Games Where You Are Evil Incarnate

Many games now include systems that track your moral choices. As players get more freedom to make decisions, they often have opportunities to help or harm characters in the game. The consequences of these choices vary – sometimes, if you make unkind or harmful decisions, other characters will react negatively and avoid you. Ultimately, how the game world responds depends on your actions.

Many games let you choose to be a hero or a villain, but some force you down a darker path. In these games, there’s no good side – you can only be evil, or even more evil. If you’re tired of playing the good guy, here are some games where embracing villainy is the only option.

6. Dungeon Keeper

Make The Whole Realm Your Evil Empire

I’ve played a lot of games where the villains have some kind of justification for what they’re doing – they’ll tell you they have to do terrible things for a greater good. But the Keeper in Dungeon Keeper? He doesn’t bother with any of that. He’s just straight-up evil! He genuinely hates the bright, cheerful world the game starts with and wants to tear it all down, just because he’s awful. Honestly, he’s basically the Grinch, but without any chance of him having a change of heart.

Dungeon Keeper is a classic strategy game where you build and manage an underground base. You dig out rooms to attract and keep evil creatures happy, and then use them to defeat invading heroes. These heroes – knights, dwarves, wizards, and thieves – will try to destroy your Dungeon Heart, a fragile core at the center of your base. If they succeed, you lose the game!

You don’t directly see the Keeper in the game, but you control him by manipulating minions and casting spells to harm enemies. The game constantly reinforces this evil role with playful messages and voiceovers that celebrate the destruction you cause. While not overly graphic, the game creates a strong, unsettling atmosphere.

5. Dead By Daylight

Let’s Play A Game

Dead by Daylight, the popular multiplayer horror game, has featured a surprising number of iconic horror movie villains – even more than the Mortal Kombat series, and often the same ones! The game’s killers are a diverse bunch, ranging from tragic figures and those who were once victims themselves, to characters who seem purely evil and motivated by a desire to inflict suffering. Killers like Ghost Face, The Skull Merchant, and Vecna definitely fall into that last category – they’re terrifyingly fun, but undeniably malicious.

In every game of Dead by Daylight, one player takes on the role of a Killer whose sole purpose is to hunt down four survivors trying to escape. The game features a mix of iconic horror villains and original characters, each with a dark backstory and disturbing attacks. While it’s a survival horror game, it’s more than just simple violence. With hundreds of customizable perks and a completely different gameplay style when playing as a survivor, there’s a surprising amount of strategy involved. It’s a deeper game than many new players realize, and it takes time to master, but it’s incredibly fun – which explains its lasting popularity.

4. Overlord 2

Power At Any Grim Cost

Like the classic game Dungeon Keeper, Overlord 2 lets you conquer a realm with a horde of evil minions. However, instead of managing from behind the scenes, you are the Overlord, experiencing the action directly as an RPG. It’s a darkly humorous game focused entirely on villainy – there’s no way to play the hero!

The new Overlord, son of the previous one, is driven by a thirst for power and intends to conquer the Glorious Empire – and anything else he finds along the way. The gameplay feels similar to a dark version of Pikmin, where you command a small band of followers to help you win battles while exploring the land. Watching waves of different types of minions – many of them mounted – swarm your enemies is a truly unsettling experience.

After defeating enemies, players choose whether to completely destroy them or force them to work as servants. The game labels these approaches as “Destruction” and “Dominion,” and each offers unique benefits. Letting some enemies live actually speeds up upgrades, as they provide useful resources. These choices also affect the game’s ending and how the Overlord evolves, unlocking different abilities and options. Ultimately, regardless of the path chosen, the Overlord’s actions will make the world a far worse place – and that’s the core of the game.

3. Shadows Of Forbidden Gods

So Many Horrible Ways To Destroy Humanity

Many strategy games focus on building armies and winning battles, but Shadows Of Forbidden Gods offers a different, and equally terrifying, experience inspired by the works of H.P. Lovecraft. In this game, you choose to play as a powerful, ancient Dark Elder God and use unique abilities to destroy humanity. You can either consume the world directly or exploit its people to gain power, but the ultimate goal is complete annihilation and the ascension of your god.

Your attempts at domination won’t be easy, so the game revolves around growing your power while keeping the human resistance weak. You can do this through direct attacks, by driving people insane, by spreading hopelessness and fear, or in other terrible ways – and fans of dark, cosmic horror will love it. What’s really interesting is that each god you can play as has a completely different approach and focuses on using the game’s resources in unique ways. For example, Vinerva, a god resembling a tree, subtly weakens enemies by giving them seemingly helpful ‘gifts’ that eventually create internal vulnerabilities she can exploit.

It’s really satisfying to develop a powerful god that matches how you like to play, then use their creatures to spread influence across the world and disrupt human kingdoms.

2. V Rising

Quench Your Thirst

Honestly, few monsters are as terrifying as vampires, right? Like zombies, they’re all about feeding on humans, so they’re definitely not the friendly type. That’s totally true in V Rising. You play as a vampire just trying to survive, which means building up your base, hiding from the sun – it’s a real pain – and, let’s be real, constantly needing to feed on unsuspecting people to stay strong. It’s a whole vibe!

Vampires have faced centuries of hardship, nearly wiped out by the Church of Luminance and then forced into exile. So, when a strange force resurrected them, it’s no surprise they’re angry with humans. In this game, you play as a monstrous vampire, destroying human settlements and literally ‘farming’ them for blood – different types of blood grant you various powers. The game’s overhead view, dark gothic style, and action RPG combat are strongly inspired by Diablo, and you’re the one inflicting the terror.

1. Rogue Lords

A Devilish Roguelite

Many games would put you in the shoes of Van Helsing, fighting against monsters and villains. However, Rogue Lords does things differently. In this game, the heroes, led by Van Helsing, have almost defeated all the villains, leaving little challenge. That’s why you play as the Devil, tasked with restoring the darkness and fighting back against the forces of good.

Battles happen in turns, and you’ll need to strategically use the unique skills of your three characters – including Dracula – to win. The Devil prefers to support from the shadows, relying on tricks and cheating instead of fighting directly. What’s different from other games like Slay the Spire is that you control one character as they travel between battles, exploring locations yourself instead of just selecting a path on a map. Along the way, you’ll encounter troubled souls, all as you work towards your main goal: defeating Van Helsing and his forces of good. But sometimes, it’s just satisfying to wreak havoc and crush the hopes of an entire world.

2026-04-01 04:35