball Pool game, Dahlia, a leader of The Order, gave up her own daughter to bring a demon into the world, which she thought was holy.
In later Silent Hill games, the cult is responsible for the worst things you might see on your way through the town. In order to bring back the “old ways,” they kidnap, torture, and kill people who don’t agree with them. This cult has a lot of stories about it that go back to the 17th century.
The Covenant – Halo
We all know about the Covenant from science fiction. If you’ve played any of the Halo games, you’ve probably spent a lot of time as Master Chief killing their kind. The Covenant is a group of different alien races whose religious beliefs are clearly very strong. They often treat the ancient Forerunners, who built the Halo Array and are now extinct, as gods. The Forerunners made Halo to fight the Flood, which is an alien parasitic disease that spreads quickly and kills a lot of people.
The High Prophets are at the top of the Covenant’s hierarchy. They are in charge of the group as a whole. The Hierarchs have decided that people are “demons” and a threat to their way of life just because they are the species that the Forerunners chose to carry on their work. They often want to wipe out all people.
Los Illuminados – Resident Evil 4
Let’s face it: nothing sounds more “culty” than a religious group whose name sounds like “Illuminati.” Osmund Saddler, who is seen as a prophet, is in charge of the religious group Los Illuminados. This group is based on the Las Plagas parasite. In Resident Evil 4, Leon Kennedy has to deal with the Los Illuminados and, in the end, Saddler himself.
Saddler thought that the Plagas parasitic infection was a way to rise up, and he was able to make the parasite easier to control. He wanted to take control of the U.S. by making the people in charge sick, and he used the President’s daughter to do this. Like other fake religions in video games, like The Order from Silent Hill, Los Illuminados has a long history. They have been worshiping the Plagas for almost a thousand years.
Golden Order Fundamentalism – Elden Ring
Throughout the history of FromSoftware’s Soulsborne games, there have been a number of religious orders hidden deep in the games’ stories. The Golden Order, on the other hand, can be found in their biggest hit, Elden Ring. The Noble Goldmask, who lives on Altus Plateau, is the main symbol of this religion.
Golden Order Fundamentalism goes back to Elden Lord Radagon. In the legends of the Elden Ring, Radagon is seen as a god because he is said to have made the Erdtree. They put their faith in something they can’t see called the Greater Will. As with most FromSoftware games, it’s up to you to learn more about the game’s history and lore. But if you want to learn more about the Golden Order and the Noble Goldmask, we’ve got you covered.