Best Management Games Where You’re The Villain

Summary

Bad guys can enjoy running evil empires efficiently like a business in management sim games.
These games let players indulge their inner tyrant with logistics and customization.
From undead metropolis to demonic lairs, players can be creatively and ruthlessly villainous.

In a different wording: Villains don’t always require a towering stronghold or lengthy monologues detailing their past wounds. Sometimes, they find satisfaction in managing a malicious enterprise as if it were a large corporation, with the ultimate goal being domination instead of profits. These games abandon the overused “save the world” plotline and instead invite players to imagine and construct their own cruel empires, focusing on efficiency rather than altruism.

These management simulations allow players to explore their fascination with dictatorship in a stylish manner, offering mechanisms that could potentially inspire actual despots due to their complexity and control over the virtual populace.

NecroCity

SimCity If It Were Run By Undead Bureaucrats

Platform(s): PC
Released: October 3, 2022
Developer(s): PlayWay, Gameparic Sp. z o.o., Shift Games
Genre(s): Strategy, Simulation

At first sight, NecroCity might appear surprisingly charming with its stylish graphics and adorable undead creatures. However, beneath its cheerful exterior, it’s essentially a management game where death serves as a replenishable commodity. In this game, players oversee an undead city, where skeletons handle construction, vampires manage politics, and necromancers ensure quality control. The undead don’t sleep or complain, making them excellent workers, as long as the player maintains the mana supply and keeps the graveyards active.

The game mainly centers around the intricate aspects of management, specifically dealing with the distribution of bones, essence, and dark energy. Although these tasks may not seem exciting, there’s an odd sense of fulfillment in handling them. It’s a city-building game that doesn’t strive to explain its eerie atmosphere. Instead, it presents a straightforward depiction of cold, efficient necromancy on a grand scale, akin to a suburban nightmare without any moral dilemmas involved.

Dungeon Keeper 2

Slap Your Employees Because Motivation Is Overrated

Way back when being a villain in a strategy game was still unique, Dungeon Keeper 2 was already excelling at it with more wit and snark than what’s deemed appropriate. In this game, players assume the role of an unseen demonic ruler, carving out subterranean strongholds, amassing treasure, and fending off bothersome heroes who simply can’t resist meddling in your affairs. Each room, trap, and creature within the dungeon is carefully crafted to ensure it operates smoothly and efficiently as a deadly operation.

The game stands out for its intense emphasis on villainy. Players can even slap their minions to increase their workforce, with no repercussions for cruel behavior. Workers transport dead bodies to lairs, bile demons emit foul odors in corridors, and the narrator seems excessively gleeful during disturbing events. In essence, this management game is uniquely wicked, as the villainy permeates not just its surface but its core structure.

Evil Genius 2: World Domination

The Best Workplaces Have Laser Sharks

Any rundown of villainous elements in management simulation games is incomplete without the quirky, yet profoundly strategic game – Evil Genius 2. Despite its humorous exterior, it conceals a complex management system. Players construct and manage their own evil lair on a lush tropical island, where they create deadly traps, groom henchmen, and carry out ambitious plans ranging from heisting national landmarks to inciting massive political turmoil. It’s like a fusion of Austin Powers and Tropico, but with an added layer of insanity.

In this setting, every aspect is adjustable, ranging from the approach used during interrogations of agents to the methodology for disposing of bodies. Lairs should be both visually intimidating and strategically sound. Miscreants might seek infiltration, champions will strive for sabotage, and if the master doesn’t adequately prepare minions or maintain morale, things can quickly spiral out of control. However, when all elements are functioning optimally, an elite spy could succumb to a laser disco trap while a doomsday device is charging in the background – this situation is simply tough not to appreciate with satisfaction.

War For The Overworld

What If Evil Had A Sense Of Style And Loved Micromanagement?

In simpler terms, the game War for the Overworld, which is similar to Dungeon Keeper, doesn’t hold back on its intensity, and that’s exactly what makes it appealing. This game brings back the essence of managing a wicked underground lair inhabited by creatures who prefer fighting over finance. Players excavate their lairs, populate them with wild creatures, and entice unsuspecting heroes to visit, only to annihilate them for entertainment. It’s almost like creating a murderous bed-and-breakfast for ghostly guests!

Yet, beyond the retro vibes and fond memories, it’s the game’s meticulous detail that truly shines. Each character has unique preferences and emotional states. Neglecting a temperamental minion might result in sabotage or defection. Spaces have distinct purposes, and the wicked environment flourishes best when all elements are harmoniously combined. It appreciates harsh efficiency but also inspires dark creativity.

Lobotomy Corporation

HR Really Does Stand For “Horrific Risks”

People who find satisfaction in both meticulous control and emotional turmoil often get sucked into the enigmatic world of the Lobotomy Corporation. With an unsettling atmosphere resembling a corporate spin on the SCP Foundation, this game requires players to harvest energy from terrifying abnormalities confined within containment units. Simultaneously, they must avoid setting off a chain reaction that results in every employee being reduced to liquid. Each abnormality exhibits its own mysterious traits, some of which appear intended to lure players into losing crucial personnel.

The game isn’t just villainous due to managing monsters, but also because it views employee deaths and mental breakdowns as acceptable costs in meeting targets. When things go wrong (and they often will), players are encouraged to boost efficiency rather than feel sympathetic. Over time, the cruelty feels more mechanical and detached, giving an intentional impression. The player’s gradual metamorphosis into a cold-hearted manager is part of the game’s design, not a mere coincidence.

Rogue State Revolution

Diplomacy Is Also A Warlord’s Weapon

In “Rogue State Revolution,” you assume the role of the president in a fictional country named Basenji, where corruption isn’t merely accepted, but it’s the norm. Instead of a conventional base-building game, it’s primarily a political management simulator. However, it’s essential to note that in this game, players effectively embody the antagonist character. By means such as bribing media, silencing protesters, or betraying allies for power retention, the entire functioning of the nation is based on manipulation and instilling fear.

The challenge is maintaining a balance between appearances and results. Politicians can enact social changes on one hand, yet covertly support undercover forces with the other. Ministers may deceive, factions could lead to unrest, foreign powers might interfere regularly. Maintaining power often turns into a skill of telling white lies, using just the right amount of force, and appearing strong as if it’s simply effective leadership through adversity.

2025-09-01 13:43