History BadBoss / VideoGames

** President Zazz tries to arrange for Akira's death because simply because [[ResignationsNotAccepted they want to quit being a Hunter]] and live peacefully. He also orders Kekkan to kill Genesis and Fredek despite their loyalty, since he believes they aren't useful enough to him.

** [[spoiler:[[BigBad Hyness]]]] from ''VideoGame/KirbyStarAllies'' establishes himself as one of these within ''the first 20 seconds he's on screen'' when he, with utter coldness, shoves [[ShockAndAwe Zan Partizanne]] out of the way after she begs for him to help her. In the second phase of his fight, he drains Zan, along with her sisters [[AnIcePerson Francisca]] and [[FieryRedhead Flamberge]], of their energy and uses them as [[GrievousHarmWithABody weapons]] and a [[HumanShield shield]]. And after Kirby beats them, he mind controls them into [[HumanSacrifice jumping into the]] [[ArtifactofDoom Jamba Heart]] to power it up (To give what little credit is due, [[ThanatosGambit he then jumps in himself.]].)

* Surprisingly averted by Mr. Big from the ''VideoGame/DinerDash'' series, despite him being a selazym CorruptCorporateExecutive with a penchant of sabotaging his opponents. In ''Garden Dash'', he actually makes Barb (his employee) to go on vacation because she's too stressed out.

** Somewhat averted by the fact that one of the Higs agrees with him, saying something like "The uniform is the base of every form of discipline."

* ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'' somehow averts this with [[BigBad Bowser]]. While he's frequently short-tempered with his soldiers, he's nonetheless considered AFatherToHisMen by the Koopa Troop, as evidenced by the genuine respect they show him throughout the series and the times he gives them direct praise for succeeding in furthering his EvilPlan (or even when they do a good job despite failing against the Mario Bros., as in ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiDreamTeam'').

* The CLO in [[VideoGame/ToontownOnline Toontown: Corporate Clash]], who drops her trainees into a trapdoor just for making a suggestion she doesn't like.

* ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamSeries'':

* ''VideoGame/DarkestDungeon'' has [[spoiler:the Ancestor]]. Let's preface this by saying he betrayed practically everyone who worked under him or was in his employment, usually inflicted a CruelAndUnusualDeath in the process. The Pirates who plundered loot and gathered artifacts for him? Drop a cursed Anchor on their ship that plunges them into the depths for eternity. The Necromancers he invited to the estate to learn the shadowy art? Murder them in their sleep and steal their secrets. The Miners who helped him unearth the [[spoiler:The Heart of Darkness]]? Abandon them to be nommed on by Cthulhu while you flee in terror. Desperate miller under his employ who asked for help with his barren fields? Fool him into thinking he was using magic to help their growth while really arranging for them to be ''hit by an eldritch meteorite''. And countless other examples. This is by far his most detestable trait.

* Gruntilda from ''VideoGame/BanjoKazooie'' is very well this towards her assistant Klungo. She abuses him so much for his failures that even he dislikes her for her offensive attitude.

* The villains of the ''VideoGame/SplinterCell'' games aren't exactly well-known for treating their collaborators well, but when they resort to outright murder they usually have the excuse of [[HeKnowsTooMuch trying to cover up their illicit activities]]. Then there's [[WesternTerrorists Emile Dufraisne]], the BigBad of ''Splinter Cell: DoubleAgent'' -- at least in the 7th-gen version of the game. Depending on the player's choices, he might shoot [[TheDarkChick Enrica]] [[OnlySaneWoman Villablanca]] for [[YouHaveFailedMe messing up a test-detonation]] of their [[FantasticNuke Red Mercury Bomb]], and his ultimate plan is to use said bomb to blow up New York City... [[SuicideAttack which is also where he and his organization's headquarters is]]. When a pair of loyal scientists point out that this will kill them as well, [[KickTheDog he orders a henchman to shoot them]]. [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking He also yells at his computer expert when he tries to help him fix his computer using jargon he doesn't understand.]]

