Best villains in gaming

Jogre

Jogre

So Old I'm Losing Radiation Signs
So this is a thread to discuss who you think the best villains in gaming are.

I was going to go with The Master, but that would be too obvious, so instead I'm going to go down a different route.

I'm going to start by saying Kerghan from Arcanum


Say what you will about Arcanum, but this final speech gave me the chills. Everything about Kerghan was executed perfectly.

He was one of the few villains I actively sided with, purely because his whole speech about how he's seen the places where souls go to die, made me trust him as a qualified judge.

I also liked the interesting twist of having a benevolent world destroyer. That's a type of villain which, when handled well can be fascinating.
 
Goldman from House of the Dead 2.



"In toime, a sookseSOR will cuyum"
"Hello friends"
"Look to your LEURFT"
"HMM HMM HMM"
"I am Gold Man"
 
Last edited:
Ghandi in the Civilization franchise. You never know when are those nukes gonna rain.
E35eFiL.jpg
 
Greed said:
I really liked Dr. Wallace Breen from Half Life 2

Click to expand...


I could listen to Breen talk all day, even if it is Combine Universal Union propaganda.

Not sure if I could say bests, but here's some I like off the top of my head.

Dimitri Rascalov. I have never wanted to kill anyone in Grand Theft Auto as much as this guy. He betrays you, runs you out of town, tries to kidnap your cousin, keeps calling to taunt you and if you decide to accept the Deal ending he betrays you again.



He does have a line I'm quite fond of though.

"You know if there's one thing I have learned, is that we must obey the rules of the game. We can pick the game, Niko Bellic, but we cannot change the rules."

SHODAN. Has one of the most intimidating and memorable introductions in a game (referring to SS2). She constantly belittles you and yet you know that without her you'd be dead. I also like how she hates humanity and yet to me she is more humanlike than she'd like to admit.



The Many. I like that they try to convince you to join them and seem hesitant to kill you at first. Their physical manifestations are grotesque and terrifying. The effect with the several voices, with some lagging behind or running ahead is chilling, especially how emotionless their voices are.

"What is a drop of rain compared to the storm? What is a thought compared to a mind?"




I might be cheating with this one, since I don't think it's a villain but an antagonist.

The Warden Unit, or WAU from SOMA. Unlike the megalomania of SHODAN, the WAU is simply trying to help, which makes its actions more horrific. What I like most about it is it isn't your typical fictional AI. It doesn't talk, it doesn't think like we do, it's a machine carrying out directives using its computer logic and it's trying to save humanity instead of trying to wipe it out.

Here's just one result of the WAU's actions.

SomaPatchworkPose.jpg
 
Prone Squanderer said:
I could listen to Breen talk all day, even if it is Combine Universal Union propaganda.
Click to expand...
I have a love for villains who give long winded speeches, so long as the VA is good. John Henry Eden and Mankar Cameron weren't particularly great villains, but those speeches they gave are like *insert something sexual here*

Also, I love Andrew Ryan from Bioshock. Even if hes a "villain" who wasn't the real badguy.

And Wilhelm "Deathshead" Strasse from the Wolfenstein series is a perfect mix of crazy.
 
Dagoth Ur from morrowind.
Claudia from silent hill 3.
Walter from Silent hill 4.
Er... Either I have a shit memory or games just have shit villains.
 
Let's see... From the top of my head:

  1. Dagoth Ur from Morrowind
  2. The Trickster from Thief (may have been taken down easily but a lot of good build up and lore)
  3. Pavel from Metro Last Light (unlike most villains, he has human traits and even regrets being your enemy but has to follow orders as a lead soldier of his faction)
  4. The Sith Triumvirate from KOTOR 2
  5. Shodan (best example of fictional evil AI)
  6. Kerghan is another good one from Arcanum
    (Debating with him was great and unlike most villains, I could see the benefits of his plans, evil as they were)
  7. The Transcendent One in Planescape: Torment (I wish more enemies can be beaten in proper verbal debates like Kerghan and him)
  8. Irenicus from Baldur's Gate 2
  9. Sarevok from Baldur's Gate 1
I don't recall a lot at the moment.
 
Quick question, should I get Arcanum or Planescape Torment first? Having villains you can talk down is... interesting.
 
