History DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu / VideoGames

*** Curse of Osiris adds Panoptes, the Vex mind in charge of the Infinite Forest on Mercury, and Argos, the Vx Mind that is the core of Nessus.

*** Forsaken would then add an Taken Ahamkara, best described as an [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot undead wish granting space dragon]].

*** This is immediately followed by the ''Vow of the Disciple'' raid, which seems them add [[spoiler:Rhulk, the First Disciple, ''the very first being to serve the Darkness'' (or rather ''The Witness'')]] to their list of defeated Cthulhus.
*** ''Lightfall'' tops this with [[spoiler:''two additional disciples'' - Calus, the Emperor of the Cabal, and Rhulk, the Final God of Pain and ''the herald of the first collapse'']].

* ''VideoGame/{{Terraria}}'' has bosses that are based and named after godlike entities and Cthulhu. "Eye of Cthulhu", "Brain of Cthulhu" after the introduction of the Crimson, and the "Eater of Worlds" all can be punched out. And then there's the Hard-Mode AND Expert Mode versions. Special mention goes to the [[spoiler: [[FinalBoss Moon Lord]]]], whom by WordOfGod is stated to be Cthulhu's ''brother''.

*** While future expansions had the Warrior of Light end up killing more primals, the ''Endwalker'' expansion somehow pushes this trope further by [[spoiler: bringing you face to face with Zodiark early in the expansion, before [[WhamEpisode hitting you with a "Trial Now Accessible" notification.]]]] If this isn't enough, you end up fighting [[spoiler: Hydaelyn Herself in a test of your will and strength, fighting the very deity that guided and protected you thus far.]] Still not enough? Try [[spoiler: the personification of despair itself. That last one isn't even a summoned primal.]]

* This is pretty much the entire point of ''VideoGame/KidIcarus''. You start out in the series' equivalent of hell and end up killing the goddess of darkness and saving the goddess of light.

* ''VisualNovel/UminekoWhenTheyCry'', Battler punches out [[spoiler: [[BigBad Bernkastel]]]] in the face, despite her [[spoiler: [[RealityWarper perfect manipulation of probability]] and TheMultiverse, and her [[SuperWeight ability to throw and tank universe-shattering explosions]].]]

* The final chapter of ''VideoGame/FZero GX'''s Story Mode is the driving equivalent of this trope. Not only does Captain Falcon lap [[GodOfEvil The Creators]] in a race where [[YourSoulIsMine his soul is on the line]], ''[[BadassBoast he smack-talks them for even having the audacity to challenge him in the first place.]]'' Did You Just Outrace Cthulhu? [[CurbstompBattle Yeah, pretty much.]]

** The base game raid sees them slay Atheon, the Vex Mind tasked with making Vex dominion a new ''law of physics'', and can {{retgone}} you out of existence.
** The Dark Below adds Crota, Son of Oryx, ''one of the Hive Gods'' to your kill count - the same Crota who personally spew hundreds of Guardians alone in the Great Disaster.
** The Taken King adds Orux, the Taken King, ''Crota's father''.
** Rise of Iron finishes off their achievements in the original with Aksis, a Fallen Splicer who has become the controlling mind for the SIVA GreyGoo plague.

* At the end of the prehistoric chapter of ''VideoGame/LiveALive'', [[spoiler:the shaman is eaten by a gigantic dinosaur that the villagers worship as a god. It spits out the shaman's skull and then Gori throws it at him, proving that it can be hurt. The caveboy proceeds to kill it. It's also possible to kill the dinosaur with two attacks from the WhiteMage]].

* As mentioned above, ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' does this a few times. The Greek God of the Dead (or the wisecracking Disney version) is a recurring boss, and while you can't seem to put him down permanently you can inflict some serious hurt. The most powerful [[TheHeartless Heartless]] can easily be seen as [[EldritchAbomination Eldritch Abominations]], as can some of the Nobodies, and, oh yeah, the main characters take on Disney's [[WesternAnimation/{{Fantasia}} Chernabog]] (who is basically Satan) in the very first game. He's not even the final boss, just something the developers kept in for the cool factor. For Sora, Donald and Goofy, fighting the Devil is a ''speed-bump''.

* Cthulhu itself is the final boss of ''VideoGame/AloneInTheDarkIllumination''. Turns out he can be taken down with several hundred assault rifle rounds.

