While heroes take the spotlight in gaming, every good hero needs a good villain standing opposite. The villain serves as the driving force that keeps the hero or party on their quest, and the best video game villains make you hate them with a fiery passion. There are a few that stand out above the pack, however, due to their absolutely atrocious and deplorable actions, making it an agonizing wait to see their demise. Just a warning before we go further that there will be major spoilers for the villains and games discussed, in order to really hone in on the nature of what makes each villain so despicable.
Zeus – God of War 3
Kratos is a pretty terrible person, but equally terrible is his father Zeus, the main villain of God of War 3. Besides the multitude of affairs and killings Zeus orchestrated in actual Greek mythology, his actions directly against Kratos give the antihero more than ample reason to kill him.
Zeus and the other gods deceived and used Kratos to kill Ares in the first God of War, instilling him as the new god. However, once Kratos became too dangerous once again Zeus deceived him and killed Kratos, who also happens to be his son from an affair. While Zeus is overcome with the evils of Pandora’s Box, his many atrocious actions paint him as a ruthless, vindictive ruler of the gods. Kratos’ killing may not always be justified, but at least this one time it definitely was.
General Shepard – CoD Modern Warfare 2
General Shepard’s actions may be despicable, but what really makes them all the worse is the sting of betrayal. After acting as yoru ally for most of Modern Warfare 2, Shepard brings a big twist to the story when he betrays Roach and Ghost, actually killing one of your playable characters. At this point, he becomes the game’s main antagonist, and his intentions are clear. Shepard wants to mop up any loose ends that find out about him escalating the war between Russia and America, and wants to claim all the glory of killing Vladmir Makarov for himself.
Shepard deceived not only your characters but all of America as well, making him one of the most despicable characters in the entire Call of Duty series.
Handsome Jack – Borderlands 2
Pandora may not be a particularly peaceful place, but boy does Handsome Jack make it worse than ever. He creates the Hyperion Corporation and names himself dictator of Pandora, even taking credit for your actions in Borderlands 1, discovering the vault and beating the Destroyer. Murder and deception is all in a day’s work for Handsome Jack.
Throughout Borderlands 2 you have quite a bit of contact with Jack and his smarmy, cocksure attitude makes him a perfect candidate for a punch to the face. It’s so satisfying to finally bring him down, but it definitely isn’t the last we see of Handsome Jack.
The Illusive Man – Mass Effect
The Illusive Man is the definition of being “morally grey,” a central idea in the entire Mass Effect series. He certainly has his own share of charm, and is one of the most fascinating characters of the whole trilogy, but also one of the most devious. The Illusive Man and his paramilitary group, Cerberus, take justice and the fate of humanity into their own hands, disregarding the hamstrung politics of the Citadel Council.
Although he’s responsible for bringing Shepard back to life in Mass Effect 2, the Illusive Man tries to force Shepard into seeing out his master plan, that of controlling the Reapers instead of fighting them. In Mass Effect 3 he commands Cerberus to attack Sur’Kesh and instigates a war between two races, causing countless deaths in the process. Add that onto the fact that he constantly interferes with Shepard during Mass Effect 2 and 3, and you have a memorable final confrontation with the villain.
Vaas – Far Cry 3
Anyone that played Far Cry 3 can’t forget Vaas Montenegro and his iconic “definition of insanity” speech. Outside of that, however, Vaas constantly displays his ruthlessness at every turn. At the start of the game he captures Jason and his group of friends, ransoming them off to their parents for money. However, it’s later revealed that Vaas received the ransom money, and still tried to sell the group off as slaves to make even more of a profit.
Vaas is cocksure, violent, and unpredictable, and is personally responsible for the death of Jason’s brother. He’s a terrifying, unforgettable villain, and finally driving that knife into his chest definitely provided some catharsis.
Frau Irene Engel – Wolfenstein 2
Frau Engel may have been the secondary antagonist of Wolfenstein: The New Order, but her visceral role in the first game translated to becoming even more sinister in the second. Your very first encounter with Frau Engel involves a nerve-wracking test where she tests if BJ truly has Aryan blood.