** Hoyt Volker, the [[AmoralAfrikaner South African]] BigBad of ''VideoGame/FarCry3'', is a FauxAffablyEvil type who expects his band of RuthlessModernPirates and slavers to follow three company rules: 1) protect his product/slaves (and make sure not to damage them if they rape them); 2) [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain kill any Rook Island natives on sight]]; and 3) make sure all the company profits [[ItsAllAboutMe go to him]]. If any of his men break ''one'' of these rules, expect him to MakeAnExampleOfThem by [[KillItWithFire locking them in a furnace and immolating them]]. He openly tells PlayerCharacter Jason Brody that [[TheDreaded fear]] is "[[BlatantLies the true secret to keeping employees happy]]". Indeed, before we even meet Hoyt, we get to hear a recorded chat concerning him and his {{Dragon}} Vaas Montenegro, in which he cows Vaas into nervous submission -- and Vaas, need we remind you, is the AxCrazy {{Sadist}} who's spent most of the game making Jason's life hell.
-->'''Hoyt''': (To '''Vaas''') '''[[SuddenlyShouting I DON'T GIVE A FOCK ABOUT YOUR FAMILY!]]''' It is by my ''GRACE'' that ''[[DecapitationPresentation your head isn't impaled on the antenna of my car]]''! Therefore, ''I'' would like it, ''if you gave a FOCK about Jason Brody''!
** Pagan Min, [[TheCaligula the tyrant ruler]] of Kyrat in ''VideoGame/FarCry4'', alternates between this and BenevolentBoss, depending on whom he's interacting with. In the opening of the game, Pagan's EstablishingCharacterMoment consists of him stabbing an injured soldier to death with a pen for [[YouHaveFailedMe shooting at a bus that he was only supposed to detain until Pagan got there]]. Later on, after Ajay escapes Pagan's palace with [[LaResistance the Golden Path]], Pagan assumes he left because [[NoMrBondIExpectYouToDine the crab Rangoon Pagan served him wasn't good enough]] and cheerfully tells him that he [[DisproportionateRetribution had the chef and his family sentenced to death]]. However, he has a VillainousFriendship with his top {{Dragon}}, TortureTechnician Paul De Pleur, and when you confront him at the climax of the story, he's sent his servants home to prevent them from being caught in the crossfire when the Golden Path reaches his doorstep.

* The management of Freddy Fazbear's Pizza from ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys''. They never tell you about the killer animatronics, will pay you $4 an hour to watch over said animatronics, and clean up your dead body if you don't survive your shifts.

** In ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamAsylum'', The Joker is very fond of going on the asylum intercom system to yell at his underlings, threaten their families, and mock them by pointing out that Batman's basically going to wipe the floor with them.
** ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamCity'' has a few different varieties and also provides some justification as to why people would work for them in the first place. ComicBook/ThePenguin is a big fan of YouHaveFailedMe and makes potential members fight to the death for his amusement. He also is the richest man in Arkham City and his gang members get all the perks that implies. ComicBook/TheJoker is absurdly wild and unpredictable, fond of killing people in 'funny' ways and working for him is no guarantee of your safety. His gang mostly consist of insane convicts and those that are amused by his antics rather than scared shitless by them. Lastly there's Strange, who sends his Tyger guards on suicide missions and gives them fatal overdoses of TruthSerum just to get accurate reports. He's also brainwashed all of them into UndyingLoyalty.
-->'''The Penguin:''' I give you one simple task: stick up a couple of freaking machines. And what? You couldn't even get that right? I hope Batman broke every bone in your stupid bodies. I hope you're lying there, desperately trying to breathe through fractured ribs and punctured lungs. If you're not, you'd better summon up whatever strength you've got left and run, 'cause after I'm done with the Bat, you're all next!
** Several villains in ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamOrigins'' have just as little in the way of respect for their underlings. The most notable is probably ComicBook/{{Deadshot}}, who repeatedly threatens his {{Mooks}} with death for any hint of slackness; when you take him down, his minions are as eager to flee as his hostage is, and chatter during the fight makes it clear they're only there because he'd shoot them if they tried to make a run for it.
** ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamKnight'', naturally, follows suit. When [[ComicBook/TheScarecrow Scarecrow]] has his turn on the radio in a stealth segment, he doesn't threaten his militia -- instead, he describes in loving detail how Batman taking them out one-by-one will psychologically scar them all for years to come.
** ComicBook/TwoFace was portrayed as a BenevolentBoss in ''City'' (if simply because of his small role), but as a bad one in ''Knight''. When Batman starts picking off his men robbing banks, Two-Face decides to flip his coin. Heads, their family gets their hazard pay while they rot in prison; Tails, [[IWillPunishYourFriendForYourFailure their family gets punished]] ("Tails, that's two bullets for each kid"). Another mook at one point says they typically live a single coin flip away from death.
** [[PracticallyJoker Christina Bell]] clearly inherited ''this'' trait of the Joker. She spends the Predator encounter ''encouraging'' Batman to beat them up. The mooks even say that she's actually ''worse'' than Joker, since he at least ''wanted'' them to win (even if he was unsurprised by their failure).
-->"He's got another! You boys need a new boss, a better boss, a maniacal, terrifying boss with a hands-on, not-afraid-to-torture-people management style. Too bad I'm Team Bats, eh?"
** And then there's the titular Arkham Knight. The Militia talk of him like he's a BenevolentBoss and AFatherToHisMen who saved them when he recruited them. In practice he berates them for their failure, calls them unworthy of the training he gave them, warns them that while Batman can break bones he knows ''true'' pain, and once a single mook remains during Predator encounters will dismissively tell you [[WeHaveReserves to finish him off as he has plenty more]].
-->"I don't carry cowards. Fail and I will bury you in the dirt."

* [[BoisterousBruiser Brick]] is this to his Slabs in ''{{Videogame/Borderlands 2}}''. Though in-game this is mostly shown as him treating his men with utter contempt and freely acknowledging them as psychotic morons.
-->'''Brick:''' My slabs'll probably still try to kill ya, cause they're friggin' idiots. Don't feel bad about killin' em. I never do.