* ''Videogame/{{Bloodborne}}'': As the game progresses, the [[PlayerCharacter Hunter's]] job slowly goes from simply taking out mutated werebeasts to slaughtering the various eldritch creatures that are running the whole show that is the Hunter's Dream. It's often mentioned that other Hunters out there have done their own share of cosmic horror population control as well. By the end of the game, you've punched out at least two Great Ones (Rom and Mergo's Wet Nurse), which increases to 3 if you fight the {{Superboss}} [[spoiler: Ebrietas]], 4 if you count the DLC FinalBoss [[spoiler: the Orphan of Kos]], up to 5 if you [[spoiler: unlock the Moon Presence's TrueFinalBoss battle]].

** In ''VideoGame/DragonQuestMonstersJoker'', [[spoiler:your [[TheRival Rival]] Solitaire]] gets disqualified from the Monster Scout Championship Finals by jump-kicking your {{Olympus Mon|s}}.

** In ''VideoGame/DragonQuestMonsters: Joker'', [[spoiler: your [[TheRival Rival]] Solitaire]] gets disqualified from the Monster Scout Championship Finals by jump-kicking your {{Olympus Mon|s}}.

** In ''VideoGame/CrisisCore'', you can literally beat up [[{Superboss}} Minerva]], if the player continuously uses ''Costly Punch''.

** This is to say little of the {{Superboss}}. [[spoiler:Demogorgon, the creature imprisoned at the bottom of Watcher's Keep, is the Prince of Demons himself and therefore the most powerful demon lord in the Dungeons and Dragons cosmology.]] Of course, given the way [[FightingAShadow planar mechanics]] work, [[NiceJobBreakingItHero killing him just sends him back to the Abyss]] [[BrokeYourArmPunchingOutCthulhu where he can wreck havoc freely]].

* ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles1'' ends with the protagonists slaying the incarnation of one of the two titans they had lived on since the beginning of their race, and who had wiped out said race countless times to prevent them from becoming too advanced. Said incarnation also happened to be the originator of that world after first existing in our universe.

** This is to say little of the BonusBoss. [[spoiler:Demogorgon, the creature imprisoned at the bottom of Watcher's Keep, is the Prince of Demons himself and therefore the most powerful demon lord in the Dungeons and Dragons cosmology.]] Of course, given the way [[FightingAShadow planar mechanics]] work, [[NiceJobBreakingItHero killing him just sends him back to the Abyss]] [[BrokeYourArmPunchingOutCthulhu where he can wreck havoc freely]].

* ''Videogame/{{Bloodborne}}'': As the game progresses, the [[PlayerCharacter Hunter's]] job slowly goes from simply taking out mutated werebeasts to slaughtering the various eldritch creatures that are running the whole show that is the Hunter's Dream. It's often mentioned that other Hunters out there have done their own share of cosmic horror population control as well. By the end of the game, you've punched out at least two Great Ones (Rom and Mergo's Wet Nurse), which increases to 3 if you fight the BonusBoss [[spoiler: Ebrietas]], 4 if you count the DLC FinalBoss [[spoiler: the Orphan of Kos]], up to 5 if you [[spoiler: unlock the Moon Presence's TrueFinalBoss battle]].

** Two Archdragons (Kalameet, [[BonusBoss if you so choose]], and Seath the Scaleless)

** [[BonusBoss Possibly]] a half-dragon locked away for her power (Crossbreed Priscilla)

** The requisite Archdragon BonusBoss (Sinh, the Slumbering Dragon)

*** Far stronger than him ([[GamePlayAndStorySegregation in game terms]]) are the [[BonusBoss Weapons]], in particular the Ruby Weapon, which can instantly kill two characters, has incredible defense, and looks like an eldritch abomination, complete with tentacles. He can be defeated with a single level 7 character. It's pretty easy, with the right material and heat resistance. Takes half an hour, but what can you do? It is an unstoppable force representing the life force of the earth.

** In ''VideoGame/CrisisCore'', you can literally beat up [[BonusBoss Minerva]], if the player continuously uses ''Costly Punch''.

** ''Videogame/DigitalDevilSaga'': The Demi-Fiend is a SuperBoss in this game, found near the end of the game. This is considered one of the hardest boss fights in gaming, as befits a character who can defeat both God and The Devil.

*** In ''Unlimited Blade Works,'' the visual novel's second route, [[TheHero Shirou]] takes on [[Literature/TheEpicOfGilgamesh Gilgamesh]], the strongest Servant to ever exist (with the ''possible'' exception of [[Literature/TheMahabharata Karna]] from ''LightNovel/FateApocrypha''), in a one-on-one duel, and came out the victor. His ability to do so is sheer coincidence, and Shirou acknowledges that if he were up against any other Heroic Spirit, he would most likely lose, as they are masters of their weapons whereas he is merely an "owner" of weapons, but as Gilgamesh was himself more of an "owner," it leveled the playing field. Even so, he still managed to win a fight against a demigod and humanity's oldest recorded hero. There is a bit of WorfHadTheFlu involved though, as not only did Shirou technically not defeat Gilgamesh (he ran out of energy shortly before landing the killing blow and was at Gil's mercy) but Gil was also holding back his greatest weapons the entire time, feeling a mongrel like Shirou isn't worthy of facing them. Even so Shirou still crippled Gilgamesh, but it still took the Holy Grail itself ''and'' Archer interfering to put down Gil for good.

