History GrandTheftMe / VideoGames

* The villains of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSpiritTracks'' plot to have a demon possess Zelda's body, and in order to prevent FightingFromTheInside, the zap her soul out of her body. Zelda is justifiably... [[FreakOut displeased]]... when she learns this.

** At the climax of ''VideoGame/MegaManX3'', after his latest body is destroyed, Sigma reverts to his virus form and decides to steal X's body, only to be thwarted at the last moment by Dr. Doppler.

** [[spoiler:Darth Zash]] tries to pull this on [[spoiler:her apprentice, the protagonist of the Inquisitor story line. She has been living under a Force illusion for quite a while; in reality, her body is desiccated and almost dead-like. When Force techniques that preserve a dying body were no longer enough, she decided to perform an ancient ritual and transfer her consciousness into another person, extinguishing the host mind in the process. Being the sly Sith she is, she makes the protagonist prepare everything for the ritual without revealing its true purpose until the very end. [[HoistbyHisOwnPetard It backfires hilariously]].

** [[spoiler:Darth Zash]] tries to pull this on [[spoiler:her apprentice, the protagonist of the Inquisitor story line. She has been living under a Force illusion for quite a while; in reality, her body is desiccated and almost dead-like. When Force techniques that preserve a dying body were no longer enough, she decided to perform an ancient ritual and transfer her consciousness into another person, extinguishing the host mind in the process. Being the sly Sith she is, she makes the protagonist prepare everything for the ritual without revealing its true purpose until the very end. [[HoistbyHisOwnPetard It backfires hilariously]]]].

* What may best sum up the system of arcade platformer ''VideoGame/AvengingSpirit''. You play as a disembodied spirit that can freely possess enemy characters with different abilities and use them for yourself. Just don't take too long to find one or you'll evaporate.

* In ''VideoGame/TacticsOgre'', a hidden conversation suggests that [[CuteWitch Deneb]] is like this, but it's not that surprising. It does, however, add a whole new dimension of {{Squick}} to her character.
* In ''VideoGame/ChronoCross'', this happens to [[HeroicMime Serge]]. Apparently, someone needed to get around the whole ChosenOne business, and switching bodies with Serge seemed like the best way to do it. Things get [[MindScrew even more confusing]] later on.
* In addition to trying to turn your ghost into an assassin, the villainous plot of ''VideoGame/{{Geist}}'' also involves [[DemonicPossession giving your now-empty body to a demon]]. Similar possessions happen during gameplay as well, and there is even a deathmatch mode revolving entirely around taking over someone's body and throwing it into a bottomless pit or similar.
* In ''VideoGame/UltimaWorldsOfAdventure2MartianDreams'' the Martians were wiped out by a plague and sent their minds into the [[DreamLand Dream Realm]] to survive. Now an evil overlord named Raxachk wants to escape from the Dream Realm, but needs a body to do so. To this end he sabotages a space cannon to bring suitable hosts to Mars so that he could inhabit one.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Fable}}: The Lost Chapters'', BigBad Jack of Blades is revealed to be an ancient entity living inside his mask, who has spent aeons influencing the world by moving from host body to host body.

** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII: VideoGame/DirgeOfCerberus'', [[spoiler:BigBad Hojo did this to Weiss.]]

** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'', this is the Ascians' bread and butter, hijacking bodies as they see fit. This technique is taught to other characters [[spoiler:and even the PlayerCharacter gets hit with this in the ''Endwalker'' expansion]].

** ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsI'' - Having become a [[TheHeartless Heartless]] years before the first game began, Ansem / Xehanort possesses Riku once Maleficent has unwittingly carried out most of his plan for him (his idea of a reward is to force her into her dragon form and point her at the heroes).