Dr Fallout said:
Quick question, should I get Arcanum or Planescape Torment first? Having villains you can talk down is... interesting.
Click to expand...
I'd suggest Planescape Torment. The combat gameplay is shitty but the rest of the game is brilliant (save for certain areas but YMMV).

Arcanum had some issues that bogged down the experience for me (still fun but the issues stick with me even now).
 
Dr Fallout said:
Quick question, should I get Arcanum or Planescape Torment first? Having villains you can talk down is... interesting.
Click to expand...
I've bought both recently. planescape is leagues more interesting in nearly every aspect to be perfectly honest. It also has the best dialogue I've ever seen in an rpg and is at least 90% dialogue focused (which, as a fellow dialogue junkie, I'm sure you'll appreciate).
 
R.Graves said:
I've bought both recently. planescape is leagues more interesting in nearly every aspect to be perfectly honest. It also has the best dialogue I've ever seen in an rpg and is at least 90% dialogue focused (which, as a fellow dialogue junkie, I'm sure you'll appreciate).
Click to expand...
Yeah you convinced me. Planescape it is. I love dialogue, so that's a plus.
 
CerberusGate said:
The Transcendent One in Planescape: Torment (I wish more enemies can be beaten in proper verbal debates like Kerghan and him)
Click to expand...
I find it interesting, that the Transcendent One's entire motive was basically to be left alone. Doesn't seem like a naturally villainous motivation.

But one thing I didn't think was handled well was the final battle against him. Supposing this guy can "Forge planes with his power", he didn't seem anywhere near as threatening enough in battle.
 
I personally give it to Andrew Ryan and Atlas for being douchebags of a thoroughly sympathetic level.

 
Most of the villains mentioned so far seem to be the complex types, with complicated motives.

I'm going to go down a slightly different route this time, and talk about one villain who I like, purely because he's over-the-top and camp.
(Vampire the Masquerade Spoilers ahead)
Lacroix. I mean, this guy is such a straightforwardly evil character, but I can't help but really think he works as a villain. I guess since the entire game was incredibly camp, he fitted right in with it. Plus I liked how utterly manipulative he was.

Ming Xiao also made a brilliant side villain, because she seems to be kind and peaceful at first, making it all the more surprising when she betrays you
 
Mine is Pete Hines from Bethesda, he is the devil in angel's clothing, what better villain could gaming ask for?
 
Since S.H.O.D.A.N. was already mentioned, I'll have to go with the next best thing, Apex from Dragonfall. It might not be as memorable as some other villains, but for someone who always played Deckers, an AI that needs to eat the minds of deckers in order to survive, on the loose is fragging terrifying.
 
JO'Geran said:
I find it interesting, that the Transcendent One's entire motive was basically to be left alone. Doesn't seem like a naturally villainous motivation.

But one thing I didn't think was handled well was the final battle against him. Supposing this guy can "Forge planes with his power", he didn't seem anywhere near as threatening enough in battle.
Click to expand...
Perhaps he was bluffing about how much power he can wield. Perhaps he said that to intimidate The Nameless One. Regardless, I always preferred debating with him, countering his arguments and answering the arc words of the game right in his face. The Nameless One's answer always gives me chills every time for how awesomely written it is:
If there is anything I have learned in my travels across the Planes, it is that many things may change the nature of a man. Whether regret, or love, or revenge or fear - whatever you believe can change the nature of a man, can. I’ve seen belief move cities, make men stave off death, and turn an evil hag's heart half-circle. This entire Fortress has been constructed from belief. Belief damned a woman, whose heart clung to the hope that another loved her when he did not. Once, it made a man seek immortality and achieve it. And it has made a posturing spirit think it is something more than a part of me.
Click to expand...
 
I dunno, @JO'Geran

I don't think La Croix from V:TM:B was actually evil. He's manipulative, craven, and ambitious but he's in a pretty tough position. He's been sent out to die by the Camarilla and he knows it. Yes, you're someone he wants to get rid of because you're an illegal embrace but that's really something which threatens him as much as you.

He's really just doing what all vampires do in the WOD--survive any way he can.

Ming Xiao, by contrast, is kind of an overtly racist Dragon Lady and unwilling to even abide by any compact you make with her.

I give props to Darth Malak as well for a somewhat deeper-than-needed to be Sith Lord.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top