For years, role-playing games have let players explore the darker side and play as villains. In fact, many gamers judge a game based on how well its evil storyline is developed. However, these games almost always give you a choice – you can usually decide whether to be a hero or a villain through the decisions you make and the conversations you have.
These next games are different. You’ll be playing as the bad guy, whether you realize it or not. Sometimes you might not even know you are the villain, or you might be doing bad things for what you believe is a good reason. But ultimately, these games put you in the role of someone pretty awful.
Be warned: This article contains spoilers for the endings of Shadow of the Colossus, Middle-earth: Shadow of War, Prototype, and Overlord.
Rearrange the covers into the correct US release order.
Your Order
Results
— —
Shadow Of The Colossus
That Thing You’ve Been Doing? There’s A Reason It Felt Wrong
The beginning of Wander’s journey in Shadow of the Colossus seems heroic – he’s trying to revive a loved one by defeating giant creatures. But once you start battling them, it’s a surprisingly unsettling experience. These aren’t evil monsters; they’re simply living their lives until Wander unexpectedly attacks.
Dormin, the one who initiated Wander’s journey, isn’t a benevolent figure at all – he’s an ancient evil that was imprisoned long ago. The massive colossi Wander defeated were actually holding that prison together. By destroying them, Wander unwittingly freed Dormin, who then possessed his body. While Wander couldn’t have known this at the start, the appearance of black horns growing on his head might have been a warning sign.
Prototype
Monstrously Evil In More Ways Than One
People debate whether Alex Mercer is a hero, but the truth is, he’s a monster. He’s a creature that can change its shape and is causing chaos in New York City. While he does eliminate dangerous mutants and a controlling military force, he also feeds on people – they’re simply how he recovers health. Don’t mistake his actions for genuine heroism.
Okay, so it’s way more messed up than it seems. When you start playing Prototype, your character, Alex, has amnesia – you’re literally trying to figure out who he is as you play. Then it hits you: he’s the one who helped make the Blacklight virus that destroyed New York and turned him into this crazy shapeshifter. That means every single person who died during the outbreak? That’s on him. Not just the enemies you kill, but everything. It’s a really heavy realization when it clicks.
Middle-Earth: Shadow Of War
Talion Succumbs To The Ring
While Talion isn’t always portrayed as a villain in Middle-earth: Shadow of War, he ultimately becomes one. After being betrayed by Celebrimbor and left for dead, Talion takes Isildur’s Ring, encouraged by Shelob. Having defeated both Celebrimbor and Sauron, Talion concludes that the only way to control Sauron is to keep Mordor locked in endless war indefinitely.
Ultimately, the entire story revolves around this idea. While Talion isn’t the most powerful enemy in Middle-earth, he represents a character who chooses to do what needs to be done, even if it’s terrible, instead of focusing on what’s right. The truly disturbing part is that he uses the One Ring to achieve his goals. As expected, the Ring corrupts him, leading him to side with Sauron and become one of the Nazgûl, cementing his role as a villain for the rest of the story.
Tyranny
Serve Lord Kyros With Your Every Breath
The game Tyranny takes place in Terratus, a world where an evil tyrant has already won. For 400 years, Overlord Kyros has been in control, with only a small area called Vendrien’s Well remaining free. You play as a Fatebinder, sent to crush the last sparks of resistance. If you fail, Kyros will unleash an Edict – a powerful magical force – that will completely destroy Vendrien’s Well.
In this situation, you’re not deciding if you’ll be cruel, but how cruel you’ll be while carrying out Kyros’ orders. Your allies might disagree on the extent of the suffering you inflict on the rebels, but they won’t ask you to show compassion. And attempting to defy Kyros for any reason other than taking his place is impossible. Remember, Tyranny is a game where you play the villain, and you’re meant to embrace that role.
No, I’m Not A Human
Do You Really Think You’re A Hero?
