For enemy variety that changes how you play, start with DOOM Eternal. For creatures that make exploration feel rewarding, choose Hollow Knight. For distinctive monsters that feel part of a living world, try Monster Hunter: World. Each offers a different kind of variety; none is a universal winner.
What makes enemy variety meaningful?
A big roster does not necessarily make a game feel varied. The more useful question is whether a new enemy changes your decisions or makes its surroundings more interesting. Consider these five dimensions:
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- Mechanical distinction: Does an enemy change your weapon choice, positioning, resource use, or timing?
- Combat roles: Do enemies behave differently, or combine in ways that demand new decisions?
- Pacing: Does the game keep introducing meaningful threats, or do encounters start to feel repetitive?
- World integration: Are creatures tied to particular places, ecosystems, or discoveries?
- Breadth versus depth: A long roster matters less if every enemy calls for the same response.
These are useful ways to compare the games below, not a published scoring system. The recommendations draw on creator and developer commentary rather than a comparable count of enemy types.
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Which game should you choose?
| Game | Best fit | What its variety emphasizes |
|---|---|---|
| DOOM Eternal | Players who want enemies to shape combat decisions | Tactical roles and continued introductions of enemies and mechanics |
| Hollow Knight | Players who enjoy discovering creatures while exploring | Distinct creatures connected to areas and revisits |
| Monster Hunter: World | Players who want memorable large-monster encounters | Characteristic behaviors and attack styles within an ecosystem |
DOOM Eternal: enemy variety as a combat tool
DOOM Eternal is the strongest fit if you want new threats to keep changing the rhythm of a first-person shooter. PlayStation.Blog reports that executive producer Marty Stratton connected the sequel’s design decisions to addressing repetition and a lack of visual variation in the previous game. He said the team kept introducing enemies and mechanics in later stages, making variety part of the combat and pacing rather than merely a roster count. Read the PlayStation.Blog interview with Marty Stratton.
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For more on how the studio approached familiar and new adversaries, Bethesda’s January 31, 2020 feature points to a behind-the-scenes look with creative director Hugo Martin. See Bethesda’s DOOM Eternal feature.
Hollow Knight: creatures reward exploration
Hollow Knight suits players who want enemy variety to make wandering and revisiting places worthwhile. Team Cherry describes its areas as containing new creatures, and identifies William Pellen as the designer responsible for enemies, bosses, and game behavior. Explore Team Cherry’s official game information.
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In an interview with PC Gamer, Team Cherry co-director Ari Gibson explained that the team wanted exploration to yield discoveries even when players were not advancing the story: “We tried to have a really diverse range of enemies, so even when you’re just kind of seeing the world and not making a lot of story progress, you stumble across a room you missed last time, and it’s got a weird, fat enemy that doesn’t exist anywhere else, something like that.” Read PC Gamer’s interview with Ari Gibson.
Monster Hunter: World: monsters feel at home in their ecosystem
Choose Monster Hunter: World if you want distinctive large creatures whose identity comes through in their behavior and attacks. Capcom’s developer interview describes the series’ original concept as treating monsters as part of an ecosystem, not just enemies, and discusses the effort to create a dense, seamless living environment in World. Read Capcom’s developer interview.
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Game Developer’s report on director Yuya Tokuda’s GDC presentation says the team gave each large creature a clear theme and a standout characteristic, such as a distinctive attack style. Tokuda also described using a broad range of methods in boss battles to maintain variety and tempo. As Tokuda put it, “With each creature, we also wanted to have a very unique sort of characteristic that stood out and made them unique.” Read Game Developer’s report on the monster designs.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How to narrow down your pick
- Pick DOOM Eternal if you want enemies to influence combat choices and the game to keep introducing threats and mechanics.
- Pick Hollow Knight if finding unusual creatures is part of what makes exploring a place rewarding.
- Pick Monster Hunter: World if you want encounters centered on large monsters with their own characteristic traits and attack styles.
There is no reliable, comparable enemy-count figure established for these three games here. Their appeal is better judged by how their creatures affect combat, exploration, or the sense of place. Check the platform and edition before buying; availability and compatibility can vary.
Quick Recap
Best Value
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