If one thing makes a good villain, it’s reliability. While the mustache-twirling scoundrels who take pleasure in their evil deeds have their own appeal, the most captivating charactersare usually those who allow players to step into their shoes and view their grand schemes from their own perspective.
Whether it’s a grieving Draculaor a megalomaniacal billionaire who’s torn their entire lives apart in search of a lie - nothing can tug at the player’s heartstrings quite like the question - what if they were in their situation? That said, here are some of the most relatable villains in video games.
Throughout the first game,Thor is primarily described as a bloodthirsty, genocidal maniacwho lets his hammer do all the talking. Though not entirely untrue, as players progress through the story of the series sequel God of War: Ragnarok, they see a lot more to him than initially meets the eye.
There are plenty of reasons Thor is the overly aggressive drunk he is now. Still, the leading cause of his woes is his deeply manipulative father and king of Asgard, Odin - who sees Thor as nothing more than a weapon to be aimed at his nearest enemy. While this God of Thunder’s youth was filled with legendary battles and causes for celebration, his luxuries turned to crutches.
Aside from being one of the most memorable boss fightsin the game, Mr. Freeze also stands out because, akin to his comic counterpart, he acts purely out of passion and desperation. After his wife Nora is diagnosed with a terminal illness, Mr. Freeze places her in a cryogenic chamber, completely freezing her to find a cure before the disease can take her.
Unfortunately, he seems to live in the same neighborhood as Batman. Though Freeze’s methods aren’t entirely savory - he’s doing everything possible to save the person he adores most.
Logan is the tyrannical King of Albion and the ruthless antagonist in the first half ofFable 3,voiced fantastically by Michael Fassbender. As the protagonist’s older brother, gamers witness his merciless nature first-hand. It’s not until usurping his throne that the players realize that all of Logan’s unforgivable actions were to make his kingdom strong enough and wealthy enough to survive an oncoming darkness.
Though Logan’s fate after this discovery is up to the player - he is a potential ally when spared and shows slight remorse for his actions. This is one villain who felt their actions were entirely justified - putting his kingdom through all kinds of hell so that they’d come out the other end. It’s also, interestingly enough, a decision that the players can make themselves. The road to wealth is far longer for the morally high-standing in Albion.
The mystery of theArkham Knight’s identity is acore aspect of the final entry in Batman’s iconicArkhamtrilogy. Fans were eager to find out who precisely this intimidating figure, who seemed to know all about Batman’s inner workings and alter-ego, was. Though the mystery may have been somewhat spoiled by Bruce Wayne’s haunting flashbacks of Jason Todd’s final moments seemingly coming out of the blue, it makes the reveal all the more heartbreaking to Bruce when The Arkham Knight finally takes his mask off to reveal that he was, in fact, Robin.
This further pushes the narrative intoBatman, where he needs to work alone and force everyone who tries to help him away. It’s hard to blame Jason Todd for his transition into the villainousArkham Knightas anorphan child turned-superhero-sidekick, propelling him even further into the crime-ridden world of Gotham - It’s Batman’s actions and willingness to take on a child sidekick - that directly put Jason’s life at risk, so when The Joker killed him - his spite for Bruce festered.
This loveably sarcastic robot’s dark humorand existential dread are a window into the AI-powered soul of this cake-baking villain. GLaDOS is imbued with the personality and memories of former Aperture worker Caroline - an aspect of her programming that imbues her with a sense of passion corrupted by hate.
No one can say that if they weren’t put in GlaDOS' position, they wouldn’t act with the same disdain for humanity as her - someone who’d been taken advantage of by those around her, a combination of both a corporate tool and a real person. Her jabs at the player over false promises and lying cakes show how much she has been wronged by everyone, as both Caroline and GlaDOS.
Handsome Jack has a twisted sense of heroism- he entirely believes that his actions are just. After playing through the events ofBorderlands: The Pre-Sequel, it’s clear how Jack got to where he is.
A primary motivation behind Jack’s actions is his daughter, Angel. His perception of her also taints his love for her. Jack views Angel’s siren powers as a tool, and his obsession with controlling her powers ultimately leads to tragedy. Handsome Jack’s wishes to control her every move to ‘protect’ her from herself are indicative of his twisted worldview and his justification of his cruelty being protection. It was his greatest shame - and propelled him further into insanity.
Vaas clearly lost his mind long before the events of the game took place. His spiraling rants about the meaning of insanity show just how much the setting of Rook Island twists the minds of its inhabitants and the fate that could be awaiting protagonist Jason Brody.
Gamers don’t get many glimpses into Vaas' past - but from what crumbs of exposition he offers, one of gaming’s most iconic villains started out as a young boy. Who was lured in by the promise of money and power, corrupted by drugs that ate away at his psyche as he began to detest everything his sister and the island stood for. Vaas' corruption and rapidly declining sanity aren’t through any real fault of his own - and he was just, unfortunately, another victim of the island and those who exploit it.
The world has succumbed to a deadly fungal plague that rapidly turns its victims into mindless zombies. The only chance of developing a cure lies within the head of a 14-year-old.
As Leader of the Fireflies,Marlene can’t be blamed for taking the world’s only chance at finding a cure. From the gamer’s perspective, it’s obvious how they would grow so attached to Ellie and Joel’s relationship throughout the story. Upon discovering that the operations Ellie must undergo to try and develop a vaccine will result in her death, it’s hard to blame Joel for the actions he took as an already bereaved parent. Marlene was doing everything she could to try and save the world. She understood there was a chance the procedure might not work - but one life in exchange for the future of humanity. It’s hard to call her a villain because her actions are only villainous from the protagonist’s perspective.
