Video games are a wonderful way to take the beliefs of history and place them in a tangible setting, to see something of the past visible in the modern-day. The mythologies of many cultures are used for this, from the Greek pantheon to the Egyptian gods. That said, there are plenty of cultures that rarely have tꦑheir folklore and myths picked up in an authentic way, and Celtic lore is one of them.
Irish as a language is used often as a basis for fantasy languages but many times it's simply conflated with Nordic culture - though everyone loves a good Celtic knot and who hasn't heard of a banshee? This list isn't exempt from the Nordic influence either - unfortunately - but here are at least a few games more accurate and open with their Celtic inspirations.
10 Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice
Hellblade is a renowned game now, famed for its accurate depiction of psychosis. Senua suffers from this condition and it's tied deeply into the gameplay with voices shouting all around her. But it is never her weakness, rather it's another part of her that makes her who she is.
Hellblade, to its credit, makes at least some distinction between Celtic and Norse belief where others would not. The game takes place in the land of Vikings and all their gods and omens, but Senua herself is of Celtic descent, likely Pictish. She travels to seek revenge and also encounters Druth, based heavily on the real Celt൩ic monk Findan.
9 🌳 Final 🏅Fantasy
Final Fantasy falls into the category of loose inspiration more than direct interpretation. Like many fantasy stories, various elements o🃏f Celtic mythology are taken to create these worlds, though in most instances Final Fantasy has the decency to leave the names alone,🧜 making their origins clearer.
One of the most recurring elements is the spear Gae Bolg, famously the spear of warrior C&uacu💜te; Chulainn from Celtic legend. Cú Chulainn also makes an appearance in Final Fantasy XII as a boss and summon, though his appearance may be a far cry from the warrior of l🔯egend you may expect.
8 🐈 Castlevania 💎
Castlevania is a famed series, one of the pioneers of the Metroidvania genre. And though the series hasn't had a proper new entry in many years, its influence is great and has had many spiritual successors in the meantime. But in a games series based around hunting down monsters of legend, it's only logical monsters from a few myths slip in.
Cas🤪tlevania is a bit more diligent than most with this. Sure, it takes the banshee (like everyone else) but it adds the Dullahan as well - a headless horseman of Irish myth. It also features Celtic weapons in the form of Kaladbolg and Claimh Solais, even functioning somewhat like the associated myths.
7 Rhian𓆉non: Curse of the Four Branches 🐲
Few games truly invest deeply into a world of Celtic mythology but Rhiannon is one of them. Unlike others that draw inspiration (and loosely at that), Rhiannon is a more direct interpretation. Based on Welsh belief, much of the game's subject matter is inspired by the Mabinogion, a selection of prose work compiled originally in Welsh.
The game is a typical first-person point-and-click adventure that has you playing as Rhiannon and solving puzzles around the area of Ty Pryderi, designed after the Welsh countryside. It's a good game in and of itself, though utilizing Welsh tales in such an involved way is what really makes it shine.
6 ♋ The Waylanders
The Waylanders touches o♌n an interesting intersection of Celtic culture, that of the Galician Celtics of Northern Spain, the area itself named by the Romans following their conquest of the area. Th🐈at said, the Waylanders itself is a fictitious game, set in a world inspired by this culture.
It's an RPG with a real-time pausable combat system, based heavily on games like Baldur's Gate and Dragon Age. The game features many origins as well, such as druids and Fomorians, a supernatural race from various Celtic beliefs. It's a wonderful celebration of culture, and an aspect of Celtic mythology often overlooked.
5 Folklore
Folklore is a fascinating game, and one of many that showcase Japan's love of Celtic mythology. Created exclusively for the PS3 in 2007, Folklore is made by various video game veterans such as those that worked on Resident Evil and tasks you with exploring both the town of Doolin in Ireland and the Otherworld of Celtic mythology.
Being so steeped in actual Ireland and Celtic myth, thankfully the game has actual monsters of myth as well, such as Cait Sidhe, Barghests, and Gae Dearg (a spear in myth, but we'll take it). It's a fascinating game.
4 Smite
When talking about gods, it can be hard to avoid ga🍎mes all about gods, so Smite is a natural fit. Unlike many other mythologies, Celtic tribes had less organized pantheons and belief was slightly more based on each tribe than full cultural belief. Many tribes had different gods even if they filled similar roles. Hence why much of Celtic myth focuses more on warrior-legends than specific gods - something more tangible across all tribes.
That said, Smite does a good job of then pulling warriors and gods from various tribes rather than just Irish ones. There's Cú Chulainn, one of the most famed in Celtic tales, and Cernunnos of Gallo-Roman belief, as well as Clíodhna, a queen of the Tuatha Dé Danann. There are also more authentic spellings rather than English renditions, and it takes from a wide berth of Celtic tribes too.
3 🍌 The Witcher
The Witcher series is an interesting example here, as the Celtic inspirations here actually stretch back further than the games to the original books. First off are the appearance of druids. Druid is a very catch-all term nowadays to describe wise men of Pagan belief, but their origins actually lie in that of Celtic cultures, and they feature prevalently in the games, mainly in 🥃Skellige.
Going further on🉐 this, Skellige itself is heavily inspired by Celtic myths. It is simply the Irish Skellig Isles, while many of the clans are named in Irish. Kaer Morhen is itself Welsh in origin, the Elder Spee💟ch is heavily based on Celtic languages, and as always, Banshees are present in the games.
2 Nioh
Nioh does something quite incredible that seemingly no other game does, including those that utilize Celtic mythology, and that is include the actual Irish language. Nioh is an oddity of a game, taking a historical British sailor and making him Irish, taking his formal position as a samurai into a more literal combat role, and making him face yokai of Japanese myth. It's a lot.
William's main goal in the game is to regain Saoirse, his guardian spirit stolen by Englishman Edward Kelley. Saoirse is the Irish word for "Freedom". And though Saoirse herself is not a specific figure in Celtic myth, her design is that of a Merrow, a kind of Irish mermaid. Plus, she speaks actual Irish to further highlight her origins. It's a weirdly respectable approach that deserves praise.
1 Shin Megami🔜 Tensei 🎃
Like Smite, games that focus on the figures of various different mythologies▨ thankfully are studious enough not to forgo Celtic ones, and often have the foresight ♏to not include just gods. Shin Megami Tensei is another great example. The series has been running for decades and has had Celtic figures since its earliest days.
Well-known figure Cú Chulainn ♏is a long-term entry, while Fionn Mac Cumhaill was added in the fifth game. Others like Leanan Sidhe and Kelpie exist too, and even some weapons like Claiomh Solais make an appearance in spin-off series Persona.