Top 10 Best Video Game Villains Of All Time
Video game villains are the characters we just love to hate. Whether they coldheartedly kill one of your favourite characters, they prove incredibly hard to defeat in the final showdown or, they're just a really horrible person, the best video game villains are an integral part to a game's story. Often, the best villains carry a great deal of depth and manage to make gamers like them, even if just a little bit. With an endless amount of evil antagonists to choose from, narrowing them down into a top 10 list hasn't been easy. Without further ado, here are our picks for the top 10 best video game villains of all time.
#10 Gary Smith (Bully)
Click to enlargeGary Smith from Bully is your stereotypical annoying high school tyrant only much, much worse. The rival to the game's protagonist, James "Jimmy" Hopkins, Gary plans to bully and manipulate his way into taking over Bullworth Academy. Although the pair start off as friends, it all falls apart as Jimmy and his pals try and thwart Gary's plans for school domination. Eventually, it comes to a head-to-head between the cliques of Bullworth, with Gary taking principle Crabblesnitch hostage and throwing punches with Jimmy on the unsteady scaffolding suspended above the school. With that said, fans are keen to see Gary's return in a rumoured new Bully game.
#9 Miraak (Skyrim)
Click to enlargeDespite there being a number of foes for the Dragonborn in Skyrim, Miraak is arguably the best villain. The classic move would be to choose the tyrannical mighty dragon, Alduin, given how the entire plot of the main quest revolves around his return to Skyrim and the resurrection of his brethren to wreak havoc and destruction. Meanwhile, Miraak has the power to destroy the dragons, not out of the goodness of his heart, but to absorb their souls as Dragonborn and gain become even more powerful.
This part of the quest from the 'Dragonborn' add-on allows the players to explore the island of Solstheim where you learn about the mysterious and dangerous figure, Miraak. One of the most annoying things about this rival Dragonborn is that if you kill any dragons in the hope of absorbing a soul, Miraak suddenly appears and absorbs it for himself. Honourable mention goes to Nazeem though...
#8 Tom Nook (Animal Crossing)
Click to enlargeNintendo
Click to enlargeHe may look all cute and cuddly, but Tom Nook, from the Animal Crossing game franchise, is one of the most ruthless and evil video game villains. As soon as you arrive on your new home on the idyllic little island, Tom Nook sets about giving you an endless amount of tasks and leaving you pretty much bankrupt as he robs every penny out of your pocket to pay off your mortgage. Then, you have to pay more money to his evil corporation to purchase furniture and various other necessary items. If that wasn't enough, he goes on to break every law in the work and labour book by forcing his nephews to work for him in the shop.
#7 Micah Bell (Red Dead Redemption 2)
Click to enlargeMicah Bell from Red Dead Redemption 2 is, without doubt, the most heartless gunslinger around. Fans of Red Dead out there will probably still growl at the very sound of his name. Protagonist Arthur Morgan is suspicious of the new member of Dutch van der Linde's gang from the very beginning, especially after his murderous rampage in Strawberry and him, repeatedly, making poor and selfish decisions.
*Spoiler Alert*
Turns out Arthur's suspicions were right all along when it is revealed that Micah is a mole for the Pinkerton Detective Agency, leading to the deaths of various beloved characters and the once-affectionate van der Linde family to fall apart.
#6 GLaDOS (Portal)
Click to enlargeGLaDOS from both Portal games is the highly intelligent but manipulative primary antagonist of the game series. Voiced brilliantly by Ellen McLain, GLaDOS (Genetic Lifeform and Disk Operating System) guides the player, Chell, through the empty and derelict enrichment centre in the first Portal game. Although she begins as a helpful voice of encouragement, her behaviour becomes more sinister as she demonstrates a lack of care for the safety of the test subjects before becoming intent on destroying Chell. After seemingly meeting her end in the first game, she is resurrected in Portal 2 only this time she is constantly hurling sassy insults towards Chell who, she claims, murdered her.
#5 David (The Last Of Us)
Click to enlargeThere may be some villains on this list who gamers hate but also secretly love. David from The Last Of Us is not one of them. A nemesis who appears frequently on lists like these, David starts off as a friendly guy out hunting to get food for his group when he comes across Ellie, who's desperately trying to find anti-biotics to help a critically-injured Joel. After working together to fight off a hoard of Infected, David then turns sinister and reveals he has a personal vendetta against the two protagonists. He, also, just so happens to be the leader of a cannibalistic group of survivors. David goes on to kidnap Ellie which eventually leads to an intense and dramatic fight between the two in a burning restaurant.
#4 Bowser (Mario)
Click to enlargeOh, Bowser. The recurrent villain of the Mario franchise and arguably the most iconic villain in the list, this spiky-shelled Koopa has been the archenemy of everyone's favourite Italian plumber since his first appearance in 1985's Super Mario Bros. Ever since then, Mario and Bowser have been battling it out across the Mushroom Kingdom, often with the King of the Koopas kidnapping Mario's love interest, Peach. However, this hasn't stopped Bowser gaining a lot of love from fans over the years. With Jack Black being announced as the new voice of Bowser in the upcoming animated Super Mario Bros. film, no doubt fans will be excited to see what's next in-store for this iconic villain.
#3 Andrew Ryan (Bioshock)
Click to enlargeAndrew Ryan is the evil, criminal mastermind behind the events of BioShock. Sure, he's super smart but he's done some horrific things all in his selfish pursuit for success. As well as building the city of Rapture and causing absolute chaos and destruction in the process, Ryan turns a complete blind eye to the appalling conditions of the underwater city and its inhabitants as Rapture is ravished by civil war. Being locked away in his rooms buried deep within the city, Ryan's paranoia grows menacing as the impaled bodies of his allies are strewn along the entrance hall to his office, as a warning to any who would dare to challenge his authority.
#2 Albert Wesker (Resident Evil)
Click to enlargeAlbert Wesker is one of the main antagonists from the Resident Evil franchise who is sharp-shooting his way to the number two spot. He's the extravagant Terminator-esque figure who's out to drive humanity to mass extinction believing it to have come to its evolutionary end. First appearing in the very first Resident Evil game in 1996, Wesker is revealed to be a double agent working for the Umbrella Corporation. As time goes on, Wesker goes onto to use himself as his own test subject, injecting himself with various viruses to gain supernatural powers but all at the loss of his humanity. The final showdown between Wesker and the hero, Chris Redfield, in Resident Evil 5 may have been dramatic but it didn't get the best reaction from fans. However, if you're keen to catch a long-awaited return of Albert Wesker he will be appearing in the upcoming film Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City and the live-action Netflix series.
#1 Vaas Montenegro- Far Cry 3
Click to enlargeVaas Montenegro, Far Cry 3's psychopathic bad guy takes home the crown for being the best video game villain and just by looking at that creepy smile and cold, hard stare, who can blame us? As the Pirates gang boss and leader, Vaas terrorises the game's protagonist, James Brody, and his friends across Rook Island using any means necessary to capture them and sell them into slavery. Thanks to a fantastic performance by Michael Mando, Vaas manages to steal the show even though he isn't actually the main villain of the game; so much so fans were ecstatic to learn that they will be able to play as Vaas in the upcoming Far Cry 6. The Far Cry game franchise has brought an amazing amount of menacing but incredibly-written characters yet Vaas continues to the be the baddy that players still can't shake out of their nightmares.
Someone missing from this list we should've included? Are you a huge Ganondorf, Dr. Neo Cortex, or Ghost Pirate LeChuck fan? Let us know on Twitter @GGReconEsports.