Being a hero is great and all, but being bad is better. These games right here, they know it. That’s why you at least given the option to play as the bad guy. Maybe some of them are just “misunderstood,” but nonetheless you take control of those who may have selfish goals or flat-out want to take over the world.
Untitled Goose Game
You might not think “Untitled Goose Game” has you as the villain, but think about it — you’re terrorizing a quaint English village full of unsuspecting citizens just trying to go about their day, only for it to be ruined by a goose yoinking their glasses, cutlery, keys, and smashing their property.
If that type of attitude doesn’t scream “villain” to you, then you’ve got some twisted moral compass.
Shadow of the Colossus
Wander’s mission seemed like a noble cause, something of a traditional hero’s journey to save the princess. In Shadow of the Colossus, you must slay 12 colossi in order to save your beloved, however, things aren’t that simple, are they?
These creatures, for the most part, weren’t doing any harm, they were sticking to their home turf and — usually — didn’t engage in combat until you attacked first. Instead, you’re the one engaging them to achieve your semi-selfish goal, to make matters worse, with each colossus slain, the face-value evil deity Dormin grows stronger and stronger, and when all colossi are said and done, it takes shaman Lord Emon to eradicate the threat that you brought upon the world.
Yeah, there’s much speculation that Emon is actually a bad guy, making your actions a little palatable but when all’s said and done, you still eradicated these arguably majestic creatures for a selfish if not nobly misguided goal.
Destroy All Humans
It might be for a good cause of ensuring his race doesn’t clone itself into extinction, but whatever the reason, Crypto vaporizing humans and absorbing their brains isn’t what we’d call a “hero” thing to do.
The Destroy All Humans franchise might have given us a means to sympathize with the little gray guy, just not wanting his race to go extinct, but still, does that really outweigh the terror he’s instilled upon the people and the overall body count? We’d think not.
Transformers: The Game
Toeing the between typical licensed schlock and an actually enjoyable, if run-of-the-mill, experience. Well, 2007’s Transformers: The Game starts you off with the million dollar question — do you play as the laundry list of established Autobots or the equally — if not cooler — Decepticons?
That’s right, one of the first questions is whether you wanna drive the streets as Bumblebee or fly the base as Starscream. Frankly, not enough games give you this option, and we’re kind of disappointed that few developers think people want to be tied down as the hero.
God of War
Before he was the strong father figure of the modern-day, in God of War games of old, Kratos was a true villain, caring for no one but himself and a placid guilt surrounding the death of his family, but in the end, he has an unquenchable bloodlust that’s led to him spilling gallons of blood of the innocent, demonic, and even godly.
Sure, his demeanor has changed with more recent entries, but can he truly be absolved of his violent past of slaying the innocent for the sole means of progression with his eyes set on revenge?
Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse
Xbox classic Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse has you play as the namesake zombie, a true deviation from usual zombie fare. While the short game gets you to feel for the brain-eating fella, we can’t just look the other way about his… well… brain-eating habit.
Truly, no number of good deeds can ever wash away the evilness of munching on someone’s frontal lobe, even if it was all to get back together with your sweetheart.
Super Mario RPG
In most games, Bowser isn’t a foe to be reckoned with — he is often times the leading antagonist to our plumber hero, kidnapping Peach for accompaniment. Super Mario RPG, however, things are different.
Instead of a foe to face, he’s actually a companion to cherish. While his companionship is fleeting, these moments of Bowser teaming up with the mustachioed plumber outside of the likes of kart race tracks, sporting events, and duking it out on arenas, will always be a sight to behold.
Ravenous Devils
You eat people. This is the crux of Ravenous Devils, an indie cooking sim that has you operate two facilities — a tailor used as a trap to quickly slay unsuspecting victims to then be cooked into various delectable treats sold in the bakery below.
Considering how much of a “no-no” eating people is within a stable society, we can’t, in good consciousness, think Bad Vice Games wanted you to feel like a hero while chowing down on some human flesh pie.
Prototype
Radical Entertainment’s 2009 foyer into a new IP with Prototype was something else, exploring New York City as a virus-infected Alex Mercer who believed he was in the right for much of the game before eventually realizing that he caused the virus’ spread in the first place.
What’s more, its sequel quite literally features Mercer as the main antagonist looking to replace mankind. So… that’s uh… pretty damning.
Dungeon Keeper
In 1997, Bullfrog Productions would continue offering high-quality god games with Dungeon Keeper. Its premise is simple, you are a deity that must maintain a dungeon strong enough to ensure the heroes cannot break in.
Its twistedness doesn’t end there, either, as instead of outright killing them you can instead torture the hapless hero and abuse your minions to make sure they work extra hard.