* The (eventually revealed) main plot of ''VideoGame/SpaceQuestVIRogerWilcoInTheSpinalFrontier'' is that evil old crone Sharpei hopes to use a combination of nanotechnology and a shrink ray to implant her brain into a host body, to extend her waning lifespan. She was originally planning to use series hero Roger (assuming that he "wouldn't be missed"), but ends up kidnapping his best friend/love interest Stellar instead, forcing Roger to make a [[FantasticVoyagePlot rescue attempt]].
** Not the first time Roger had to fight this Trope, either. In the fourth (or twelfth game... TimeTravel is involved), he has to fight Vohaul, who is possessing his KidFromTheFuture.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Albion}}'', the Iskai species does this regularly: The Trii of a newborn has some unique abilities during the first week of its life; if an adult Iskai (assuming it's a female in this case) touches the newborn's Trii against hers, she can transfer her entire self into the spirit of the child. She can then begin life anew in her newly acquired body, while the former, adult one dies at the same instant. This act is commonly referred to as the Sebai ritual. The child is obviously never asked.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Xenogears}}'', the entity known as [[spoiler:Miang Hawwa]] can manifest instantaneously in any one woman on the planet if the previous incarnation is killed. In the end, when her current vessel is defeated, she migrates into [[spoiler:Elly]].

