It’s hard to relate to the antagonist of a story, especially in video games. People often play as a hero or someone who becomes one, facing a great evil threat that could bring about the end of any given world. As heroes, protagonists embody typically good qualities that seek to show how someone can be chivalrous, honorable, or brave. All heroes do this, no matter the setting or context.
However, there are a few instances in which people can play as a remarkably evil protagonist. This occurs mostly in games that have different endings based on how you play, thus if you make bad choices the story ends badly. Sometimes you are simply put in the shoes of someone doing something evil all the time, though these instances are much rarer.
10 Jin Sakai Executes Lord Shimura
Ghost Of Tsushima was one of the best games to come out of 2020. This amazing title won the Player’s Voice Award at The Game Awards, as well as Art Direction. A samurai game rooted in realism is something the gaming community was waiting a long time for, and Ghost Of Tsushima delivered an unforgettable experience.
The game can end in two different ways, based on your own beliefs regarding honor. Remain defiant until the very end, embrace your exile, and spare Lord Shimura’s life; alternatively, you could give in to honor and tradition, renegate your rebellious actions as The Ghost, and take Lord Shimura’s life. The latter is seen as an honorable act according to samurai culture, though Jin Sakai recognizes the slave honor would make of him if he chooses to kill Shimura.
9 Big Boss Creates A Nuclear Weapon
Part of the Metal Gear Solid series is centered around Big Boss’s descent, from honorable war hero to mercenary seeking perpetual war. Somewhere in the middle of that lies Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, the PSP title that has you form Mother Base for the first time and create your own nuclear weapon — Metal Gear Zeke.
Zeke is a bipedal AI capable of launching an intercontinental ballistic missile. Basically, this is something a hero should want to fight against rather than own. Big Boss sees Zeke as a deterrent that ensures Mother Base’s safety, however, the weapon is eventually turned against him by an undercover agent, Paz.
8 Arthur Morgan Beats A Farmer For A Few Dollars
Red Dead Redemption II, with its amazing graphics even on 7-year-old hardware, is centered around its iconic honor system that determines the game’s ending. Arthur can generally choose to be either a good or bad man who struggles with his outlaw identity, but there are some things you have to do in order to progress through the campaign.
Thomas Downes is a farmer who owes money to the gang, so Arthur is sent to his house to collect. In the process, Arthur beats Mr. Downes to a pulp and becomes infected with tuberculosis. This amounts to a death sentence for him, a sadly ironic punishment for the life he led as an outlaw.
7 Geralt Accepts Payment For Returning Ciri
It’s hard to think of Geralt as villainous. Most of the time, he is the one being taken advantage of and getting the short end of the stick. However, The Witcher 3 has some veiled consequences to seemingly unrelated interactions. Some of these are incredibly important, as they determine the ending of the game.
One such interaction is deciding whether to accept or refuse payment upon returning Ciri to Emhyr. If you choose to accept the reward, Emhyr pays you 2000 crowns, but Ciri will feel betrayed. Overall, this choice also counts towards the bad ending of the game.
6 The Ashen One Murders The Firekeeper
Dark Souls 3 is littered with interesting secrets, little bits of lore, and hidden interactions between characters. Due to this, the game can reach different conclusions. On your way to get the true ending of the game, where the Firekeeper lets the First Flame die out in her hands, there is a brief moment during the cutscene where you regain control of your character.
As the camera zooms out and tilts towards the Ashen One, you can see your character wielding his weapon before the Firekeeper. At first glance, this seems irrelevant, but you can actually choose to attack the Firekeeper and steal the Fire for yourself, thus achieving the worst ending in the game.
5 Jason Abandons His Friends
Far Cry 3 remains one of the most iconic Far Cry titles due to its engaging story and wicked antagonist, Vaas. The game is linear up until the very ending, where Jason Brody is confronted with a moral dilemma. Here you can choose his fate as well as his friends'.
Most of the game revolves around rescuing them and finding a way off the island, so choosing the save them seems like the logical thing to do. However, you can instead decide to murder your girlfriend (along with your friends) and join Citra, taking your place as king of the island (equipped with a dangerous amount of blazing guns). This ultimately results in your demise, as Citra later betrays and murders you.
4 The Dragonborn Betrays Paarthurnax
One game that lets you make plenty of evil choices is Skyrim. Among them is the terrible moral dilemma that you are faced with once you join The Blades and get far enough with the main quest. The Blades are sworn enemies to the legendary dragons, so in order to progress with their storyline, you have to kill the friendly Paarthurnax, a dragon and leader of the Greybeards.
The quest is optional, and should you choose to complete it, the Greybeards will want nothing to do with you. This prevents them from telling you where the Words Of Power are hidden, so killing the friendly dragon who lives atop the Throat Of The World comes with bad consequences.
3 Six Eats The Runaway Kid
One of the best (and actually worst, as in terrible to witness) moments in games is the plot-twist ending of Little Nightmares’ DLC. During the main game, you play as Six, the girl with the triangular yellow raincoat who eventually escapes from The Maw. Almost simultaneously, another child, known as The Runaway Kid, is also making his escape in the DLC.
At the end of the DLC, the Kid is turned into a Nome by The Lady, the game’s creepy and final antagonist. It is later revealed that he is the same Nome that offers Six a sausage before being savagely devoured by her.
2 Ellie Slaughters Countless People
Despite all the controversy that surrounds The Last Of Us II’s narrative, one thing is undeniable: the game seeks to make a point on the loss of love. Most gamers felt the storyline has too much to do with the rather simple point that “revenge is bad,” pointing out that one of the greatest inconsistencies presented by the game is Ellie’s final choice.
Ellie eventually spares Abby, practically when her revenge arc is (almost) complete. This seems like an odd choice, considering Ellie murders every one of Abby’s friends, not to mention the literal army of people she has to get through before reaching Abby. It is only after Ellie realizes what she has become that she chooses to spare Abby.
1 Starkiller Kills Han & Chewie
One of the worst things that you can do in any videogame is to kill one of the most beloved duos in Star Wars. If you played the DLC expansion for Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II, then you know where this is going. Starkiller is Vader’s secret apprentice within an alternative timeline of events that see Luke defeated on Hoth.
In the DLC mission, Starkiller sets out to stop the Rebels’ attack on Endor (the one that would disable the Death Star’s shield), and he eventually runs in Han Solo and Chewbacca. At this point, Starkiller is beyond powerful with the Force, so the game has you make quick work of Han and Chewie in a boss battle that ends with their death by your lightsaber.
NEXT: Top 10 Gaming Antagonists of the 21st Century (So Far)
