Summary
Before chemists discovered the Periodic Table of Elements, it was generally believed that there were four building blocks of life: fire, water, earth, and air. These four classical elements still play a role in parts of the real world and are also sources of inspiration for unique fictional settings.
Many video games use thesefour elements as classifications for magic. Others have characters or groups of characters that specialize in just one of the elements. When done well, implementing the four elements often makes the game more immersive and fun.
Hyrule Warriorsand its sequels are hack-and-slash fighting games where players fight hordes of enemies as characters from different games in theZeldafranchise. Every playable character is assigned one of the five elements, which affects how much damage they deal and take from attacks. Weapons likewise have elements that affect their stats and can give some additional effects.
In addition to the stats, elements can come into play during Adventure Mode. Keeps can have elemental barriers that cause damage of that particular type until the keep is taken or the barrier is taken down. The series' use of the four elements is unique and relatively indirect, but it does play a part in how battles unfold.
Each of the spellcasting classes inBaldur’s Gate 3— Wizard, Warlock, Sorcerer, Druid, Cleric, and Bard —has access to elemental spells likeChromatic Orb and Faerie Fire. Magic damage is divided by its elemental type, and many enemies are either weak or strong against specific types.
One class in particular specializes in the four elements. The Way of The Open Hand is a Monk sub-class, and it is the closestD&Dequivalent to playing as the Avatar. These Monks have access to unique versions of elemental spells and can deal damage using all four of the elements.
Octopath Traveleris an RPG series that intentionally hearkens back to Super NES JRPGs. Players choose one of eight fully-fleshed-out characters as their protagonist and then add more members to their party as they explore. Each character has one of eight classes, called Jobs in the game. Each Job has access to one or more specific elemental types.
Since characters can eventually multi-class into other Jobs, each of them can eventually wield multiple elements at once. With over twenty different spells in the game, commanding the elements is a great way to win the game’s turn-based RPG battles.
The Legend of Korrais a third-person brawler set in theAvataruniverse between thesecond and third seasons of the TV showof the same name. At the game’s start, Korra is attacked by a chi-blocker who temporarily takes away her bending, and players gradually unlock abilities from the different elements again as the game progresses.
After completing the game, players can play a pro-bending mode that follows the same rules as the unique sport in the show. The four elements are central to the game’s setting, combat mechanics, and the pro-bending mode.
Palworldis a survival-crafting game with a twist in which players do not need to do all the work themselves. Wild creatures called Pals can be captured and put to work in a player’s base, and each type of Pal is capable of doing different jobs. Fire Pals can cook food, craft items at a forge, and keep heaters running, while Electric Pals provide power for the base.
As players branch out and explore more of the Palpagos Islands, they encounter different kinds of Pals across varied biomes. Capturing Pals of each of the elements, including extra types like Darkand Electric Pals, allows the player to have a great team for combat and for building a high-functioning base.
TheMagickaseries are tongue-in-cheek fantasy adventure games. Up to four players can travel together as wizards that can castpowerful elemental spells. There are eight kinds of Magicks that players can use, which can be channeled into powerful beams, area attacks, and more.
InMagicka 2, players can combine their elemental beams to create unique attacks like combining one player’s Cold beam with another person’s Water to make ice or using Water and Arcane Magick together to make poison. With so many different elemental combinations to play with, players can experiment to figure out their favorites, or simply focus on the elemental weaknesses of the level they are on.
InWizard of Legend,the player character is transported to the distant past in a time when magic is strong. Hopeful young wizards compete in a tournament to see who can defeatbosses specializing in different elementsand become the champion.
The gauntlet consists of three sets of randomly generated dungeons, each based on the element of its corresponding boss. The rooms, traps, enemies, and spell resistance all stem from which element the boss has mastered. With over 100 different spells from the five elements, players can feel like true masters of the elements.
The seven elements are the core of Teyvat, the world ofGenshin Impact.It is ruled over by gods called The Seven, each of whom is associated with one of the elements.
The game is focused on open-world exploration and party-based combat, where players can switch between their four active party members. Like the gods, each character is associated with an element that determines their stats and abilities. Traveling with a diverse range of elements is the best way to be prepared for all the encounters they will find as they explore Teyvat.
ThePokemonfranchise encompasses more than twenty video games across nine generations of Pokemon, as well as anime, manga, toys, and more. Each entry in the main series, starting withRed and Blueintroduces a new set of over 100 Pokemon in a new region, usually themed after regions in the real world.
Pokemon are creatures that have unique elemental powers, based on which of the eighteen types they are. Pikachu, the most famous Pokemon, is an Electric-type and so it has abilities like Thundershock and Thunderwave. Since the world ofPokemonrevolves around these creatures, the classical elements are at the forefront of the game’s setting and mechanics.
The four elements are the building blocks for all of Weyard, the world ofGolden Sun.Long ago, alchemy — the manipulation of the elements — was commonplace until the power was largely sealed away. The villains of the first game have a plot to unleash alchemy and use it to gain power in the world, but they are stopped by the player’s party of four characters. In the sequel, it turns out that alchemy needs to be unleashed or the world will perish, and so players take on the role of some of the original game’s antagonists.
Each character in the player’s party is an Adept, someone who can control one of the four elements. In each game, the main protagonist is a Venus Adept who has earth powers, and along the way, the party grows to have an Adept of each type. The games involve using elemental spells in combat and as ways to solve puzzles in dungeons. Given the importance of the four elements to every aspect of these games, players will need to master the strengths of each different element to complete the story and save Weyard.
