9 Games Where You Are the Villain

Being a villain? What’s a villain in video games? Is it the final boss we face? Is it someone who’s evil? We’ve already explored this in our previous article Villains who Were Right and, within that gray area, it becomes difficult to define who’s good or bad. But what about when we ourselves control the villains and can decide whether what we’re doing is right or wrong?

In some cases, villains do wrong without even realizing it. Sometimes, we don't know we’re the villains until it’s revealed. There are games where the villain is a product of circumstance, and others where the character simply engages in truly morally questionable behavior. Regardless, being a villain—playing as one—is always a unique experience. Being the destroyer rather than the savior means seeing things from a new perspective; at times, it can even change our minds about a truth we’ve avoided facing: any of us can be a villain, depending on who’s telling the story.

Originally released for arcades in 1986, Rampage was ported to various consoles and even inspired a movie starring The Rock. You control three giant monsters—famous kaiju, for those familiar with Godzilla: George, a giant gorilla; Lizzie, a giant lizard; and Ralph, a giant werewolf. The objective is simple: travel across various states and destroy everything. Topple buildings, crush armies, and devour people—whether they’re passersby or inside the buildings.

The interesting part is that when the monsters run out of energy, they revert to human form and can be stomped on or devoured by their peers, which yields more points. There isn't much complexity or depth to it: you and your friends play as monsters, destroying everything in sight and racking up points. You can attack one another, compete to see who destroys the most buildings, and vie for the high score. Still, playing with friends—all in the same room—was a blast.

The game did get a more modern version during the 32-bit era—Rampage World Tour—but it faced harsh criticism for failing to take advantage of the consoles' capabilities and for having stiff controls. It never recaptured its former success, ultimately being viewed as little more than a nod to nostalgic fans. The franchise was shelved until it attempted a comeback with the movie star Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson; however, that didn't perform well at the box office either, and the monsters ended up back in storage at some company or studio.

In Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, you begin as an unconscious soldier with no memory, thrust into the action as an invasion breaks out on your ship; you must fight your way out against invaders allied with the Sith—the Jedi's greatest enemies. Over time, you discover your affinity for the Force, build your lightsaber, and learn new powers. You also discover that you have an affinity for the dark side of the Force.

You can learn powers from both sides. You uncover a plot by the dreaded Darth Malak. You forge strong friendships with a Wookiee, a Twi'lek, a psychopathic droid, and a grumpy Jedi. Your ship travels across various sectors of the galaxy. You crash parties and auctions, and infiltrate criminal hideouts. Then, your Jedi friend is kidnapped and corrupted by the dark side. With effort, you can bring her back (or not, if you choose).

Then comes the final revelation, hitting you like a blow to the head: you were the villain all along. You are Darth Revan, one of the most evil Sith Lords to ever exist; betrayed by your apprentice, Malak, you were captured and had your memory wiped to convince you that you were one of the good guys. Like many other games from BioWare's "golden age," your actions determine the game's ending and how the world reacts to you. You were the villain, and you can become one again.

The forge hisses, the armor gleams, and a new Dark Lord rises: you. You’re the leader of screaming minions who worship your every evil command. March forth to crush heroes, plunder kingdoms, and claim forgotten relics in Overlord. Developed by Codemasters Studios Guildford, the game blends action with resource and minion management.

The world overflows with color and dark humor. Your minions cackle, fight, and drink from kegs when you aren't looking. Each mission follows a satisfying rhythm: explore, command, conquer, collect. Burn villages, pillage. After all, you’re a villain trying to reclaim your evil empire.

Send your minions to clear the way, gather treasure, and subdue enemies while you direct the flow of battle from behind the lines. The thrill comes from letting your pint-sized army do the dirty work while you savor the carnage. Chaos is the strategy. Not everything works perfectly; controls can falter when your army bunches up, and the camera sometimes loses its way amidst the action. Even so, it’s hard not to smile as your army overruns yet another defenseless village.

Perhaps the concept of villainy doesn't quite fit here; after all, there’s no intentional malice in the viruses and bacteria we control. So, it isn't a "game where you play as the villain". Here in Plague Inc: Evolved, YOU’re clearly the villain, controlling bacteria, viruses, fungi, and other diseases with the ultimate goal of infecting and wiping out all of humanity.

You begin by selecting the type of organism to cultivate—such as a virus or fungus—each with its own unique mechanics, advantages, and disadvantages. You also choose where to "release" it initially: densely populated regions are ideal for infecting large numbers of people and offer extensive air and sea travel routes, though advanced medical infrastructure there can facilitate early detection and the development of a cure. Conversely, less populated rural areas have fewer exit routes but are easier to infect and lack advanced scientific capabilities.

As you infect more people, you earn points to unlock new mutations, thereby increasing the pathogen's transmissibility, resistance, and lethality. While the infection spreads and claims lives, scientists race to develop a cure; success therefore hinges on strategy and quick thinking to ensure your disease becomes deadly enough to drive humanity to extinction.

Braid is a game that subverts expectations and everything we’ve known about platformers since the original Donkey Kong. It begins as a charming puzzle-platformer but evolves into something much darker. You play as Tim, searching for redemption and a mysterious princess across colorful kingdoms. What is most striking is the feeling of playing a classic platformer where the hero saves the princess.

