History DarkIsNotEvil / VideoGames

* The hero's power in ''VideoGame/IllusionOfGaia'' is dark-based, and his badass form is called a dark knight. The BigBad [[GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere it]]self is neither Light nor Dark, the hero and his LoveInterest fuse into a YinYangBomb to fight it.

* ''VideoGame/HollowKnight'': The main character, The Knight, is strongly associated with darkness, and is referred to by several characters as "Ghost" and "Shadow". They are nonetheless a heroic figure. [[spoiler: They later turn out to be a being of the Abyss, which is also this trope; the Void is a completely neutral wellspring of potential creation/destruction that is primarily used to stop the plague, and the worst sentient product of it turns out to be a misguided WellIntentionedExtremist known as "The Collector" who may or may not have been right. This contrasts the [[TheCorruption Infection]] and, by extension, [[BigBad The Radiance]], who all fall into LightIsNotGood.]]

** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword'': The demon Batreaux has a monstrous appearance and causes monsters to appear every night through his simple presence appearance, but he is a very nice guy.

*** The [[{{Precursors}} Zonai]] characters we see all have almost black skin, darkly-colored clothes, and a resemblance to various carnivorous animals. But they're also some of the most benevolent people in the story, having founded Hyrule in the distant past and fought to keep Ganondorf from destroying everything.

* The [[PhysicalGod Vernal deity]] [[OurLichesAreDifferent Urlach]] of ''{{VideoGame/Lusternia}}'', who used TheUndead as shock-troopers to stand against [[EldritchAbomination The Soulless Gods]]. His views brought him into conflict with other, more idealistic Vernals, but he never failed to get results and never stopped fighting. He also used his magic to create the Catacombs of the Dead. Though ostensibly designed to move his undead troops around efficiently, it was also used to transport refugees away from cities attacked by The Soulless Gods. [[PetTheDog Many thousands of innocents were saved in this way]].

* ''{{VideoGame/Majesty}}'': Two of the gods of the setting of Ardania are Fervus, the god of chaos, and Krypta, the goddess of death. However, Fervus is also a nature god, and his rivalry with Dauros is portrayed as more a morally neutral nature-vs-civilization rivalry, while Krypta sees herself as an egalitarian who dislikes meaningless, pointless deaths. Their followers will all serve the player with loyalty – so Cultists of the god of chaos and Priestesses of the goddess of death can be among the kingdom’s greatest heroes – but they have an ongoing rivalry with Dauros, the god of law and order, and Argela, the goddess of life, and will refuse to share a settlement with their followers.

** In ''Mass Effect 3'', [[spoiler:even the Reapers are revealed to have a sympathetic motive. They are merely trying to stave off the end of all life in the galaxy by periodically culling civilzation to prevent what they believe is an inevitable RobotWar.]]
*** ''Mass Effect 3'' also has Rila and Falere, Samara's other two daughters who despite being Ardat-Yakshi are not sociopathic murderers like their sister Morinth and are actually content in their exile.

** [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall Which is, by the way, pretty much the point of the series.]]

*** Cloud has vaguely punkish aspects to his design (more apparent in his later appearances), a [[PerpetualFrowner Perpetual Frown]], a "real dark side" and a very gloomy MeaningfulName, and has the legendarily bloodthirsty Murasame as one of his weapons. He is the hero. Sephiroth, a DarkMessiah themed around angels, with the legendarily pacifistic Masamune and a history of being a legendary paragon, is one of the scariest and nastiest villains in the series.

* In ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'', Snake is the "brother of dark", and in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4'' he's described as "a shadow which no light can shine on". His battle strategy involves sneaking around in the shadows, and he has a dark, subdued personality, dark hair (in [[SilverFox most]] of his appearances), and usually wears dark clothing. Compare to his brother Liquid, the "brother of light", who has an [[LargeHam extroverted]] personality, blond hair, tends to wear lighter colours and favours battle strategies about overwhelming his enemies using an open display of force. Snake is not only the hero, but one of the more morally centred characters in the whole series, and agonises over his more questionable actions. Liquid, on the other hand, is an outright supervillain and an emotional trainwreck to boot.

* ''VideoGame/NewLegends'' have the HumanDemonHybrid, Boo, who's the scariest-looking character in the game, having demonic horns, red eyes, and resembling a towering monster over the humans. But he's an ally and one of the heroes, all the way to the end.

* Terry the Terrydactyl from ''[[VideoGame/BanjoKazooie Banjo-Tooie]]''. Despite his attempt to kill the duo, he's just being overly-protective of his nest; he's really a nice guy who wants to find his lost babies. After the misunderstanding's cleared up, he even asks you to find them and rewards you with a [[PlotCoupon Jiggy]] for doing so.