--> '''[[AllThereInTheManual Game Manual]]:''' "When she's not eating her minions, she's chewing them out!"

* [[{{Satan}} The Devil]] is this in ''VideoGame/{{Cuphead}}'': Immediately after Cuphead and Mugman defeat King Dice, his most loyal employee and the only one who tried to warn him that they might pose a threat, the Devil dismisses him as a "good-for-nothing lackey".
** King Dice himself is shown mistreating his servants, as when Mr. Wheezy loses in a fight with Cuphead and Mugman, he just [[YouHaveFailedMe crushes him under his foot for failure]].

* [[spoiler:[[BigBad Hyness]]]] from ''VideoGame/KirbyStarAllies'' establishes himself as one of these within ''the first 20 seconds he's on screen'' when he, with utter coldness, shoves [[ShockAndAwe Zan Partizanne]] out of the way after she begs for him to help her. In the second phase of his fight, he drains Zan, along with her sisters [[AnIcePerson Francisca]] and [[FieryRedhead Flamberge]], of their energy and uses them as [[GrievousHarmWithABody weapons]] and a [[HumanShield shield]]. And after Kirby beats them, he mind controls them into [[HumanSacrifice jumping into the]] [[ArtifactofDoom Jamba Heart]] to power it up (To give what little credit is due, [[ThanatosGambit he then jumps in himself.]].)

* ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas:

* Elijah in ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas: Dead Money''. Fits his underlings with explosive collars in order to force them to co-operate with him, and each other, then encourages them to kill each other [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness as soon as their role in his plans has ended.]]
** Elijah is one of these even back when he was still a Brotherhood of Steel Elder. He almost gets his chapter massacred when he ordered them to hold a power station despite being outnumbered 15 to 1. However, the Brotherhood does catch on, which is why they sent [[spoiler:Christine]] after him. According to his former apprentice Veronica, Elijah despised backtalk and expected machine-like obedience from subordinates.
** From the same series, [[TheDragon Legate Lanius]] qualifies. A constant radio report is that, when faced with fixing an underperforming squad, [[YouHaveFailedMe he beat the commander to death]] [[MakeAnExampleOfThem in front of his troops]], then ordered 9/10ths of the squad to kill the other 1/10th. In all fairness, this is [[ShownTheirWork consistent with Roman treatment of their soldiers]], but still...

** And then.... [[MagnificentBastard Ocelot]]. Oh, my, [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder Ocelot]]. Work under him, hell, work ''with'' him and you might as well as [[KilledOffForReal calling your undertaker]] or [[GoMadFromTheRevelation prepare]] [[VillainousBSOD for]] [[HeroicBSOD bedlam]] to save time. Case in point: in ''[[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots Guns of the Patriots]]'', when preparing for his SOP hacking test in Act 2, Vamp warns him that they don't know what could happen, only for him to nonchalantly state that he's "willing to make a few sacrifices"; the end result is that several of his mooks suffer brain damage and become {{Technically Living Zombie}}s. During the Act 3 mission briefing, Naomi states that Ocelot in fact knew from the very beginning that said test would be a failure, and yet he chose to go through with it anyway.

* If you don't immediately kill every Helghast you come across in ''VideoGame/{{Killzone}} 2'', you'll hear from some soldiers about how [[TheDragon Colonel]] [[AuthorityEqualsAsskicking Radec]] executed some of his own men for ''dress code violations''.

* The Apes in ''[[VideoGame/SpyroTheDragon The Legend of Spyro]]'' worked their butts off as Malefor's army and trying to free him, though only because he was giving them power. How does he reward all their hard work? By turning them into walking skeletons that are cursed to forever remain in the dark.

* [[spoiler: Murakumo]] turns out to have been this to [[spoiler: Akatsuki]] in the backstory of ''VideoGame/AkatsukiBlitzkampf'', [[spoiler: knowingly sending him into a mission to the Arctic Pole that should have been fatal. When Akatsuki [[HumanPopsicle "revives" 50 years later]] and finds out about Murakumo's actual goals and intentions, he's ''not'' happy.]]

** For the Melting Remnant, DeathIsCheap. They have numderous GlassCannon units, or even ones that have a timer before they "burn out" and die, and a lot of ways to resurrect them, [[CameBackStrong stronger than before]]. A Remnant player's gamplan is throwing their units into the grinder for later resurrection, and some strategies outright involve hitting one's ''own units'' with damaging spells to take advantage of post-resurrection buffs.

* [[BigBad Shao Kahn]] from the ''Franchise/MortalKombat'' series. In the opening cutscene of ''VideoGame/MortalKombat2'' (the game in which he made his first appearance), he almost has [[TheDragon Shang Tsung]] [[YouHaveFailedMe executed for failing to win the tenth Mortal Kombat tournament]], only sparing his life because Tsung came up with a new plan of Kahn to conquer Earthrealm. And that's just the first example.

* ''VideoGame/{{Ys}}