* [[MysteriousWaif Lycia Spodune]] and [[BigBad Creed Graphite]], the two SufficientlyAdvancedAliens of ''VideoGame/TalesOfHearts'', have had their bodies sealed away for two millennia. Lycia has had her consciousness passed down along the female successors of the Hearts clan, in the benign variant of this trope. Creed played the normal, evil version for a while before being finally sealed [[spoiler:inside the main character's body]].
* Towards the end of ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'', [[spoiler:[[BigBad Mithos]] has lost his body in a previous fight with the protagonists, though his soul lives on in his Cruxis Crystal.]] Realizing that the good guys are finally going to totally screw things up for him [[spoiler:he attempts to steal Lloyd's body, only to have the character who most likes Lloyd in that specific file interrupt and get possessed instead. Mithos promptly uses their own body to kidnap them.]] Due to the possibility of this happening to [[spoiler:one of seven characters]], dialogue gets slightly {{Narm}}y from trying to avoid gender pronouns afterwards. Interesting observation, though: [[spoiler:despite being Lloyd's dad, Kratos doesn't seem to lift a finger in this scene and is the only character who doesn't have the possibility of getting possessed]]. Granted he's just been beaten up, but still...
* ''VideoGame/TalesFromTheBorderlands'' has an unusual case: the protagonist, Rhys, is a {{cyborg}} who accidentally [[spoiler:uploads an AI reconstruction of [[BigBad Handsome Jack]] into his brain. Jack attempts to take over Rhys' body several times, not always with Rhys' permission, although he usually only manages to take control of his cybernetic parts. In Episode 3, however, if you sided with Jack at the end of the last episode, it is possible for him to temporarily take full control of Rhys' body, voice and all, after Rhys takes a bad fall and is rendered unconscious -- this only serves to make the rest of the team baffled and angered by Rhys' apparently sudden smug attitude and casual machismo, as Jack doesn't exactly act nicely when in Rhys' body or even really try to act like him at all.]]
* ''VideoGame/Cyberpunk2077'':
** After [[PlayerCharacter V]] gets shot in the head with a brain implant carrying the VirtualGhost of Johnny Silverhand, the {{nanomachines}} within it [[WeCanRebuildHim repair the damaged brain matter]] while simultaneously working to overwrite V's consciousness with Johnny's. Johnny is [[AdaptationalJerkass initially hostile]] and attempts to speed up the process as he has no direct control over it, but he quickly comes around and acts as a [[MentorInSourArmor jaded]] SpiritAdvisor to V, helping him find a way to prevent his "death" and get back at [[EvilInc Arasaka]] at the same time. [[spoiler: In the "[[TarotMotifs Temperence]]" ending V can choose to [[HeroicSacrifice voluntarily surrender their body to Johnny]].]]
** In the "[[TarotMotifs The Devil]]" ending, [[spoiler: [[GreaterScopeVillain Saburo Arasaka]] does this to his son [[BigBad Yorinobu]] after [[SelfMadeOrphan his death at the latter's hands]], after it's shown that he preserved a copy of his consciousness with the same BrainUploading tech they used on Johnny.]]
* In the AdventureGame ''VideoGame/PostMortem2002'', one of the characters has used this method in order to live for hundreds of years.
* This is what happens if you get the bad ending in ''VideoGame/BlackDahlia''.
* The BigBad tries to do this to [[spoiler:Curtis]] in ''VideoGame/{{Phantasmagoria}} 2''.
** Inverted in that [[spoiler:the Hecatomb ''is'' Curtis - or rather, the original Curtis Craig - and from ''his'' point of view it's the ''player'' who's stolen his life.]]
* The [[AllThereInTheManual backstory]] to the ''VideoGame/{{Blood}}'' series reveals this as the dark god Tchernobog's method of reincarnation, with the Cabal formed after the first time he did it, just so he could always have a new body on hand. The penultimate cinematic explains that the [[EvilPlan entire plot of the game]] was so Tchernobog could take over Caleb's body, Caleb gaining power from killing off the entirety of the Cabal throughout the rest of the game so that when Tchernobog took his body over, he would have the power to "throw open the door between realities" and rule over everything that has and ever will exist. [[TooSpicyForYogSothoth Caleb apparently became too powerful]], though, since the plan backfires - Caleb gains his power and takes over his role as the One That Binds (with a major plot point in the sequel revolving around the repercussions of Caleb not realizing or particularly giving any shits about that being his responsibility now for a century), but otherwise remaining himself rather than becoming Tchernobog. [[spoiler:A cancelled expansion for the sequel would have revealed, however, that Tchernobog ''did'' successfully possess Caleb, and that ever since the end of the original game [[TomatoInTheMirror the player was controlling Tchernobog who was in turn controlling Caleb]], with the final confrontation of the expansion involving the BigBad stealing Tchernobog's essence, thus [[AndNowForSomeoneCompletelyDifferent having you control him]] in battle against Caleb.]]
* ''Franchise/MegaMan'':
** At the climax of ''VideoGame/MegaManX3'', after his latest body is destroyed, Sigma reverts to his virus form and decides to steal X's body, only to be thwarted at the last moment by Dr. Doppler.
** This is probably the case in the biggest [[TheReveal reveal]] in ''VideoGame/MegaManZero 3'', where [[BigBad Dr. Weil]], prior to the start of the series, [[spoiler:stole ''Zero's'' original body, turning it into the AxCrazy Omega]].
* In ''VideoGame/{{Ico}}'', this is [[spoiler:what the Evil Queen plans to do to Yorda, and why Ico has to rescue her.]]
* In ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'', [[spoiler:the witch Flemeth is said to have had many daughters, but only one of them, Morrigan, is encountered by the party; after reading Flemeth's grimoire, Morrigan becomes convinced that Flemeth has been possessing her daughters and plans to do it to her, though Flemeth denies it.]] ''Videogame/DragonAgeInquisition'' sheds some more light on this. [[spoiler:It's true, but according to Flemeth she can't ''steal'' a body. Consent is required.]]
** [[spoiler:The Archdemon, upon being slain, automatically does this to the nearest Darkspawn, making it impossible to kill -- unless a Grey Warden strikes the final blow (which forces the Archdemon's spirit to travel in the Warden). Since Darkspawn are essentially soulless, the Archdemon can possess another darkspawn with no problems. Attempting to do the same to a Grey Warden [[HeroicSacrifice destroys both of their souls.]]]]
** We also get the Envy demon who does this to the Templars and attempts to do so on The Inquisitor...worthy of note is WhatCouldHaveBeen suggests it could have been much [[FromBadToWorse worse.]]
* The villains of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSpiritTracks'' plot to have a demon possess Zelda's body, and in order to prevent FightingFromTheInside, the zap her soul out of her body. Zelda is justifiably... [[FreakOut displeased]]... when she learns this.
* After you defeat the Dark Lord in ''VideoGame/{{Miitopia}}'', [[spoiler: it is revealed that it was a mere bystander that was possessed by a vile entity called the Dark Curse. Said Dark Curse then tries to pull ''another'' Grand Theft Me on the player character, but the Great Sage takes the blow instead to protect them. Cue the Darker Lord, which gained the abilities of the Great Sage.]]
* ''VideoGame/MuramasaTheDemonBlade'':
** Happens to Momohime; Jinkuro, her possessor, accidentally possesses Momohime while trying to possess Yukinojo, another powerful samurai and Momohime's betrothed.
** Also happens to [[spoiler:Arashimaru in his second ending]].
* ''VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeonExplorers of Sky'' has this as [[spoiler:Dusknoir's back-up plan; he's going to lure Grovyle to a frozen tundra whose trees have the power to ''[[DeaderThanDead destroy souls]]'', kill him, take over his body, travel to the past to befriend the guild, and then ''destroy everyone there''. Or at least was, until he pulled a HeelFaceTurn at the last moment.]]
* Thanatos's plan for Dyluck in ''VideoGame/SecretOfMana''. [[spoiler:Dyluck is forced to kill himself at the end to stop this.]]
* ''VideoGame/{{Stacking}}'' takes place in a world populated by Russian matryoshka dolls and as such, the main character, as a particularly small doll, can "stack" within larger dolls and make use of their various abilities.