* Demons in ''Franchise/{{Disgaea}}'' and ''Videogame/MakaiKingdom'' frequently insist that they are definitely evil, but are more often lazy than malicious and tend to be smartasses rather than cruel. The 'evil' thing is really just a cultural affectation that they've picked up over the ages because, as ''Videogame/Disgaea4APromiseUnforgotten'' explains, while it ''is'' their job to spread fear among humans, this is largely A. for the humans own benefit to keep them from being too self destructive and B. because both they and angels need humans to fear or worship them respectively. Everyone needs to play their part in the system or the whole system falls apart. More than evil, if demons had a character alignment it would be chaos with angels on the other side representing order, though they often believe themselves to be just as holy and good as demons are corrupt and evil. This is actually a huge element of ''Videogame/Disgaea5'', as the characters each have to go through their own character arcs of realizing that just because they're demons and supposed to act vicious, it doesn't mean they can't care about or help the people around them, and coming to these realizations allows them to actively become far stronger than they already are. Each one gets an Overload that is no less destructive than their previous one, but is far more powerful just by allowing themselves to use their powers for the benefits of friends rather than selfish motives.

* While most of the Dire heroes of ''[[{{VideoGame/Dota2}} Dota 2]]'' are scary and evil, there are a few who fail on the "evil" part. Examples of that include:
** Sand King (Who is simply an embodiment of a desert, seeking to communicate with the world)
** Clinkz (A heroic knight who was granted immortality at the same time as he was burnt by eternal flames)
** Dazzle (A tribal priest; he is actually the brother of Huskar, who is on the Radiant side)

* The ghouls of ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'' generally have either gone completely feral or are just regular people with severe skin issues. ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'' subverts this in the Tenpenny Towers questline, where the [[FantasticRacism racists]] are refusing to let Roy Philips and other ghouls move in. [[spoiler:Roy's actually ''worse'' than the residents and ends up killing all humans in the tower if the player helps him. NiceJobBreakingItHero]].

** The Talking Deathclaws in ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 2}}''. Deathclaws in general may look frightening, but they're not evil per se, just really dangerous.

** Played straight with the Dark Knight class introduced in ''Videogame/FinalFantasyXIV'' ''Heavensward''. The Dark Knights harness their pain and passion [[spoiler:and love]] for power, but it's supposed to be done for the sake of justice. The first Dark Knight was a former Temple Knight who went rogue killing a very corrupt superior. The Dark Knights exist to keep the Temple Knights in check, essentially acting as rogue vigilante InternalAffairs.

* In the ''VideoGame/FireEmblem'' series, offensive magic can be divided into ''anima'' (thunder, fire, wind, sometimes ice), ''[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin light]]'' and ''dark'' (darkness, energy absorption). However, this doesn't determine the user's alignment; e.g Nergal from ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade The Blazing Blade]]'' is a dark magic user and the BigBad, whereas your group can recruit a shaman named Canas who's actually a quite nice guy and directly invokes this trope (though he also points out that "dark" magic users [[InsistentTerminology prefer the term "elder" magic]]).

* In '' VideoGame/GodOfWarAscension'', [[Myth/ClassicalMythology Orkos]]. He looks like a LivingShadow and in fact [[CastingAShadow has powers related to that]], but he is probably among the most decent and kind characters in the whole franchise.

* ''Videogame/GuildWars''- Necromancers have all sorts of creepy and sometimes [[{{Squick}} disgusting]] powers, but they're one of the most popular professions. The three NPC necromancer heroes - Olias, the Master of Whispers, and Livia - provide the personnel for two of the most powerful player/NPC team combinations in the game, the so-called "Sabway" and "Discordway" skill sets. The NPC female necromancer Eve is one of the [[FanService poster girls]] for the game.

** Kassadin is a [[HumanoidAbomination humanoid abomination]] whose [[PowerOfTheVoid powers come from the Void]]. However, he fights to protect Valoran from the creatures of the Void, in contrast to Malzahar, who wants the opposite.
* ''VideoGame/LegacyOfKain: Soul Reaver'' features a CrapSackWorld and a number of fearsome-looking characters who could not exactly be called blameless, but their appearance is no guarantee of their moral alignment. The protagonist Raziel is former vampire, twisted by cruel execution into a ghoul who must feed on the souls of humans and monsters alike. However he rejects the brutality of his former brethren and acts with honor and is genuinely searching for the truth. The vampires are revealed to be the victims of a curse by their enemies, and were once a race of winged celestial beings. The vampire Vorador is a green scaly monstrosity but is basically decent. Even Kain, the BigBad, is partially justified in his actions in the end. Contrast this with the supposedly righteous human characters, who are xenophobic, religiously fanatical exterminators of anything not human, including [[spoiler:Raziel in his pre-vampire days as a member of the ruthless Sarafan order.]]

