Summary
Horror games can accomplish something special if they manage to sink their claws into players. Mind-bending stories are an easy way to achieve this, compelling gamers to see events and characters in a new light.
This also stretches to the villains present in most horror games. Some of said figures seem like cookie-cutter bad guys, only for it to be revealed later that they hide a sinister secret or something along the same lines that recontextualizes their actions. This can lead to memorable twists that explore what it means to be evil in captivating ways.
Warning: This list contains major spoilers for the games being discussed.
Most players who startSilent Hill 2have no idea what’s going on, although James' quest to find his wife seems noble enough. The dreaded Pyramid Head spends a large portion of the game hunting James, but the reason why isn’t made clear from the get-go.
It’s not until much later in the game that the truth comes to light. The many enemies that James sawduring his time in Silent Hillrepresent parts of his guilty conscience, with Pyramid Head manifesting because of his guilt and wanting to be punished for killing his wife when she needed his support.
A short, memorable horror game that takes place on a spaceship, the psychological horror ofMouthwashingis in a class of its own. The first scene of the game leads players to think that they are controlling the captain who causes the ship to crash, but this is not the case.
The mind-bending narrative jumps at different points in the story and manages to weave an intricate narrative thatmakes Jimmy’s guilt clear as day. By the time players realize that he’s the villain, they have no choice but to see this story to completion as this narcissist dooms everyone around him.
Inscryptionis one of the best horror games ever made,with its foreboding atmosphereand unique deck-building gameplay being an absolute treat to experience. With Leshy trapping players and forcing them to play the game over and over again, it’s easy to assume that he’s a villain.
However,Inscryptionrecontextualizes itself with its second and third acts, making things more apparent for players. It reaches a point where players will actively cheer when they get to face Leshy, with emotions spilling over as the game is deleted and the time spent with this memorable character is cut short.
It’s hard to discern who the villain is inOmori. Barring the cute, cheerful bosses in Headspace, the most ominous presence in the game is Something, which haunts players every step of the way and manifests as nightmares that Sunny and Omori must deal with.
However, once the truth of the story comes to light, it’s clear that the real villain of the game is Omori himself, although even that is debatable. Either way, Sunny must take Omori out and face his guilt so that he can own up to his friends and respect Basil’s wishes, too.
The looping hallway ofP.T.is eerie enough as it is, and things only become more unsettling for players when they encounter the jittery ghost of Lisa. The fact that she jump scares players and becomes an obstacle that they must overcome makes for a truly terrifying sight.
However, as the story surrounding this hallway comes to light, Lisa becomes a sympathetic figure who players learn didn’t deserve the atrocities that her husband inflicted on her. All of this is told via some horrific imagery that turnedP.T.into a gaming phenomenon.
ThroughoutSlay the Princess, players are told over and over again that they must kill the princess, who is a demonic entity of sorts. While this may be true in some paths, there’s more to this issue than what meets the eye; players encounter the princesson numerous branching paths, and she can take on all kinds of shapes and forms.
Even the role of the player itself is in doubt, with them slowly piecing things together to realize that there aren’t any true villains here. There’s just an eternal divine conflict between two gods that is told in a fascinating and cryptic way.
As players power throughBloodborneand fight the many nightmarish bosses that stand in their way, it’s clear that something isn’t quite right. Bosses who seem like they’ve lost their mindsfeel more tragic than cathartic to fight, and nowhere is this more apparent than in the battle against Gerhman, who is the final boss unless players ingested the Umbilical Cords they found during their travels.
His story is a tragic one and doesn’t make him seem like a villain in the slightest. One can argue that even the Old Ones aren’t villains, with humans going mad as they tried to exploit their power and knowledge for their selfish gain.
The poster child of complex villain tales,The Last of Us Part 2features a clear message. Revenge is bad, and it will consume everything in its wake, which is something that both Ellie and Abby come to know incredibly well.
After getting her revenge on Joel, Abby sees her friends drop one by one as a result of Ellie’s quest for revenge. The game makes it a point to humanize her actions while also agreeing that revenge was not the path she should have sought, with a players' enjoyment of this title stemming fromwhether they resonated with Abby’s story or not.
