Video games transport players to fantastic worlds, and introduce us to dynamic, engaging characters. In our gaming lifetime’s players foil countless master plans, and thwart a bevy of video game villains. Many of those villains challenge us, haunt us, and even return for more after their initial defeat. Some antagonists instill a deep seated fear in our heroes, while others make players burst out laughing. Some villains however, do not live up to their evil associates, and learn absolutely nothing, even after coming back time and time again.
In order to make this list, these particularly terrible villains must lack a cogent plan of action, show extreme ineptitude, or simply look otherwise unintimidating. In order to keep it fair, there will only be one villain per franchise.Here are some of the absolute worst villains in gaming!
Kicking off this list is basically the evil twin to perhaps the most overlooked sibling in video game history. Waluigi is the evil counterpart to, you guessed it, Luigi. While Mario’s enemies such as Wario and Bowser have done quite dastardly things, Waluigi has not hatched a single evil plot. We simply must assume he is evil due to his thin squiggly ‘stache and the upside down “L” on his hat (which doesn’t even make sense like Warios upside down “M”).
In one of the most confusing decisions in game design, Far Cry 3 featured two villains. While this is not an odd choice in itself, the decision to kill off the most menacing and interesting villain first, left me scratching my head. Hoyt Volker is described as a brutal warlord and human trafficker. He leads a violent band of pirates and slave traders, one of whom is Vaas Montenegro. Remembered by a multitude of gamers for his famous “Definition of Insanity” monologue, Vaas greatly out-shined Hoyt as a complex, engaging and menacing villain, whereas Hoyt spent most of his time making idle threats. He was placed in the villainous spotlight when he really should have been Vaas’ secretary.
One of the most obnoxiously terrible gaming villains on multiple levels, is Doctor Eggman. His name is Eggman. I shouldn’t have to say more, but aside from his terrible name, his MO is basically harassing small, furry creatures. Even worse, he is easily defeated by these small, furry creatures. With an IQ of 300 Doctor Ivo “Eggman” Robotnik is bent on taking over the world and building his “Eggman Empire” dominated by his love for machines and robotics. Despite these lofty goals, Doctor Eggman sits on a throne of mediocrity.
Many villains rely on tact, secrecy, and deceit to hatch their insidious plans. Zoltun Kulle, the banished Horadrim, uses absolutely none of these. In Diablo III, players are forced to work with this twisted spirit in order to unlock an ancient weapon that can be used to seal Diablo away forever. Your companions seem to be distrusting of him, in the suspicion that he will revert to his terrible ways. All of which is pointless because throughout the entire act, Kulle specifically tells you that he will betray you. There is no surprise, there is no jaw-dropping plot twist. The moment Kulles body is restored, you are thrown into the easiest boss battle in the game.
The only villain on this list who wear roller blades, Fatman is truly a unique force of evil. From the popular Metal Gear series, Fatman is a member of Dead Cell and an explosives expert with a taste for fine wine and pointless roller blading. In fact, in one encounter, he will do both at the same time, drinking wine in a cutscene while threatening you with those unnecessary, verbose rants all terrible villains are prone to. Let’s just say, his plan to become the most famous bomber in history doesn’t turn out so well.
Halo 4 was 343’s foray into the Halo universe, and along with this new adventure came a new villain, The Didact. This terrifying baddy fit some of the criteria for a great bad guy, sporting an intimidating voice and a haunting visage. All of this was not enough to make him memorable however, as he is defeated by the Master Chief not in an epic final fight, but in a cutscene. This antagonist who spends most of the time shooting off at the mouth, goes out with a simple whimper, and the player doesn’t even get the satisfaction of delivering the final blow.
Many questions are left unanswered in Destiny, the main antagonist, The Darkness is one of them. Much like “The Force” in Star Wars, the universe of Destiny is forged of two forms of energy, Light and Dark. While the initial impression is that this is a simple metaphor for good and evil, The Darkness is a living, sentient force. Aside from that, we don’t know much more about it. To base an entire game on a nebulous force of evil is definitely an odd choice, earning The Darkness a spot among the horde of mediocre villains.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 features one of the most generic military characters of all time, the jaded General Shepherd. Before even addressing his treasonous actions, just look at him, he’s only missing a cigar to be the posterboy for generic military characters. Aside from this, he kills his entire team unnecessarily in an attempt to cover up his own corruption, even though he could have just destroyed the evidence. With Activision as the publisher, you’d think they would have some better ideas for designing evil people.
Dingodile seems to be the product of a really offensive joke aimed towards people from “down under.” This cross between a Dingo and Crocodile sports an Aussie accent because, well, how could he not? Out of every odd villain featured in the Crash Bandicoot series, Dingodile was by far the most annoying. He is also considered the most spineless among the series’ antagonists, never having a plan of his own and betraying other villains from time to time.
It is a wonder how anyone in this antagonists jurisdiction is safe, when he cannot catch some roller blading teenage vandals, even with tanks and hordes of police. Captain Onishima, looks like a detective who has worked a few too many hours, and dipped into the force’s stash of confiscated drugs. Later in Jet Set Radio, he even uses helicopters with rockets to dispatch the GG’s, the rag-tag gang of graffiti artists, and yet he still cannot do this with any success. For his incompetence, he must be called out as one of the worst gaming villains of all time.