* ''Videogame/{{Nihilumbra}}'': The protagonist, literally a chunk of the void given a mind, who looks like a windswept scarecrow made of pure darkness. Sounds villainous enough, but he's actually just like a curious child, eager to see the world, who means no harm to anyone. Born isn't really evil, despite looking like a scarecrow made of pure dark.

* ''Noctropolis'' features a post-cataclysmic city in perpetual night under a cloud of volcanic ash. The city's main hero restores his health, powers and equipment by immersing himself in a pool of AppliedPhlebotinum called Liquidark, the distilled liquid essence of darkness, created by the Brotherhood of the Night as research into the extradimensional Elementals particularly the Patronage of Darkness, none of whom seem malevolent. The protagonist takes up the hero's mantle to fight the BigBad [[spoiler:revealed to be his predecessor switched over to [[LightIsNotGood Light]] in a FaceHeelTurn to take over the world.]]

** Vivian is considered an enemy since she is the sister of the other two "Shadow [[strike:Beauties]] Sirens" that are working for Grodus. However, about midway through Chapter 4, Vivian ditches her witch sisters and [[spoiler:joins Mario's party in order to not be pushed around by Beldam anymore and as thanks for Mario helping her find the Superbombomb. She uses many witch-like powers, such as setting enemies on fire or pulling Mario into a void to dodge enemy attacks, which falls under this trope since she's helping Mario on his quest to defeat the ManBehindTheMan.]]

** ''VideoGame/{{Persona 5}}'': The Protagonist and his GuardianEntity Arséne wear black clothing, and Arséne naturally uses [[CastingAShadow darkness spells]], but are anti-heroes fighting [[TheHeartless Shadows]] and far worse criminals, rather than outright villains.

* ''VideoGame/{{Skylanders}}'' has plenty of this: the Skylanders are basically the Spyro Universe's version of the Justice League, yet they have absolutely no problem in recruiting [[TheUndead Undeads and Ghosts]] such as Ghost Roaster and Chop-Chop, the [[OurElvesAreDifferent Elven]] undead [[{{Necromancy}} Necromancer]] Hex, Troll MadBomber Boomer, Orc Warrior Vodood or Cynder. Spyro is even revealed to have learnt to use his [[SuperPoweredEvilSide Dark Spyro]] form to heroic purpose.

* The beginning of ''VideoGame/SplinterCell: Conviction'' has a flashback to Sam Fisher telling his daughter who's scared of the dark that the dark can be used to protect you from bad guys.

** Because of ''VideoGame/{{Tales of Eternia}}'''s magic system, Shadow ''makes'' whatever mage is equipped with him the designated Dark mage. Also, the Dark Aurora used by [[KnightTemplar Shizel]] [[spoiler:and Meredy]]. See also YinYangBomb.
** Tenebrae, from the [[VideoGame/TalesOfSymphoniaDawnOfTheNewWorld sequel]], is also a very straight example-besides being a servant of you know, ''the king of all monsters'', he's also the Centurion of Darkness. He's also a pure good guy, albeit one with a [[DeadpanSnarker nasty sense of humor]].

** The series also has several Dark-elemental playable characters - Leon Magnus of ''VideoGame/{{Tales of Destiny}}'', Ricardo Soldat of ''VideoGame/{{Tales of Innocence}}'', Kunzite of ''VideoGame/{{Tales of Hearts}}'' and Elize of ''VideoGame/{{Tales of Xillia}}'' all use primarily Dark techs, spells, and abilities. However, the original Leon doesn't really count as he remained a sadistic {{Jerkass}}, it wasn't until the remake where his personality gets retooled into a JerkWithAHeartOfGold. On the other hand, [[spoiler:his alter ego]] Judas counts very much.