Her cruelty is displayed countless times throughout the two games, whether it’s when she murders Klaus Kreutz and others or her horribly abusive relationship with her daughter. If that isn’t enough, in Wolfenstein II’s most shocking moment she actually decapitates BJ on live television, who’s only saved by a crazy head transplant done by Set Roth. Frau Engel is a masterclass in villain design, and one of the best villains we’ve seen in gaming in a long time. She’s despicable, frightening, and an actual threat to our otherwise invincible hero.
Edgar Ross – Red Dead Redemption
Edgar Ross is the man responsible for pretty much everything John Marston does in Red Dead Redemption. As the leader of the Bureau of Investigation, which would eventually be the FBI, he captured and held Marston’s family captive in order to strong-arm him into hunting down Bill Williamson and other former gang members.
Throughout Red Dead Redemption, Ross uses Marston’s family against him, forcing him to return to his old ways and kill in order to protect them. Once Ross’ agenda was fulfilled, Marston finally returned to his family only to be betrayed and ruthlessly murdered by the villain, in one of gaming’s most unforgettable moments. Finally gunning down Ross as Marston’s son brought an end to the ironic cycle of the government madman.Â
Suguru Kamoshida – Persona 5
If there was a trophy given out for worst person alive, Kamoshida would definitely win it with ease. Seen as the shining star coach of Shujin Academy, Suguru Kamoshida horribly abuses his power to take advantage of students. He beats and abuses members of sports teams to keep them in line and release frustration, and even sexually harasses and assaults female students. He’s also just fine sabotaging students from rival schools in order to help his own teams rise to prominence.
All of this is made even worse when you travel into Kamoshida’s Palace and see how he really views everything, with himself as the king and everyone else merely tools for his own perversions. Out of all the villains in the Persona series, it’s most satisfying to see Kamoshida taken down, and see his reign of terror over the poor students of Shujin brought to an end.
Rodrigo Borgia – Assassin’s Creed II
Rodrigo Borgia is pretty well-known in actual history as being a completely awful tyrant, and somehow, Assassin’s Creed II finds a way to make him even worse. Rodrigo became leader of the Catholic church in 1492, reigning as Pope Alexander VI. In Assassin’s Creed II, Rodrigo becomes a member of the Templar Order and unites all of Italy under one banner. Of course, he’s willing to use any means necessary to see his plans through, extortion, bribery, and assassination, including the killing of Ezio Auditore’s father and brothers.
Rodrigo’s main goal was to use the Templar Order to achieve absolute power and control, by any means necessary. Through multiple plots and conspiracies, Ezio uncovers his plans, and the penultimate moment of Assassin’s Creed II has you engaging in a brutal fistfight with Rodrigo. That’s right, you have to beat up the Pope. After such a long quest Ezio finally got his chance at revenge against the man who killed his family, and he definitely didn’t miss it.
Kefka Palazzo – Final Fantasy VI
Final Fantasy is certainly no stranger to fantastic villains; after all, Sephiroth is one of the most iconic video game characters of all time. Even with that, though, the maniacal clown Kefka Palazzo still lays claim to the most diabolical villain of the entire series.
Kefka’s role isn’t immediately clear in Final Fantasy VI, as he spends the first half of the game laying the groundwork for his master plan, while pretending to serve the Gestahlian Empire. In one of the most brilliant twists in all of gaming, however, Kefka actually wins, obliterating the word in the process and scattering your party to the winds. You have to regather your party and face down Kefka once again, who’s now achieved godhood. Kefka’s maniacal personality only makes him even more remarkable as a villain, almost the Final Fantasy equivalent of The Joker. The untold suffering he causes, and the fact that he actually succeeds in his ultimate goal, make Kefka one of the most well-developed, deplorable villains in video game history.
Published: Sep 7, 2018 10:22 am