It’s routine to play a game with a hero who goes out of their way to selflessly save the world. In the past, it was rare for games to have a hero with deep, almost unforgivable flaws in certain contexts. Nowadays, the antihero has become commonplace in video games.
An antihero is a protagonist in a story that lacks the usual heroic attributes. Many video games have taken this turn, but it’s hard to get players to fall in love with a bad guy. Luckily, there are quite a few examples of excellent antiheroes throughout gaming history. Here are ten of them.
10 Carrion
One of the most recent examples of an anti-hero story is Carrion. Dubbed a “reverse horror game,” players are a tentacle monster known as Carrion trying to escape a lab its been trapped in. Scientists had the creature locked away after they found as dormant biomass and killed a few colleagues upon waking up. Along the way, Carrion will murder plenty of scientists and soldiers to escape its prison. On one hand, it is a hideous death monster. On the other hand, it’s hard to hate the creature for wanting to get out and be free from experiments.
9 Kane & Lynch
The Kane & Lynch series was often panned for its bad controls, but the stories of these two former death row inmates are too insane to not try. In the first game, Adam ‘Kane’ Marcus and James Seth Lynch are on their way to death row when they are both kidnapped by a gang called the 7. Kane’s wife and daughter had been taken hostage after he allegedly stole money from this gang and they need him to get the money back to them. The story gets even wilder, and the game itself is filled with third-person shooting action.
8 Wario (Warioland)
Nintendo has a long list of famous heroes, but even its villains are beloved. Antagonists like Bowser and King Dedede have had their moments to shine as antiheroes, but no antihero from Nintendo has multiple game series like Wario. The star of both Warioland and WarioWare, Wario’s goofy nature and overall gluttony has won the hearts of fans. His games are fun as well, with Warioland being a unique take on 2D-platforming and WarioWare filled to the brim with microgames. Both showcase Wario’s desire for power and money, but in a hilarious way.
7 Trevor (Grand Theft Auto V)
If there is one franchise that embraces the antihero, it’s Grand Theft Auto. Some of them are genuinely likable, but then there’s Trevor, the cannibal psychopath from Grand Theft Auto V. Some of the things that Trevor says are often hilarious and insane, but some of the acts of violence are hard to swallow.
Still, its fun playing someone who has no self-control. There are even side missions where Trevor is just mindlessly killing people out of pure rage. He does fight back against the corrupt government and police as well, so it’s okay to take a ride on the wild side with Trevor.
6 Agent 47 (Hitman)
The Hitman series is one of the more surreal video games to play, thanks to players taking on the role of Agent 47. His name refers to the fact he is the 47th clone from the DNA of five different men. This DNA was combined to create a human that would become the perfect assassin. Agent 47 is the most successful of the clones and now follows orders to kill whoever his handlers want dead. The games themselves are a lot of fun, using Agent 47’s stealth ability to dissect a situation and execute the perfect hit job. It’s ruthless, but its a fascinating and clever concept.
5 Dante (Devil May Cry)
He’s not the warmest of characters, but it’s hard to not like Dante from the Devil May Cry series. A demon-hunting vigilante, Dante’s purpose in life is to seek revenge for his mother’s death by hacking and slashing supernatural beings that stand in his way. He has superhuman powers he inherited from his father which has given him super strength and agility, to name a few. He also uses a plethora of weapons, making him a perfect character to play as to unload any built-up anger.
4 Max Payne (Max Payne)
Very rarely do we see a character transition into an antihero, but Max Payne fits that billing. In the very first Max Payne game, players see a happy man who works for the NYPD as a detective who loves to socialize with people. That changes after his family is murdered. He turns into an introvert and begins to hate life and the people around him. He turns this hatred into vengeance by becoming a vigilante. The best part of playing Max Payne is hearing his cynical, morbid thoughts while he interacts with the world.
3 Alex Mercer (Prototype)
In Prototype, Alex Mercer is a shapeshifter who is looking to stop plague-spreading monsters while also dealing with conflicts from the U.S. Military and Blackwatch, a covert operational force. New York City is dealing with a disease called Blacklight, which is turning people into these monsters.
Mercer doesn’t have any memory of life prior to waking up in a lab but uses his abilities to find out the truth behind it and the disease. However, what Mercer finds out about himself isn’t all good and the series goes a step further by making him the antagonist in the next game.
2 Garrett (Thief)
Not a ton of known about Garrett’s past, but he was molded to be a thief. In the Thief games, Garrett is recruited by The Keepers, a neutral faction in “the City” who tries to maintain a balance between chaos and order. He learns how to become a thief but later leaves the organization to create his own path, focused on stealing from the rich. Garrett’s shady aesthetic easily draws people in, but what’s more exciting is the gameplay of figuring out the best strategies to complete missions without getting caught in a fight.
1 Kratos (God Of War)
One of the most iconic video game characters ever, Kratos of God Of War is the epitome of an antihero. A demigod that later becomes a god, Kratos spends the early games embarking on long adventures to enact revenge on the Greek Gods. During these games, he goes on violent rampages that are morally questionable at best. In the latest game, Kratos is now taking care of his son, Atreus as they continue adventuring. Kratos begins to mentor Atreus and is learning to control his anger, which at times is very hard to do.
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