* Pick a {{youkai}} from ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'', any youkai from ''Touhou''. In spite of youkai supposedly having a [[ImAHumanitarian diet consisting of human]], almost none of the characters are ever admitted as having actually done this. (Notable exception: [[OurVampiresAreDifferent Vampire]] Remilia Scarlet, who, disturbingly enough, is otherwise very much a [[FriendlyNeighborhoodVampires friendly neighborhood vampire]].) Even if, at first glance, TheWorldIsAlwaysDoomed, almost none of the supposed {{Big Bad}}s were actually doing something as dangerous as it at first seemed, and [[DefeatMeansFriendship after the shooting ends]], [[DidWeJustHaveTeaWithCthulhu tea parties are in order]], and the characters are invited into the greater cast for whatever random adventure they'll be up for next.
** ''Subterranean Animism'' featured youkai hated even by other youkai for their [[BadPowersBadPeople distasteful powers]], and exiled to the Underworld. Yamame, the friendly CuteMonsterGirl spider monster could inflict diseases at will, but was popular for her friendly, cheerful personality. Yuugi, a much-feared Oni, mostly played around (though [[BloodKnight very roughly]]) with the heroines before helping them out. Satori and Koishi both had telepathic powers that terrified youkai and humans alike, forcing them to live with nothing but animals, even if they had done no actual wrongs to anyone. Rin carries away corpses and uses them to regulate the Hell of Blazing Fires, and initiated the game when she began driving evil spirits above ground, but only to lure the more powerful beings living there underground to stop her friend Utsuho from doing anything foolish or dangerous. Even Utsuho herself, the nuclear-powered hell raven with ambitions to TakeOverTheWorld, just went a little [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity mad with power]] and was fine after having some sense blasted into her.

** [[CastingAShadow Shadow priests]] are arguably one of the darkest classes in the game, with an explicit connection to the game's resident [[EldritchAbomination eldritch abominations]] and powers over madness, darkness, and void. They are still the good guys.

* In ''VideoGame/TrailsOfColdSteel'', Rean Schwarzer's primary orbment is time which is the darkest element in the series, yet he is very heroic. This also applies when he's in control of his Super Mode which makes things scary when he starts losing control over it. In the fourth game, [[spoiler:he wears an all black outfit, and due to the effects of The Great Twilight, permanently has white hair and red eyes, which gives him a rather intimidating appearance, though he's no less heroic than the previous games.]]

* The dark worlds in ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIII'' and ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVIII: Journey of the Cursed King'' are pretty much called that because they aren't as bright as the worlds the heroes come from and not because there's evil everywhere (though almost everything in the one in VIII is black and white for some reason, with the residents commenting on the heroes' colors). In fact, most (if not all) of the human residents encountered aren't evil at all. [[spoiler:The one in ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIII'' is actually Alefgard, the country the original game takes place in, which also appeared in the second. The main character defeats the Demon King Zoma and restores light to the land and is given the title of Loto/Erdrick, becoming the legendary hero that the main characters of the first two games are descended from.]]

** Many recurring Summons in the series are themed around Darkness, such as Diabolos, Doomtrain, Hades

** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyV'', you can even have your party members become heroic Necromancers, who are inherently Undead (and thus have problems with healing).

-->'''Vivi:''' I won't let you make any more instruments of murder!

** ''VideoGame/PokemonScarletAndViolet'' has the [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Treasures of Ruin,]] a set of primary Dark-type [[{{tsukumogami}} objects-turned-Pokémon]] that seem to [[DarkIsEvil play it straight,]] having rampaged across Paldea in ancient times until being [[SealedEvilInACan sealed away]] in their shrines. However, they became that way because of the negative influence of humans’ baser emotions, and as with Eternatus, are fully capable of friendship with a good Trainer.

* ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'':

* ''{{Majesty}}'' has an interesting example of this. Two of the gods of the setting of Ardania are Fervus, the god of chaos, and Krypta, the goddess of death. However, Fervus is also a nature god, and his rivalry with Dauros is portrayed as more a morally neutral nature-vs-civilization rivalry, while Krypta sees herself as an egalitarian who dislikes meaningless, pointless deaths. Their followers will all serve the player with loyalty – so Cultists of the god of chaos and Priestesses of the goddess of death can be among the kingdom’s greatest heroes – but they have an ongoing rivalry with Dauros, the god of law and order, and Argela, the goddess of life, and will refuse to share a settlement with their followers.

* The ''VideoGame/NexusWar'' series has the death-god Hashaa, who is a morally neutral deity that champions free will and opposes both angels and demons. Her efforts in the game are mainly spent ferrying souls off the battlefield to prevent DesecratingTheDead and routing the souls of the slain in and out of the [[RevolvingDoorAfterlife void]]. Being aligned with neither good nor evil means that both are possible choices; playing as a Hashaa cultist grants lots of powers that are useful for killing, but that killing doesn't have to be indiscriminate and some of her followers are downright saintly.

