Summary
Combat insoulslike games can get seriously brutal. Some players prefer a weapon that will match that brutality, and there are few weapon types more imposing than hammers. These hefty weapons tend to swing much slower than a sword but hit for a lot more damage when they connect.
Many players prefer this high-risk, high-reward strategy and prioritize weapons based on how much damage they can dish out in a single blow. Some soulslikes are better than others at catering to this destructive urge. For those curious, here are some of thebest soulslikes for players who want to hit things with hammers.
The legendaryBloodbornefeatures some of the most unique weapons out there. This iconic soulslike furnishes the hunter with a broad arsenal of trick weapons, which have unique transformations that players can use to shake up their combat strategy in the middle of a fight.
Many of these trick weapons feature blades or spears to tear at the flesh of the unsightly beasts prowling Yharnam’s streets, but there aresome very brutal exceptions. One of these is the kirkhammer, a simple straight sword that can be inserted into a heavy block of stone in order to transform into a mighty hammer.Bloodborneplayers can also find the Tonitrus, a strange mystical mace that crackles with electricity.
The fast-pacedLies of Pseems like an odd choice for a slower, heavier build, but the myriad weapon customization options available in the streets of Krat still allow for plenty of build options.Lies of Plets fans freely mix and match weapons and handles, building their ideal weapon regardless of playstyle.
Whilethe arsenal inLies of Pis more skewed toward bladed weaponry, there are still plenty of options for hammer fans. Players can use items like the Big Pipe Wrench Head, a Krat police baton, or even an exploding pickaxe to deliver brute force pain to the renegade robots of Krat. Special hammers like the Golden Lie and Noblesse Oblige can’t be disassembled like more common weaponry, but they still pack a serious punch in combat.
It would be hard to argue thatDemon’s Soulswas as much of a revelation for the industry as its successor, but at the same time,Dark Soulswouldn’t exist without it. This venerable RPG set the stage for many of the featuresDark Soulsand its sequels would later improve, and the weapon categories on offer are just one feature that would go on to become iconic.
Demon’s Soulsdoesn’t have quite as many hammers to choose from as the laterDark Soulsgames provide. There are five hammers and three Great Hammers on offer. These slow heavy hitters are especially effective against armored foes, making them a valuable part of a player’s arsenal.
The legendaryDark Soulshas had an impact on the gaming industry that cannot be denied. Its extensive library of weapons set the stage for the rest of the soulslike genre. The game’s ample selection of hammers and maces helped carve out a respectable niche for that specific type of weapon as well.
Dark Soulsfeatures nine hammers and six great hammers. Normal hammers can actually strike fairly quickly, with a lot of momentum behind their swings, but they have a lot of recovery time to take into consideration. Great hammers, as expected, are much slower but hit a lot harder. Smough, one half of what is arguably themost iconic boss fight inDark Souls, uses a particularly infamous great hammer that players can unlock for themselves if they obtain his soul.
The ancient Japanese setting ofNioh 2is often associated with a particular kind of weapon that’s quite antithetical to the hammer. The katana is a nimble cutting weapon, and it’s certainly a more commonly represented weapon type than the hammer.
That said, however,Nioh 2features anextremely large arsenal of weapons, and this includes fourteen varieties of hammers. Hammers inNioh 2share many properties with axes, including skills, but they scale with different stats and offer different damage types. Like in other games, these weapons are considerably slower than other offerings, but they make up for it in raw damage.
The minimalistic graphics and open world design ofAshenset it apart from its soulslike brethren. This unique game has a heavy emphasis on co-op and exploration, as players share a vast open world and can freely and randomly run into each other on their quest. It also has a much looser weapon categorization system than other soulslikes, which can be a boon for hammer fans.
Ashensplits weapons into four categories. There are one-handed bladed weapons, two-handed bladed weapons, one-handed blunt weapons, and two-handed blunt weapons. This means that roughly half the weapons in the game are hammers, opening up a lot of options for fans who prefer a slower playstyle.
The infamousDark Souls 2is a mixed bag for many FromSoft fans, but it’s definitely a good game for hammer users. The game offers a whopping 12 hammers and 17 great hammers to help players beat down on their foes.
Another wayDark Souls 2benefited weapons of all types was throughits dual wielding system. By equipping two weapons of the same damage type and combat style,Dark Souls 2fans can enter a power stance, letting them strike with both weapons simultaneously for considerably more damage. This is especially nice for hammer users, letting them mitigate the low attack speed that’s such a major drawback for these weapons.
Lords of the Fallenis a soulslike among soulslikes and a very clear homage toDark Souls. To that end, it also features a pretty sizable catalog of weapons, including hammers. The game boasts fourteen hammers and twelve grand hammers, which are equivalent to the great hammers fromDark Souls.
Like in other games, these hammers are much slower to swing than other weapons, but they hit much harder as well. They’re particularly good at breaking through enemy defenses, which makes them an ideal choice against foes with shields.Lords of the Fallenalso offers flails as its own distinct category; these weapons provide a unique and versatile blend of speed and power.
Dark Souls 3provided an end to the legendary trilogy that folded in a lot of content from the first two games, and to that end, it’s a good title for hammer fans. The game features 8 hammers and 14 great hammers, meaning that fans who want to go all in on the heaviest weaponry possible will find a lot to love here.
The game alsofeatures a lot of iconic weaponryfrom previous entries in the game, letting fans wield Smough’s Great Hammer and even Havel’s mighty Dragon Tooth once more. WhileDark Souls 3doesn’t include the power stance systemDark Souls 2introduced for dual wielding, it does have paired weapon sets like the Drang Hammers that players can use to double their damage just the same.
The massive world ofElden Ringis bristling withnew types of weaponsto discover and wield. The game’s weapon catalog is larger and more varied than any of theDark Soulsgames that came before it, and there are plenty of options for fans who want to swing a hammer around. Including the new weapons in theShadow of the ErdtreeDLC, there are 16 hammers, 6 flails, and 16 great hammers for players to use inElden Ring.
The game also features a new category of Colossal Weapons, which are armaments that are simply too large to fit in another category. There are 20 colossal weapons available inElden Ring, and while some of them are explicitly axes or staves, others, like theAnvil Hammerand the Giant Crusher, are truly massive maces that will let players crush their foes like never before.
