10 Most Iconic Swords In Gaming History

3. Energy Sword

Halo Energy Sword
Microsoft

Halo’s Energy Sword is about as far as I’m pushing it in terms of what classifies as a sword but seeing as it does, in fact, feature the ‘s’ word in its very title, the two pronged fork that you grip like a fist weapon gets the all clear from me.

Despite being the only game on this list that is a first-person shooter, that in no way detracts from either the power or the significance of the energy sword. While there’s some argument to be had over whether energy swords are awesome or annoying, that probably depends on whether you’re dominating with one or constantly finding yourself on the wrong side of them in multiplayer. Traditionally wielded by Elites, the blade hits hard and fast so it’s an invaluable ally.

In Halo 2 the sword could infamously be used to up your momentum to the point where you could basically fly across arenas, so it was useful for traversal as well as lethal in combat.

In Halo 3, Bungie enabled sword jousting between two players who both wielded the weapon, while in earlier instalments you could lash out with it before you’d even fully drawn it, and it locks onto its target when you lunge with it. In any of its editions, though, the Energy Sword well and truly left its mark which is particularly impressive given it spawned from a series that is otherwise dominated by a range of powerful guns.

The only huge downside to the Energy Sword is that if you’re good enough with it you’ll probably lose friends but you know, maybe they should have been better at the game.

 
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Jess has been a journalist and content creator in the games industry for over 15 years and has been WhatCulture's resident Australian import and sorry cop since 2020, upping the quotient of swearing and apologising in WhatCulture Gaming's annual blooper videos considerably. She previously worked at GameSpot for 10 years, most notably hosting GameSpot News in addition to E3 live shows, and PAX panels. She regularly livestreams a variety of games on her 'jessmcdonell' YouTube and Twitch channels and hosts the 'Do It On The Day' podcast. She has won awards for her news and feature work in gaming as well as an accolade for her comedic writing (likely an admin error). She can be found on X at @jessmcdonell and Instagram at @jessicamcdonell sharing her current videogame fixations, industry insights, and videos of her cat, Karma.