** Liu Kang, the series' original main hero, has made a career out of doing this. He has defeated the [[VolutuntaryShapeshifting shapeshifting]], [[YourSoulIsMine soul-stealing]] [[EvilSorcerer sorcerer]] Shang Tsung, Shang Tsung's master Shao Kahn and the fallen Elder God Shinnok. In ''VideoGame/MortalKombat11'', he tops the previous feats by [[spoiler:killing Kronika, the Titan of Time and mother of Shinnok.]]

* ''Franchise/MortalKombat'' has Raiden, the God of Thunder. However, he is no stronger than every other fighter, human or not.
** The first game explains this somewhat, as it is said that he was only allowed to compete in the tournament after taking a [[GodInHumanForm mortal form]]. Eventually, however, the creators just said "the hell with it" and would go on to introduce more gods to the series like Fujin and Shinnok, who are also no stronger than every other fighter.
** He gets punched out at the beginning of ''Deception'', then you punch out the almighty Onaga at the end. [[VideoGame/MortalKombatX In the alternate timeline]], [[spoiler: [[CoolOldGuy Johnny]] and [[SpinOffspring Cassie Cage]] are known to have beaten up Shinnok]].

* ''VideoGame/{{Disgaea 2|CursedMemories}}'': Adell pulls a GetAholdOfYourselfMan on [[spoiler:Rozalin's SuperpoweredEvilSide]], an OmnicidalManiac that just finished thoroughly trouncing a level 1200 (in standard RPG levels, by the way) overlord without even breaking a sweat. Did He Just [[GetAHoldOfYourselfMan Bright Slap]] Cthulhu? Yes, and it ''worked''.

** In the hilarious ''ComicBook/{{Doom}}'' comic, the Marine literally tries to punch out Cthulu (in this case, a Cyberdemon), but fails and spends the rest of the comic gathering weapons.

* ''Franchise/DragonBall'' fighting games like ''VideoGame/DragonBallZBudokaiTenkaichi'' and ''VideoGame/DragonballFighterz'' (similar to the ''VideoGame/MarvelVSCapcom'' example below) invoke this by allowing you to beat the absolute shit out of Frieza, Cell, Kid Buu, Broly, Beerus, Whis, Ultra Instinct Goku and Jiren... while playing as the likes of Krillin, Yamcha, Tien, Videl, Yajirobe, Chi-Chi and even [[FakeUltimateHero Mr Hercule Satan]] himself. {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d in ''[=FighterZ=]'' by Yamcha in one of his victory quotes against Ultra Instinct Goku.

** In ''VideoGame/DragonQuestMonsters: Joker'', [[spoiler: your [[TheRival Rival]] Solitaire]] gets disqualified from the Monster Scout Championship Finals by jump-kicking your [[OlympusMons Olympus Mon]].
* ''Franchise/DragonBall'' fighting games like ''VideoGame/DragonBallZBudokaiTenkaichi'' and ''VideoGame/DragonBallFighterZ'' (similar to the ''VideoGame/MarvelVSCapcom'' example below) invoke this by allowing you to beat the absolute shit out of Frieza, Cell, Kid Buu, Broly, Beerus, Whis, Ultra Instinct Goku and Jiren... while playing as the likes of Krillin, Yamcha, Tien, Videl, Yajirobe, Chi-Chi and even [[FakeUltimateHero Mr Hercule Satan]] himself. [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] in ''Fighter Z'' by Yamcha in one of his victory quotes against Ultra Instinct Goku.
-->'''Yamcha''': I have no idea how I won, but hey, its a win, right?

** One of the first things you see in the main quest of ''Skyrim'' is a group of regular guards fighting a smaller dragon. They're often capable of killing it without your help.
** Also, in order to be allowed into the Hall of Valor so you can fight Alduin, you first need to fight the god Tsun, who tests souls to see if they are worthy of being allowed into the Hall. Tsun is the Nord name for the Divine Zenithar. In other words, you have to fight ad best an avatar of one of the Nine Divines themselves to reach the Hall.
** ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsOnline The Elder Scrolls Online]]'':