*** It should be noted that prior to her character development, Midna (while wanting to help free the Twili) cared nothing for mankind or Hyrule and only saw Link as a means to an end. But after he got her the last Fused Shadow, she planned to let him go back to a normal life instead of disposing of him. Then her plan became more complicated, so she stayed with Link longer, fueling a bond between the two. She's also friends with Princess Zelda, and part of her reluctance to aid the Hylians was due to a long-standing rule of non-interference on the Twili's part. But when [[spoiler:[[HeroicSacrifice Zelda sacrifices herself to save Midna's life]]]], [[ItsPersonal it becomes personal for her]].
*** When you defeat the seemingly bestial King Bulblin, who has never indicated anything other than sheer [[AlwaysChaoticEvil goblin brutality]]:

** ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriors'': While all of the villains (including Volga, once his Level 4+ Dragon Spear is unlocked) use the Darkness element, Young Link, Midna, Twili Midna, and Ravio do as well and are definitively heroic characters in this game. Lana's Level 4+ Tome of the Night adds Darkness to her Lightning power. Skull Kid does too, but is also more of a wild card. His mischievous dialogue isn't evil per se, but doesn't paint him as noble either.

** Shadowheart in ''VideoGame/BaldursGateIII'' is a [[TheTrickster Trickery Domain]] Cleric of the GodOfEvil Shar. While her rough upbringing and the nature of her religion makes her act as a [[PragmaticVillainy cold pragmatist]] at times, she shows signs of [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold being a good person in spite of it all]]. If the player chooses to [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential side with the goblins and raid the druid settlement]] in Act 1, [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone she will be inconsolably drunk and horrified at what she helped to do afterward]] despite the fact her goddess would be all for it.

*** PlayedWith in regards to [[BattleButler Hubert von Vestra]]. His generic class outfits are all black and red, his "canon"[=/=]default class is ''Dark'' Mage (and later ''Dark'' Bishop), he uses exclusively dark magic as a playable unit, he serves as an antagonist outside the Crimson Flower route, and he has an overall sinister look to him. However, he also despises "those who slither in the dark," and he's a fully loyal ally on the Crimson Flower route. [[spoiler:Even on routes where he is the enemy (specifically, Verdant Wind and Silver Snow) he makes a point to leave behind a note for the party to ensure that "those who slither in the dark" will get their comeuppance even if he and his liege don't live to see it.]]

* The Protoss Dark Templar of ''VideoGame/StarCraft'' are pretty damn heroic. They are also some of the only Protoss seen so far to have a sense of humor. As for the mainstream Protoss, it's a case of LightIsNotGood, because most of the Khalai Protoss, with a few exceptions, are blind, arrogant, LawfulStupid religious fundamentalists. The Dark Templar are actually peaceful, it's the Light-aligned Khalai Protoss who are the war-mongers. During the course of the series so far, the Khalai Protoss have declared war on the Dark Templar at least three times. The Dark Templar have declared war on the Khalai Protoss... never. They just want to be left alone.
** In fact, Zeratul, the Dark Templar hero of the series has been described by Gamespot's [[http://uk.gamespot.com/features/tenspot_heroes/hero10.html Top 10 Heroes in Gaming]] as a [[Franchise/StarWars Darth Vader]] who fights for the rebellion.
--->"Though we strike at you from the shadows, do not think that we lack the courage to stand in the light."

* ''VideoGame/HeroesOfMightAndMagic V'' plays with this. The Dark Elves are not generally evil, although some of their clans are. The Necromancers are initially presented as evil, but in the ''Tribes of the East'' stand-alone expansion they are allied with the good factions against the Demons. The Orcs from the same expansion are also not evil and part of the alliance. Of the 8 factions, the only one that's AlwaysChaoticEvil is the Demons.

* ''VideoGame/MonsterSanctuary'': Dark-shifted monsters are stated to be more agressive than their neutral or light-shifted counterparts, but are otherwise just as capable of showing compassion to others and loyalty to a monster keeper who treats them with respect. As a case in point, [[spoiler:a dark-shifted koi pulls a HeroicSacrifice in order to restore balance to the sanctuary's sun after an alchemist corrupts it in order to spread chaos through the world.]]

* Celeste has Badeline, the main character Madeline’s enemy without who spends 6 chapters of the game being her main obstacle. However, Badeline is still part of her, and is just scared and trying to stop Madeline from making a horrible mistake. Mending bridges and cooperating with her is the only way to finish the game.

* ''VideoGame/JakAndDaxter'' can't seem to make up its mind about Dark Eco: it's undoubtedly ''dangerous'', corrupting and destroying life it comes in contact with. But at no point does it demonstrate some perverse will of its own, and by the time of ''VideoGame/JakII'' it's a dependable energy source for Haven City. Like all Eco, Dark Eco seems inherently neutral, though those poisoned by it inevitably turn out megalomaniacal lunatics.