Top 10 Alien Species in Video Games

Top 10 Video Game Alien Species

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These guys do not come in peace. Welcome to WatchMojo.com and today we’ll be counting down our picks for the top 10 video game alien species. For this list, we ranked the coolest races alien races who originate from video-games. As usual, one per franchise.

#10: Zin “Saints Row IV” (2013)

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Here’s a race who knows how to fight. Featured in the bizarre and hilarious open-world action game, these guys come from a planet named after their race, where all youths have to serve in the military. Their strict policy pays off, since they’re able to travel around various planets, kidnapping the finest sentient creatures each one has to offer. That means you, intrepid player, and no they don’t care that you’re the president on the United States. Oh and they also blow up the Earth, no big deal.

Aliens don’t always know what they’re getting themselves into when they invade Earth, but it’s clear that the Ceph have done their homework. A goopy, squidlike race from an aquatic environment, they wear suits on earth for mobility and protection, although you can sometimes see their tentacles sticking out the back. Completely overpowering earth’s defenses, the only real hope for humanity may lie in using their own technology against them. Maximum awesome.

Aliens are a pretty standard enemy in video games, but this humorous action-adventure game lets you play as them. Inspired by cheesy cold war era B-movies, you control gambling addict Crypto, and it’s up to you to harvest as much human DNA as you can. You want to get it for your fellow Furons, of course, but you also can also use it to purchase power-ups which improve your Disintegrator Ray. Oh, and as a Furon, you can also read minds, not too shabby.

#7: The Chimera “Resistance” series (2008-12)

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What was originally thought to be mutated Russians turned out to be something more deadly. Almost all Chimera that you’re unlucky enough to see on earth are actually hybrids of alien and human DNA, as they infect and convert their victims into soldiers using a type of viral mutation. Although the Chimera arrived on earth in 1908 in what was thought to be an asteroid, archeological evidence suggests that they had been here long before that.

As opposed to almost everyone else on this list, these guys aren’t bloodthirsty killers. Though they were once Oddworld’s supreme race, they were eventually overcome by the Glukkons, who enslaved Mudokons to work in their factories and now intend to use them as their newest food product. Simple minded but friendly, Mudokons change color depending on their mood; blue for sad, reddish for angry and green when happy.

This classic FPS series has no shortage of awesome aliens, like the terrifying Combine from “2,” but since nobody is really sure what exactly they are, we stuck with what we know. In the first game these are among the first enemies Gordon Freeman encounters. However his actions end up freeing them from their alien masters, and in the second game any you come across will praise him as their savior. Whether friend or foe, Vortigaunts can emit psychic rays to zap foes or even recharge Gordon’s shield.

There’s a lot of alien species from Mass Effect that could have made this list, from the lovably monotone Elcor, to the space refugee Quarians. In the end, we went with these badass brutes who’s warmongering nature turned their homeworld of Tuchanka into a nuclear wasteland. Tragically, they’re also a dying race, as the artificially introduced genophage has left most of their population sterile. Still if you get on their good side these hardened warriors can also become really lovable goofs, especially this one with an obsession for fish.

#3: The Covenant “Halo” series (2001-)

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We had a tough time choosing between these guys and the parasitic Flood, but we chose the Covenant cause they serve as a great analogy for religious fanaticism. Actually consisting of numerous races they’ve joined forces, (some against their will) to create a powerful military alliance. Although their impressive fleet of ships is enough to make them feared throughout the galaxy, it’s their dedication to their own religion that truly buts the entire universe in danger.

The Space Pirates may look cool, but it’s the lore of the Metroid, and metaphor for upsetting the balance of nature that gets them high on this list. With the lethal ability to drain the energy from their hosts reducing, them to dust, their viciousness brings them straight to the top of the food chain on planet SR388, until Samus went in and wiped out all but one of them. However it’s revealed in Metroid Fusion that the Chozo artificially created the Metroid’s in order to keep an even deadlier parasite known as the X from spreading across the galaxy. Before we get to our number one, let’s take a look at some honorable mentions: Aliens from “Space Invader” “Space Invaders” (1976) Skedar “Perfect Dark” (2000) Sectoids “XCOM: Enemy Unknown” (2012) Fallen “Destiny” (2014)

Taking the top spot is this bunch of ruthless arthropods. Although their nemesis, the Protoss, are also mega cool, you gotta give credit to a race that evolves its weapons and technology instead of building them. An amalgamation of hundreds of other species, every race conquered by the Zerg pushes them closer to the evolutionary perfection they seek. Combined that with their vast numbers, it’s no surprise that they become one of three dominant species in the Galaxy. Do you agree with our list? Which video game alien made you want to phone home? For more extra-terrestrial top 10s published daily, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.