Offering shelter in your small apartment might seem like the right thing to do, protecting people from the dangerous sun and the unsettling “Visitors” who blend in with humans. However, you’re actually putting yourself at risk. You can’t be certain who’s genuine, and must perform intrusive nightly checks to verify they aren’t Visitors in disguise.
Okay, so things get really messed up. Suddenly, guys in hazmat suits show up, claiming they’re from the government, and they demand we hand over one of our people for ‘testing.’ We don’t really have a choice in the matter, and honestly, I’m not about to start a war with them. But then it gets worse. If someone fails those tests, we’re stuck making a terrible decision: let them live and risk a Visitor killing someone else, or… well, let’s just say I have a shotgun and a very difficult choice to make. Look, I’m trying to keep as many people alive as possible, but let’s be real – there’s no being a hero in this game. You absolutely will have to do some seriously messed up things in No, I’m not a Human to get through the night, all in the name of ‘the greater good.’
Destroy All Humans!
For The Glory Of The Furon Empire
In the game Destroy All Humans!, you play as Crypto, and your job is to cause as much chaos as possible. The goal isn’t to be sneaky – you’re meant to destroy everything in sight to expose and eliminate a secret government organization. You’ll have a variety of tools at your disposal, including mind control and a flying saucer, to help you do just that.
Okay, so here’s the deal with Crypto: he’s an alien, a Furon to be exact, and he’s come to Earth for a really messed up reason – to save his species by stealing human brains. It’s not just random violence, though he does a lot of that. He’ll happily blast, mind-control, or, yeah, harvest anyone who gets in his way, whether they’re a secret agent or just a regular person. Basically, he’s got a motivation, but don’t let that fool you – this guy is seriously evil.
Rampage: Total Destruction
Old School Monster Mayhem
Let’s revisit a classic: Rampage is often considered the first game to let players fully embrace the role of the villain. The sequel, Rampage World Tour, came out in arcades and on consoles like the N64 and PlayStation. In it, you control one of three (or sometimes four) enormous monsters, causing destruction across cities in a quest to defeat the evil corporation, Scumlabs.
It’s pretty clear you play the villain in any Rampage game, and World Tour is no exception. Your goal is simply to destroy all the buildings around you – buildings full of people! Of course, these games aren’t meant to be taken seriously. They’re meant to be silly, over-the-top arcade action, and that’s perfectly fine. But ultimately, you are definitely playing the bad guy.
Overlord
Knock Those Pesky Heroes Down A Peg
Imagine a game like Pikmin, but instead of cute plant creatures, you control an army of goblins as an evil overlord. That’s essentially what you get with the 2007 game Overlord. You play as this Overlord, a powerful evil warrior who’s been resurrected to defeat the seven heroes who killed his predecessor. Your goal is to track down each hero and send your goblin minions to destroy them.
Similar to the game Rampage, you clearly play the villain in this story. Your appearance – dark armor and a blood-red cape – reinforces that. While you can occasionally show mercy, like releasing prisoners, these acts are minor compared to the overall destruction. You’re not striving to create a peaceful world; you’re focused on conquest. Even the best possible outcome simply transforms you into a powerful, but still dominant, figure – any positive impact on others is secondary.
Read More
- Quantum Agents: Scaling Reinforcement Learning with Distributed Quantum Computing
- Boruto: Two Blue Vortex Chapter 33 Preview — The Final Battle Vs Mamushi Begins
- Every Melee and Ranged Weapon in Windrose
- All Skyblazer Armor Locations in Crimson Desert
- How to Get the Sunset Reed Armor Set and Hollow Visage Sword in Crimson Desert
- One Piece Chapter 1180 Release Date And Where To Read
- Zhuang Fangyi Build In Arknights Endfield
- All Shadow Armor Locations in Crimson Desert
- USD RUB PREDICTION
- Best Dual-Wield Swords Build in Crimson Desert
2026-04-21 00:47