Maken X and Maken Shao, where you play as a sentient sword who posseses those who wield it.

In Tchia you can possess animals/objects

@WerewolfGimmick & @moschidae: Added all the suggestions, thanks!

Here are two more that I think likely fit this list:
In Psi-Ops you have a Mind Control ability that gives you total control over an enemy's actions. In Destroy All Humans 2 you have the Body Snatch ability that allows you to possess human bodies.

Oh, and just a heads up, Second Sight is on the list twice.

There's a few sections in Kid Icarus: Uprising where Pit takes control of different people and animals.
Wind Waker has the command melody.
Not really sure if this counts but there's also the possession Vigor in Bioshock Infinite

In Duck Game you can use a mind control weapon to control other players.

beyond two souls, where you use elliot page's special ghost friend to control people

@DeltaWDunn @paqgamer_ @MisterAtlas_: Thanks for the suggestions everyone, added them all except for Bioshock Infinite (since you're not directly controlling enemies with the Possession Vigor, they just become temporarily allied).

This happens in World of Warcraft a number of different ways (mind control, devices, spirit stuff).

It's not exactly possession, but in Psychonauts 1 and 2 you have an ability called Clairvoyance that lets you see through another person's/animal's eyes. IIRC you can't actually move them around though.

Also not a serious suggestion but this list got me thinking driving games like GTA are basically "possession games" if you think of driving the car as possessing it. Lil something to think about next time you're stoned :D

Oops forgot to say, great list idea!

It's an interesting genre idea for sure. There's some games that have a similar kind of take on things, which I would call shapeshifting games. You aren't directly possessing people but you are drawing or learning attributes from different characters/creatures around you that give you a new set of capabilities. Games like E.V.O. search For Eden (although really any evolution game), Kirby, the Wario Land series, etc.

Driver: San Francisco lets you possess other vehicles, Battlefield 2: Modern Combat has you swapping between soldiers instead of playing as a single, dedicated avatar, and Metal Arms: Glitch in the System lets you hack and take direct control of enemies.

@cowboyjosh @JohnHarrelson: Sorry for the late response you guys, but I've added World of Warcraft and Metal Arms to the list, thanks for the suggestions! Gonna keep Psychonauts 1 & 2 off the list for now since there's no direct control of others and Battlefield 2 since that's more of basic character swaps than specific possession mechanics. Driver: San Francisco is on the list, so good call on that.

DizzySkullKid19: That's a really good idea for a list actually, having a bunch of games that focus on adaptation/learning mechanics to take defining fundamental traits from other characters. I'll keep this in mind for the future, thanks!

Would prop hunt or any of its many copies count?

Also this one is maybe a stretch but in Dragonball FighterZ you can play as Captain Ginyu and one of his special moves is a body swap. Not sure if they do any other Ginyu body swap stuff in other Dragon Ball games though.

@TimAlien: Gonna say no to Prop Hunt for now since that's more of disguising as an item without possession mechanics letting you swap around on the fly, but I'll take Captain Ginyu as an example for the other, thanks!

Hey, I just played a game called Poltergeist: A Pixelated Horror, and you can possess people there.

@molochthagod: Thanks, I've added it to the list!

Tales of Maj'Eyal has a Possessor class

Commenting to recommend adding ctrl+alt+ego

Also possibly Prey. You don’t possess things but you do have the ability to mimic objects in the environment which can be used to solve puzzles and aid in stealth and gameplay. Examples turning into a chair to hide from enemies, turning into a cup to roll through a small hole in a window to access an otherwise locked room, turning into a turret to attack enemies, etc.

Which while not possession in the literal sense it has an identical gameplay function to if you were able to possess those inanimate objects since you can only mimic objects when you’re nearby them. You can’t turn into a turret if there’s not a turret in the room already.

Also to clarify on ctrl+alt+ego possessing robots and devices is the primary gameplay mechanic.

Oh also Stubbs the Zombie. Played as a kid and you can rip off your hand and have it crawl and attach itself to people’s heads to temporarily control them. Sorry for the barrage of messages. I love hyper-specific lists like this and keep thinking of them.

@Parallax_M I thought about adding Prey, but that feels more to me like mimicry than possession mechanics. Though that is a good idea for another list! I'll add Ctrl Alt Ego and Stubbs the Zombie though, thanks!

In Guwange, your focused/powered shot is a ghost that you can move around the screen to slow down bullets cancel them when you kill enemies

Messiah, it's the main mechanic of the game.

Arguably Satellite Reign, but its been a while, I can't remember for sure

Avenging Spirit, you're a little ghost guy that has to possess enemies to advance through a level