The hand-painted visuals envelop you in a warm feeling, and the music is upbeat; yet, as you progress, something shifts, and the atmosphere begins to resemble a lament of grief. Solving a level feels personal—almost painful—as the truth behind Tim’s obsession comes to light. You experiment, fail, and start over. The ability to rewind time allows you to rectify mistakes and keep moving forward.

But you aren't just correcting errors; you’re perfecting them. You aren't simply trying a different path to save the princess and the world; you’re refining the flaws in your initial plan to ensure the princess remains yours. You’re a villain seeking to hone your wickedness. This pursuit of mastery is what makes this an unmissable indie game. Time is unforgiving; it’s a wound you keep reopening.

In most RPGs, you fight to stop a dark lord from conquering the world. In Tyranny, developed by Obsidian Entertainment, you arrived too late. The war is already over. Kyros, a powerful conqueror capable of destroying entire cities with magic, has won. Kingdoms have been crushed, armies defeated, and the few remaining pockets of resistance are on the verge of vanishing. You’re not a hero trying to save anyone. You’re a Fatebinder—an imperial official responsible for enforcing the conqueror's laws.

Your mission takes you to the Tiers, a region where Kyros's armies are warring against one another while attempting to wipe out the last of the rebels. Along the way, you encounter fanatical soldiers, ambitious generals, powerful mages, and survivors struggling to adapt to the new world. Every conversation can result in an alliance, an execution, or all-out war. The decisions you make reshape entire cities, alter the fate of factions, and determine who stands by your side at the campaign's end.

Combat follows the classic isometric RPG style, featuring real-time battles with a strategic pause function for issuing orders to your party. You develop new skills, master spells, and either earn the loyalty of those around you or instill fear in them. What sets the game apart is that virtually every choice carries lasting consequences: you can act as a ruthless tyrant, rule through fear, or attempt to make the empire a less cruel place—all while continuing to serve it.

In this category, alongside the two games in the Prototype franchise, we can include the titles from the inFAMOUS series. The two franchises are quite similar. You play as someone who survives secret experiments and gains superpowers. Absorption, shapeshifting, lightning, organic weapons—the protagonists' arsenals are diverse, yet the core concept is much the same: uncovering who did this to you, the reason why, and what role you play in the story.

In inFAMOUS, the story centers on Cole MacGrath, an ordinary deliveryman whose life changes completely when a mysterious package explodes in the heart of Empire City. The blast destroys several city blocks, kills thousands, and plunges the city into chaos, but it also awakens Cole's ability to control electricity. Viewed by many as the person responsible for the tragedy, he becomes a target of public hatred while trying to understand what really happened that day.

In Prototype, the story revolves around the quest to uncover the origin of the infection and Alex's role in the unfolding tragedy. To do this, the player raids military bases, infiltrates secret facilities, and hunts down individuals linked to the conspiracy. As he absorbs his victims, Alex unlocks memory fragments that help piece the puzzle together. Gradually, he realizes there’s far more to the epidemic than he imagined, and that his own existence is tied to the events that devastated the city.

Both games offer the choice of becoming a hero or a villain. You can play as someone who avoids destruction and chaos, or simply destroy everything in your path with your powers, kill as many people as possible, and become a genuine threat to the world. "Did you create a monster? Then you're going to get one". The path you choose slightly alters the game's ending, revealing the consequences of your actions—whether for good or bad.

1950s sci-fi movies often told stories about aliens trying to invade Earth and human heroes fighting to avert catastrophe. Destroy All Humans!, developed by Pandemic Studios, takes that concept and turns it on its head. Here, you aren't the soldier defending the planet; you’re Crypto-137, an extraterrestrial of the Furon race sent to the United States with a mission to sow chaos, harvest human DNA, and further your species' plans for conquest.

The campaign follows Crypto as he investigates a conspiracy involving the US government and attempts to discover why humans possess genetic material vital to the Furons. To achieve his objectives, you visit farms, small towns, military bases, and increasingly bustling urban areas. As the story unfolds, the military responds with greater force, and new threats emerge to hinder the invasion.

The gameplay blends action, exploration, and destruction within a semi-open world. Crypto wields a vast array of futuristic weapons capable of disintegrating people, electrocuting crowds, or reducing humans to mere piles of ash. Furthermore, he can read minds, control thoughts, hurl objects across the environment using telekinesis, and even disguise himself by assuming the appearance of ordinary people. When things get out of hand, his flying saucer enters the fray, equipped with even more devastating weaponry capable of leveling entire buildings and turning busy streets into veritable war zones.

In The Dark Queen of Mortholme, developed by Mosu, you control the final boss of a Soulslike game. You’re the final boss—the game's ultimate villain! This time, you don't control the hero. You’re the Dark Queen, sitting on your throne as you await the arrival of the adventurer destined to defeat you. And you defeat him.

The hero invades your castle; you use your powers and kill him in a single blow. It’s easy—after all, you’re the final boss, and defeating your enemy should be no trouble. The problem is, he comes back. And then he comes back again. And again. With every defeat, the hero learns a little more, grows stronger, and discovers new ways to survive your attacks. Much like a player in a "Soulslike" game, he learns a bit more about how to dodge boss attacks each time he dies, until he finally wins.

The gameplay revolves around this cycle of repetition. You use the Shadow Queen’s various attacks to kill the intruder, all while watching him grow stronger with every battle. You gradually learn more about the Queen’s and the Hero’s backstories through the dialogue exchanged between them, and the game’s villain role begins to be called into question as doubts arise.