Let’s take a look at one of gaming’s most recognizable enemies; the damage sponge.

What Are Damage Sponges in Gaming?

Damage sponges—also known as bullet sponges—are enemies whose main feature is their large health bar. In this way, they “soak” up damage as a sponge soaks up water.

Technically, you could call powerful allies in gaming a damage sponge (and utilize them in a tactic known as cheesing), or even your character if even the most powerful enemy doesn’t make a dent, but gamers often apply this phrase when talking about enemies, not allies.

Damage sponges aren’t inherently just enemies with a lot of health. In order to qualify as a damage sponge, an enemy requires two things; alongside having a lot of health, they also aren’t fun to defeat.

Plenty of bosses and enemy types in gaming have high health bars and powerful attacks, but battling them should be an exciting and tense affair, not one where you’re bored.

Bosses in the Soulsborne games, or monsters in Monster Hunter, might take a long time to defeat, but ultimately, the process is fun and rewarding.

This is because you’re constantly engaged by, perhaps, the enemy’s move set, aggression, or the damage forming on it over time. You might target specific parts to weaken an enemy in Monster Hunter: World, for example. In this way, an enemy’s quality justifies its health.

Damage sponges, on the other hand, feel tiring. They aren’t difficult, threatening, or interesting and all you’re doing is hit after hit. Higher-level enemies in RPGs can become damage sponges if there’s poor level scaling. Enemy types in shooters that just don’t go down, can take a million headshots, and offer a lackluster firefight.

Damage sponges can quickly turn a fun gameplay experience into a grind.

Fewer Damage Sponges, More Interesting Enemies

So there we have it—damage sponges aren’t the best enemy type and are, oftentimes, annoying and frustrating.

If there’s any upside to damage sponges, it’s that games which feature varied and interesting enemy types that don’t just soak up damage are that much better.