History DealWithTheDevil / VideoGames

** The backstory of the Hive involved the last children of an alien kingdom who discovered that their planet was about to be scoured of all life by what they thought was an engineered disaster. In order to stave off this extinction and gain the power to retake their stolen throne, they made a deal with an entity known as [[EldritchAbomination the Deep]], who was apparently imprisoned deep within their planet: in return for serving the Deep and taking [[ParasiteZombie worm-like parasites into their bodies]] which [[HorrorHunger would be fed on violence and the Light of living beings]], they would gain immense power. These children became the Hive gods Oryx, Savathun, and Xivu Arath, who would be the agents of the Darkness, a malevolent force that would genocide its way across the universe for billions of years.

** Eventually, The Nameless One can come to the Pillar of Skulls himself. The pillar promises to answer all your questions - with a dear price for each answer. For every answer, it demands one of the following before it answers your question:

* ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'' Champion Tahm Kench, the River King, loves to make deals with the desperate that eventually lead to the VillainousGlutton taking everything from his victims to feed his appetite. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9RM4HwwoKs His character trailer details one such deal he made.]]

*** ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'' also has two party members who have made such deals with all the best intentions. [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} Merrill]] made a deal with a demon to become a blood mage so that she could help her clan rebuild its former glory. [[WellIntentionedExtremist Anders]] made a deal with the benevolent Fade spirit Justice; Justice could possess him, preventing Justice's death and augmenting Anders's powers...but, since Fade spirits are essentially [[BeingOfPureThought creatures of emotion]], his own anger at the Templars and the injustices he saw in the world corrupted Justice into a demon of Vengeance. Both end up suffering greatly for their poor judgment later.

* In ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemTellius Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance/Radiant Dawn]]'', mages sometimes entice spirits to enter their bodies, giving them great power... for a price... Such mages are called Spirit Charmers, for obvious reasons. While the spirits themselves are not diabolical, the effects of charming one are. (Supposedly...)

* ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'' Champion Talm Kench, the River King, loves to make deals with the desperate that eventually lead to the VillainousGlutton taking everything from his victims to feed his appetite. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9RM4HwwoKs His character trailer details one such deal he made.]]

* Richter Abend from ''TalesOfSymphoniaDawnOfTheNewWorld'' struck a deal with the demons of Niflheim (the land of the dead) for enough unholy power to avenge his best friend. Since the target of his revenge is also the [[BarrierMaiden seal]] that stops the demonic populace from invading the world, ''and'' the absence of the seal would allow aforementioned best friend to come back to the world of the living, it works out quite well for all concerned. [[spoiler:Except Richter is planning to double-cross the demons by turning himself into a new seal after his friend is reborn]].

*** A specific group of the aforementioned Hagravens, known as the Glenmoril Witches, acted as a broker in such a deal between Hircine, the Daedric Prince of the Hunt, and the [[spoiler:Companions of Whiterun]]. Hircine granted them the ability to freely transform into werewolves, giving them immense power, but in death, he claims their souls. [[spoiler:Undoing this deal is a major part of the Companions quest line]].

** Sovereign approached the geth prior to the first game, offering them what they most desired in exchange for their help slaughtering the galaxy. Only 5% of the geth accept the offer, the majority believing that they must ''earn'' what they want most by their own hands, not rely on the charity of others. Whether Sovereign intended to keep its promise is unknown, but given Reaper behavior in the rest of the series, they probably would have betrayed the geth anyway in the end.

* Happens to [[spoiler:the main character]] in ''BreathOfFire: Dragon Quarter''. When struck down by his rival [[spoiler:Bosch]], the dragon Odjn restores [[spoiler:your character]]'s life and gives him the power of the Wyrm. From then on, during any battle he can call upon the Wyrm's power and do ''tremendous'' damage to anything in his way. However, every time he does so, the Wyrm takes over more of his soul. When the Wyrm takes over his soul completely, it bursts out of his body, ending the game. [[spoiler: Later on, Bosch gets a similar power from another dragon.]]

* Subverted in ''VideoGame/{{Persona 5}}''; each character's {{Shadow|Archetype}}, [[BeneathTheMask the other self]], first manifests as their voice with a MagnificentBastard air either [[WhatTheHellHero confronting]] them about not [[BystanderSyndrome standing up for others or themselves]], or commenting that they had been waiting for them, and offering them a "contract", which results in the Shadow becoming a [[FightingSpirit Persona]] in exchange for unleashing their [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge rage and hatred on the world that wronged them]]. However since Shadows are [[BeneathTheMask part of them]] and Persona are Shadows given form by [[HeroicWillpower the strength of heart]], it basically means [[HeroicVow it is a contract with themselves]] to no longer compromise who they are, which is what gaining a persona essentially is.

'''Dante''': Done. [[TheDevilIsALoser But I'm charging you triple because you're such a tool]].

