Video games let you play as a variety of different beings, whether you're a genetically-enhanced supersoldier from space or... just some plumber. But one of the most fun mechanics a game can have is shapeshifting.

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Though most of us are stuck in human form in real life, games let us change our shape and become different animals or objects in order to progress; who wouldn't want to become a dragon to burn your enemies to a crisp? It's wish fulfillment at its purest - but which games that allow you to shapeshift are the best?

Updated April 4, 2023 By Ben Jessey: Not every video game allows you to play as a shapeshifter. In fact, it's a fairly rare thing to see in a game. Yet, enabling you to change your form does add an extra interesting element to the experience.

So, we decided to highlight some of the titles that feature playable shapeshifters by creating this list. And now we've returned to the piece to add a few more games that didn't make it into the collection the first time.

13 Prototype

Prototype Screenshot Of Alex Mercer Transforming

In the over-the-top open-world game known as Pro🐓totype, yoꦑu control Alex Mercer. At the beginning of the game, he wakes up with all sorts of crazy superpowers and no memory of how he got them.

He's got a range of special abilities, but most revolve around altering his body in some way. For instance, he can transform his arm into a giant blade. He also can shapeshift into completely different people based on who he has recently consumed. This allows him to sneak into restricted areas.

12 Nobody Saves The World 𝔉

Nobody Saves The World Screenshot Of Character Changing Shape

Nobody Saves The World is a unique top-down RPG dungeon crawler. You play as a nobody. That is not a criticism of their status -ꦺ their name is literally Nobody. They are a blank-slate-type character with a special wand that allows them to transform into different creatures.

They can become anything from a turtle to a dragon. Each one has its own stats and attributes. So, the entire experience is about🐭 choosing🍸 the right form for the right situation.

11 The Wolf Among Us �🌳�

The Wolf Among Us Bigby in Wolf Form

Most of the games that fea꧑ture a shapeshifter give you some control over their shapeshifting abilities. This is not the case with The Wolf Among Us. In this game, you play as Bigby Wolf in a warped fairytale world that originated in the Fable comics.

He generally wants to avoid transforming into his Big Bad Wolf form, as, like everyone in Fable🍌 Town, he is trying to pass as human. However, he sometimes has to be his true violent self as he investigates the murders happening in the town.

10 𒅌The Legend Of Dragoon

Legend of Dragoon character with wings

168澳洲幸运5开奖网:The Legend Of Dragoon is a cult classic JRPG that was released at the tail end of the PS1's life cycle. This was the golden era for JRPGs, when new technology collided with an industry full of ambitious developers looking to tell huge, epic stories, and The Legend Of Dragoon was one of the most epic games of all.

The main character, Dart, can transform into a dragon during battle for an extra power boost, adding to the game's dramatic feel. It's that kind of atmosphere that has fans 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:still begging for a sequel over 20 years after its release.

9 Breath Of Fire 4 𒆙 🍷

A battle scene in Breath of Fire IV, showing Ryu selecting an attack move

Capcom's excellent Breath Of Fire series included shapeshifters long before most others. After all, the series began life on the SNES in the early '90s.

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However, its PS1 installments represent the peak of t🍃he series, because... well, just🧸 look at that sprite work. Breath Of Fire 4 still looks gorgeous today, with an incredible soundtrack to boot, and it even puts you into the shoes of its main villain to help you understand the plot in more depth.

8 🃏 🧜 Shantae And The Seven Sirens

Key art from Shantae and the Seven Sirens, showing Shantae using her powers while other characters look on

168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Shantae And The Seven Sirens is the most recent installment in the long-running Shantae series, and it's also one of the best. These games cast you as the titular Shantae, an optimistic half-genie with the power to transform into different creatures to combat enemies and solve tricky platforming puzzles.

Since Seven Sirens is designed squarely in the Metroidvania mold, you'll need to use all of your powers to navigate through the game's interconnected world. It's a bright, snappy game that oozes charm.

7 Kirby's Epic Yarn

A screenshot from Kirby's Epic Yarn, which shows Kirby transformed into a tank

In most of his games, Kirby has the ability to swallow enemies to absorb their powers, making him sort of a shapeshifter already. However, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Kirby's Epic Yarn takes things even furtherꦍ. In this game, Kirby finds himself trapped in an adorable world made of yarn, un🥀able to use his enemy-inhaling superpowers.

Though not all is lost. His new, flexible yarn form allows him to transform into a variety of different objects; this game lets you turn the cute and cuddly Kirby into a literal tank. Epic Yarn is here to remind you that this pink puffball is actually one of the 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:strongest dudes around.

6 Bloody Roar: P🐻rimal Fury 🦹

The cover art for Bloody Roar: Primal Fury for the Gamecube collaged with a screenshot of two characters from the game fighting

The Bloody Roar series tends to fly a little under the radar. That's a shame because the concept behind these fighting games is absolutely awesome: as you wail on your enemies, you build up a meter that allows you to temporarily transform into beast mode. While in beast mode, you can heal some of your lost HP, access new combos, and hit harder than in human form.

It's perfectly silly, and it makes the combat system that much deeper; the Gamecube installment, Primal Fury, has a competitive scene that's still going strong today.

5 Splato🦂on 2 ꦬ

Splatoon 2 four players ready with weapons

Nintendo's shooter franchise made an ink-splash back in 2015 with its colorful graphics, banging soundtrack, and its appealing gameplay hook: you can turn from a kid to a squid and back in order to cover the map with your team's color of ink.

168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Splatoon 2, which launched for the Switch in 2017, ups the ante on the original game in almost every way, with 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:an expanded collection of stages and pl🍎enty of new gameplay modes to get your squid on.

4 🍸 Bayonetta 2

Official Cover and Promotional Art For Bayonetta 2

168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Bayonetta 2 takes the series' trademark flashy action and just adds more: more weapons, more combos, a more ridiculous story, more outfits, and more Bayonetta. But while Bayonetta 2 is delightfully over-the-top, it also adds some subtler details that prove how much love Platinum Games put into it.

Take Bayonetta's transformation, for instance. She can shift into a panther to gallop around levels faster and get the jump on enemies; but if you look carefully, you'll see plants sprouting behind her as she runs. This is a reference to Okami, the beloved action-adventure game that several of Bayonetta's staff worked on at Clover Studios. Of course, Bayonetta 2 is far more violent than that game, but the thought is nice regardless.