5 most powerful 1 hit kill weapons in video games

Video games allow players to take on multiple foes, armed with some offensive capability to fight off any threat. These attacking skills generally take the form of weapons, which can deal moderate damage, making the fights above tough but fair.

However, a particular category of firearms in video games takes away the fair element of enemy encounters, giving users such a significant advantage that the ordinary grunts in the game don't stand a chance. These are known as the one-hit kill weapons.

Present throughout a wide range of games, these may take many forms, letting gamers revel in their sheer destructive power.

Note: This article reflects the writer's opinions.

Five video game weapons whose single-hit powers make them unfair

1) Fat Man - Fallout 3

Fans would think that firing a nuclear bomb in the nearby vicinity would be wrong as it would decimate an area covering miles and envelop an even larger space in atomic radiation. But the world of Fallout 3 is already an irradiated nuclear wasteland, so it is seemingly fine to carry around a mini-nuke launcher.

Crudely known as the Fat Man, this is essentially a glorified catapult that can fire mini-nukes. This weapon has the capacity (as the name suggests) to take out any target in a single hit and many more within its immense blast radius.

It should not be fired while aimed straight, as the slingshot power is relatively low, and the nuke will land very close to players, giving little to no time to get out of its blast radius. Instead, it should either be fired at an upward angle or used exclusively in VATS, automatically compensating for the required trajectory.

2) PRL 412 - Resident Evil 4

Leon wielding the PRL 412 (Image via Capcom)

Known as the Plaga Removal Laser 412, this weapon is an unlockable item in Resident Evil 4. Available only after completing the title once in the professional mode, the PRL 412 requires users to put in quite the time to finally wield it.

This is mainly because it is essentially the one-stop solution to all of the enemies in this video game.

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Able to be used at the start of a new campaign, this weapon fires a charged laser beam, which can take out any opponent in the video game in one single hit. It also has infinite ammunition, which means that once unlocked, gamers generally never need to worry about running out of ammo, a crucial concept during a regular playthrough of this video game.

The PRL 412 does take up a lot of space, though, with a 7x3 sized arrangement for Leon's suitcase. The firearm has two settings: a flash that immediately fires a burst of the laser, and a charged blast, which delivers the larger payload of damage.

3) Energy Sword - Halo series

Halo's Energy Sword (Image via 343 Industries)

While first seen in the first Halo video game, Halo: Combat Evolved, the energy sword was not available to be picked up due to the game's programming, which only allowed projectile weapons to be used by the Master Chief.

However, this melee weapon was finally usable from Halo 2 onwards, although it had to be nerfed a little due to its sheer power.

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The energy sword allows players to melee-strike an enemy and take them out in one hit. Aside from shielded enemies, any opponent with their shield down can be immediately dispatched with one blade swipe.

Due to this, when the Master Chief picks up the weapon from a fallen enemy, the sword has an energy meter, indicating how much charge is left before it runs out.

Each strike takes a chunk from the charge, with the normal strike taking less and the lunging or heavy strikes taking a larger amount. Combined with the bandana skull cheat, any user wielding the energy sword becomes an unstoppable force in the campaign.

4) BFG 9000 - Doom

The Doom series isn't subtle about its themes, and the BFG is a gun whose full name is just what fans expect it to be. First appearing in the original Doom game, it has since appeared in the remake and is now titled BFG 9000. And it keeps its reputation of being the most powerful gun in the video game.

A direct hit from this firearm deals a whopping 6,000 damage, with a large blast radius to boot. This means that any and all enemies, barring bosses, can be obliterated using this weapon with just the one ammo spent. However, ammo is how this gun is balanced in the video game.

The BFG 9000 can only hold a total of 3 rounds at a time, and it is a weapon that cannot be further modified or improved. This means that ammunition for this gun is rare across levels.

One small change can be made with a perk that allows for enemies to have a slight chance to drop BFG ammo when killed.

5) Golden Gun - GoldenEye 007

A classic weapon from a different James Bond movie, the Golden Gun makes an appearance in the N64 video game, GoldenEye 007. This weapon appears as an unlockable in the bonus level Egyptian, where players must step on the correct floor tiles without touching the sides of the room where the gun is kept.

Once done, the firearm and its ammunition are free to be picked up.

The gun is an homage to another James Bond movie fittingly named The Man with the Golden Gun, released originally in 1974, which starred Roger Moore as James Bond. It was the iconic weapon of the villain Francisco Scaramanga, played by the late Christopher Lee.

While the weapon has unlimited reserve ammo, it can only fire one shot at a time. This might sound pretty useless if not for its special ability wherein if the bullet from the gun hits a target, they die immediately.

Missing a shot, however, means gamers need to quickly retreat as the gun will need a reloading before being able to fire again.

Note: This list is not in any particular order and solely reflects the writer's opinions.