* Happens to Adell in the worst ending of ''VideoGame/Disgaea2CursedMemories'' [[spoiler:when the [[OmnicidalManiac Real Overlord Zenon]] takes over his body, and then makes him [[ImAHumanitarian eat his little brother and sister]].]] Nightmare fuel, indeed.
* Kaine in ''VideoGame/NieR'' is partially possessed by the shade Tyrann, and he threatens to fully take over when she comes close to death or is overtaken by the Black Scrawl. [[spoiler:And in endings C and D, that's exactly what happens.]]
* Reptile falls victim to this in his ending in ''VideoGame/MortalKombatDeadlyAlliance'', which sees him getting possessed by the newly reborn Dragon King, Onaga. While still in Reptile's body, Onaga goes on to serve as the BigBad for the series' [[VideoGame/MortalKombatDeception next installment]].

** In ''VideoGame/WarcraftIII'' banshees can displace the soul of their target, granting you control of that unit perfectly, and destroying the banshee in the process. This is also played with by certain banshee mobs in ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft''. This is because banshees are just souls: although if they find their previous bodies they can inhabit them. All undead actually can do this because their souls are not firmly connected to their bodies. Nathanos Blightcaller did this to his cousin Stephanos at the direction of Sylvanas Windrunner. It's unclear if Stephanos' soul is still around, or if it was destroyed in the ritual.
** The priest's ability Mind Control is essentially this, except temporary. Very few priests lorewise display the ability to do it so it clearly takes a high power level to pull off successfully. Theoretically it could be permanent: but doing that on an unwilling target would require absurd amounts of power.
** Sargeras, the evil Titan and leader of the Burning Legion did this to Medivh. Which rather put a dent in Medivh's ability to protect the world from Sargeras and the Burning Legion, like he was supposed to. But this situation was caused by the sexism of the human kingdoms: providing a good explanation for the widespread and unquestioned gender equality in what is otherwise a pretty medieval-style kingdom. However, to demonstrate the absurd power level this required: Medivh was frequently able to wrest back control of his body from Sargeras, and used these moments of lucidity to plot against the Titan. While Medivh was a powerful mage, he was just a mage while Sargeras is the strongest of all the Titans who are all godlike in power level.
** Essentially this is what the Lich King did to Arthas Menethil through Frostmourne. Because the sword took a piece of Arthas' soul, the Lich King was able to fill that void in Arthas with his own spirit. Which is why he turned all evil and stuff (although Arthas was doing questionable things already).