* Subverted in ''VideoGame/{{Persona 5}}''; each character's [[ShadowArchetype Shadow]], [[BeneathTheMask the other self]], first manifests as their voice with a MagnificentBastard air either [[WhatTheHellHero confronting]] them about not [[BystanderSyndrome standing up for others or themselves]], or commenting that they had been waiting for them, and offering them a "contract", which results in the Shadow becoming a [[FightingSpirit Persona]] in exchange for unleashing their [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge rage and hatred on the world that wronged them]]. However since Shadows are [[BeneathTheMask part of them]] and Persona are Shadows given form by [[HeroicWillpower the strength of heart]], it basically means [[HeroicVow it is a contract with themselves]] to no longer compromise who they are, which is what gaining a persona essentially is.

* When you finally confront the Dragon in ''Videogame/DragonsDogma'', he reveals that he's captured your "Beloved" as determined by the in-game Affinity System and offers you the choice of either facing him in battle or sacrificing your Beloved, in which he will willingly leave Gransys and leave you as an immortal with a claim to the Duchy. [[spoiler:He reveals that Edmun Dragonsbane, the current Duke of Gransys took the deal.]] However, accepting said deal results in a NonStandardGameOver.

* ''Videogame/{{Cuphead}}'': The game starts with Cuphead and his friend Mugman losing a game of Craps against the Devil. Just as he's set to kill them, they plead for their lives and he agrees to spare them in exchange for them tracking down and defeating his debtors, who make up the game's [[BossGame many, many boss fights]].

** Since the Masked Lumen Sage/[[spoiler:Young Balder]] can summon an Auditio in the [[VideoGame/Bayonetta2 sequel]], it seems safe to assume that the Lumen Sages made their contracts with the denizens of Paradiso.

** The backstory of the Hive involved the last children of an alien kingdom who discovered that their planet was about to be scoured of all life by what they thought was an engineered disaster. In order to stave off this extinction and gain the power to retake their stolen throne, they made a deal with an entity known as [[EldritchAbomination the Deep]], who was apparently imprisoned deep within their planet: in return for serving the Deep and taking [[ZombieParasite worm-like parasites into their bodies]] which [[HorrorHunger would be fed on violence and the Light of living beings]], they would gain immense power. These children became the Hive gods Oryx, Savathun, and Xivu Arath, who would be the agents of the Darkness, a malevolent force that would genocide its way across the universe for billions of years.

* ''Videogame/{{Cuphead}}'': The game starts with Cuphead and his friend Mugman losing a game of Craps against the Devil. Just as he's set to kill them, they plead for their lives and he agrees in exchange for doing deeds for him.

* Subverted early on in ''ShadowOfDestiny'': Eike assumes that the Homunculus is after his soul, but Homunculus isn't interested. One possible ending [[DoubleSubversion double subverts]] this, implying that [[spoiler:the only reason Homunculus doesn't want Eike's soul is that ''he already owns it''.]]

*** Nocturnal, the Daedric Prince of Night and Darkness, is shown to also like cutting these sorts of deals. Specifically, [[spoiler:she'll grant special powers and armor to mortal followers known as Nightingales in exchange for protecting her realm in life ''and'' death]]. This plays a major part in the ThievesGuild quest line.

* {{Inverted}} in ''VideoGame/TrillionGodOfDestruction'', where the main character Zeabolos is the demonic Great Overlord of the Underworld and basically [[{{Satan}} Satan's]] successor, but who gets killed by the titular [[BigBad Trillion]] after [[CurbStompBattle one hell of a pounding]] that quite literally ''kills'' him. However, he makes a deal with [[AloofDarkHairedGirl Faust]], a necromancer who, in exchange for his soul, offers to bring him back to life and help him gain the power to kill Trillion before it destroys the Underworld. Faced with no other options, he agrees. Interestingly, Zeabolos makes it clear from the outset that he intends to follow on his end as long as they win, and sure enough in most of the endings he does so save a few [[spoiler:such as one where Faust reveals she fell in love with him too much to take his soul and they get married instead]].

** The Ideal Masters are immortal beings who [[WasOnceAMan were once powerful mortal sorcerers]] during the Merethic Era. After finding their mortal forms to be too weak and limiting, they entered Oblivion as [[EnergyBeing beings of pure energy]] and settled an area of "chaotic creatia", forming the [[SpiritWorld Soul Cairn]]. The Ideal Masters are most infamous for their [[YourSoulIsMine trafficking in souls]], especially "Black" sapient souls. All souls trapped in soul gems end up in the Soul Cairn and are considered property of the Ideal Masters. Individuals seeking power, especially mortal {{necromancers}}, have long contacted the Ideal Masters. The Ideal Masters grant it in exchange for souls, which often includes the soul of the necromancer themselves.