* Lobelia in ''VideoGame/DuelSaviorDestiny'' has the ability to steal bodies via necromancy, but oddly enough the only person she tries it on is the only one who is capable of stopping her.
* In ''VideoGame/DCUniverseOnline'', a storyline in Metropolis has Giganta getting help from Circe to create a ritual that will allow her to steal Wonder Girl's body. If you're playing as a hero, the ritual succeeds and Giganta obtains Wonder Girl's powers in addition to her own. If you're playing as a villain, Giganta botches the ritual and her powers are given to Wonder Girl, so the only difference depending on your faction is the dialogue and which of them do you fight once the ritual has been undone.
* In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'', [[spoiler:the Avatar was ''born'' to be a victim of this for Grima. Making things worse is that, in a way, they already ''are'' Grima. They weren't just born, but actually they were ''bred'' to become this. The Grimleal cult has been carrying a SuperBreedingProgram to get the perfect SoulJar for Grima ''for at very least four generations''. The Avatar is just the most perfected and pure "product" of it.]]
* In the horror game ''VideoGame/TheWitchsHouse'', it turns out that [[spoiler:Ellen, the title witch, has pulled this on your character Viola via some magic -- meaning, in essence, that you've been playing as Ellen the whole time. And the freaky legless thing that chases you down near the end? That's Viola in Ellen's old body, which Ellen did horrible things to. The worst part though? The spell to switch bodies requires [[ThePowerOfTrust a bond of mutual trust]], trust that no longer exists in either character at this point. Meaning Viola would never return to her old body even if she did capture Ellen]].
--> ''Just for a day? Hee hee... I guess I did say that.''
* In ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddysSisterLocation'', Ennard's goal is to hijack the PlayerCharacter's body in order to escape the pizzeria. [[spoiler: [[HiveMind They]] succeed, but [[MeaninglessVillainVictory their victory is short-lived]] as Michael Afton's body eventually rejects the machinery within it, forcing them out. Michael is left horribly disfigured, but lives to [[VideoGame/FreddyFazbearsPizzeriaSimulator continue his crusade]] against his ArchnemesisDad.]]
* In ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'' [[spoiler:Darth Zash tried to pull that on her apprentice, the protagonist of the Inquisitor story line. She has been living under a Force illusion for quite a while; in reality, her body is desiccated and almost dead-like. When Force techniques that preserve a dying body were no longer enough, she decided to perform an ancient ritual and transfer her consciousness into another person, extinguishing the host mind in the process. Being the sly Sith she is, she makes the protagonist prepare everything for the ritual without revealing its true purpose until the very end. [[HoistbyHisOwnPetard It backfires hilariously.]]]]
** In ''Knights of the Fallen Empire'', [[spoiler:this is Emperor Valkorion aka the Sith Emperor Vitiate's ultimate goal. Everything he put The Outlander through was done for the purpose of making The Outlander a suitable host body for his spirit. Like with Zash, it ultimately backfires.]]
* This is the plan of the BigBad in ''VisualNovel/Danganronpa2GoodbyeDespair''. [[spoiler: [[BigBad Junko Enoshima]] lives on as an AI and, using the old [[ApocalypseCult Ultimate Despair]] members currently residing in a [[LotusEaterMachine VR-Island]] to correct their ways by the Future Foundation, decides to play the Killing Game with them all. Anyone who died in the VR-Island would be available for her to download her consciousness into and roam the world again]].
* In ''VideoGame/AkatsukiBlitzkampf'', this is one of the many powers wielded by [[spoiler: Mycale. Since she's the spirit of a WickedWitch who has been on the loose since the Middle Ages, she uses the bodies of young women with magic and fighting potential to keep herself inside the EnemyCivilWar in the NebulousEvilOrganization known as ''Gessellschaft''. In-story her host is the 14-year-old Kati, but in [[ChurchMilitant Anonym]]'s ending she "surfs" her way into Anonym's body...]]
* In ''VideoGame/ChainsOfSatinav'', a villain [[spoiler: survives being burned at the stake by swapping souls with a raven right before it happens. Of course everyone assumes he's dead, so it comes as a surprise when they realize he's wreaking more havoc -- this time in raven form -- thirteen years later]].
* Happens a lot to Lynn in ''VideoGame/WitchesLegacy''. She can barely get through a game without someone - namely Elisabeth and Morgana - trying to steal her body.
* The final game of the ''VideoGame/DeepSleepTrilogy'' reveals that this is what is going on with the Shadow People -- they are monsters created out of people who had their bodies taken in their sleep, their minds trapped in a dark world ''for eternity'' unless they find someone else to pull the same thing on them. [[spoiler:It also reveals you were a victim of this by a Shadow Person in the second game, and the ending comes down to you having to choose whether or not to continue the cycle by taking over another person or remaining in dark world forever]].
* ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamKnight'':
** The Joker, now dead after the events of ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamCity'', tries to hijack Batman's mind via his infected blood after Batman is exposed to Scarecrow's fear gas, appearing as a hallucination that, for the most part, simply makes jokes and heckles Batman, but gets stronger as the night goes on and tries to assert control. He even nearly succeeds couple times, most notably on Stagg's airship when Joker temporarily takes over and beats several militia soldiers nearly to death.
** Besides Batman, four other people are infected with Joker's blood and each takes on one of Joker's traits:
*** Prizefighter [[TheBrute Albert King]] inherits Joker's sociopathic violence and cruelty.
*** Professional singer [[LargeHam Johnny Charisma]] has his showmanship and ego boosted to Joker's deranged levels.
*** Businesswoman [[{{Yandere}} Christina Bell]] develops a Joker-level obsession with Batman, even thinking they're lovers.
*** College headmaster [[MagnificentBastard Henry Adams]] gains Joker's sinister intelligence, even being able to hide his infection enough to fool Batman into thinking he's immune.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'', [[spoiler: resetting from the Genocide ending requires the player to [[DealWithTheDevil sell their soul to the Fallen Child]]. Going for the [[PacifistRun Pacifist Route's]] GoldenEnding after doing so will result in the Fallen Child again taking over the protagonist and killing everyone. You've [[EarnYourBadEnding Earned Your Bad Ending]].]]
* The ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'' fan game and alternate universe project ''VideoGame/UndertaleLastBreath'' presents a rare ''willing'' example of this trope, in which W.D. Gaster takes control of Sans’s body to fight the human face to face, having made sure Sans didn’t die despite the fact that he had been hit by the human earlier (his HP had fallen below 1, but hadn’t reached zero, instead existing in the decimal range). This works well for a while, but once Sans’s body tires out, the human strikes them again, killing Sans and potentially Gaster as well. However, their efforts are not in vain, as this instance of body hijacking gives Flowey and Asgore time to prepare an ambush that finally kills the human off, once and for all.
* In ''Cadenza 4: Fame, Theft and Murder'' a bum named Adam who's wanted by the police swaps bodies with hot young rock star Michael Valance and Mike has twelve hours to reverse the switch before it becomes permanent.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Scrapland}}'', D-Tritus is given a program that allows him to hack into The Great Database and overwrite any robot he wants.
* ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'':
** Near the beginning of ''VideoGame/DevilSummoner'', Kyouji Kuzunoha dies in a mysterious accident, and then the protagonist is killed by Sid Davis. He then wakes up in Kyouji's body. Later on, Kyouji (now in [[spoiler:Takashi]]'s body) [[spoiler:hatches a plan to get his old body back by sending the protagonist to Hell, but it fails because he's been out of the body for too long]].
** ''VideoGame/Persona2'':
*** Kyouji Kuzunoha is back at it, now possessing the body of a middle-aged third-rate PI named Daisuke Todoroki, with no sign of leaving any time soon.
*** Tatsuya Suou pulls this in ''Eternal Punishment'', as he spends the entire game possessing the body of his AlternateSelf.
* This as a key factor of the gameplay in ''VideoGame/{{Paradroid}}''. The technical explanation given in the intro scroller of the game is that the player controls a helmet-like robot ("influence device") which can take over other robots, gaining access to their abilities (upgrade weaponry, movement speed and armor).
* In Needles Kane's ending in ''VideoGame/TwistedMetal: Head-On'', [[spoiler:he wishes to switch bodies with Calypso before ordering Calypso's men to kill the latter.]]
* ''VideoGame/AITheSomniumFiles'': This turns out to be [[spoiler: the true ''modus operandi'' behind the New Cyclops killer, Saito Sejiima. By using a prototype Psync machine, he was able to swap bodies with his victims and kill them to throw off the investigators [[SuspectExistenceFailure who repeatedly find their prime suspects as the next victims]].]] It's also the reason why [[spoiler: he's going after Date specifically: Date has been inhabiting his old body for the last six years and he wants it back.]]
* In ''VideoGame/TreasureOfTheRudra'', a large portion of Surlent's chapter is spent trying to win his body back from Culgan, the StarterVillain from Riza's chapter. He's given the choice of using either a warrior's body or a wizard's body, which happen to be the bodies of the deceased Rostam and Huey from Sion's chapter. [[spoiler:You'll end up needing both as you'll lose the first one you picked after a certain boss battle, and if you progressed far enough into Riza's chapter to encounter Surlent before this point in Surlent's chapter, you will be ''forced'' to pick the warrior as that's the body Surlent will have in the cutscene.]]

* ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamKnight'' has ComicBook/TheJoker, now dead after the events of ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamCity'', trying to hijack Batman's mind via his infected blood after Batman is exposed to Scarecrow's fear gas, appearing as a hallucination that, for the most part, simply makes jokes and heckles Batman, but gets stronger as the night goes on and tries to assert control. He even nearly succeeds couple times, most notably on Stagg's airship when Joker temporarily takes over and beats several militia soldiers nearly to death.

* The villains of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSpiritTracks'' plot to [[spoiler:have a demon possess Zelda's body. The princess is justifiably... [[FreakOut displeased]]... when she learns this.]]

* Dracula does this, or tries this, in several ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'' titles. [[spoiler:He succeeds in ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaCurseOfDarkness Curse of Darkness]]'' (though the host he ends up with isn't the one he wanted), can succeed in both ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaChroniclesOfSorrow'' titles if you screw up, gets halfway there in ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaOrderOfEcclesia Order of Ecclesia]]'' (meaning Albus was a fairly solid Plan B for resurrection), and it's implied that he intended to pull this on Simon Belmont in ''VideoGame/{{Castlevania II|SimonsQuest}}''.]]

* This is probably the case in the biggest [[TheReveal reveal]] in ''VideoGame/MegaManZero 3'', where [[BigBad Dr. Weil]], prior to the start of the series, [[spoiler:stole ''Zero's'' original body, turning it into the AxCrazy Omega]].

* At the climax of ''VideoGame/MegaManX3'', after his latest body is destroyed, Sigma reverts to his virus form and decides to steal X's body, only to be thwarted at the last moment by Dr. Doppler.

* In ''VideoGame/TreasureOfTheRudra'', a large portion of Surlent's chapter is spent trying to win his body back from Culgan, the StarterVillain from Riza's chapter. He's given the choice of using either a warrior's body or a wizard's body, which happen to be the bodies of the deceased Rostam and Huey from Sion's chapter. [[spoiler:You'll end up needing both as you'll lose the first one you picked after a certain boss battle, and if you progressed far enough into Riza's chapter to encounter Surlent before this point in Surlent's chapter, you will be ''forced'' to pick the warrior as that's the body Surlent will have in the cutscene.]]

* In ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'', [[spoiler: resetting from the [[KillEmAll Genocide ending]] requires the player to [[DealWithTheDevil sell their soul to the Fallen Child]]. Going for the [[PacifistRun Pacifist Route's]] GoldenEnding after doing so will result in the Fallen Child again taking over the protagonist and killing everyone. You've [[EarnYourBadEnding Earned Your Bad Ending]].]]

* ''VideoGame/AITheSomniumFiles'': This turns out to be [[spoiler: the true ''modus operandi'' behind the New Cyclops killer, Saito Sejiima. By using a prototype Psync machine, he was able to swap bodies with his victims and kill them to throw off the investigators [[SuspectExistenceFailure who repeatedly find their prime suspects as the next victims]].]] It's also the reason why [[spoiler: he's going after Date specifically: Date has been inhabiting his old body for the last six years and he wants it back.]]