History HumansAreTheRealMonsters / VideoGames

* The Creator/LucasArts adventure game ''VideoGame/TheDig'' [[LampshadeHanging hung a lampshade]] on this issue. When one of the characters tentatively points out to a friendly alien that not all humans are as [[RousseauWasRight nice]] as they are, the alien cheerily replies that that's okay, since all relatively young species are like that, and anyone who wants to pick a fight will just be [[SufficientlyAdvancedAlien squashed like bugs]].

* Revealed in one dialogue during ''VideoGame/MegaManZero 3'', stating that humans of the dystopian Neo Arcadia only indulge themselves in food and comfort, letting the authorities do the thinking for them while regarding the conflicts [[TheHero Zero]] and [[BigGood Ciel]] have been fighting as mere daily news on the televisions. In ''Z4'', Zero also further condemns humans fleeing from [[BigBad Weil's]] iron fist as cowardly beings who would do nothing about their refugee leader getting kidnapped just to avoid another war. It is not until [[TheDragon Craft]] blows up the city do humans finally wake up with terrible pain in their minds.

** There's also the fact that [[spoiler: Weil, the single most vile villain in Mega Man canon, is a human.]]

* ''VideoGame/TheWonderful101'': As revealed in the final battle [[spoiler:the GEATHJERK Federation was funded by a group of aliens survivors whose planets were conquered in the far future by the Greater Galactic Coalition, the space-faring human armada. The organization traveled to the past with the objetive of [[KillAllHumans wiping all humankind]] to prevent this future from happening. Ironically, [[StableTimeLoop GEATHJERK's invasion was the reason behind the development of the technology that led to the creation of the Coalition in the first place]].]]

* ''VideoGame/TheWonderful101'':As revealed in the final battle [[spoiler:the GEATHJERK Federation was funded by a group of aliens survivors whose planets were conquered in the far future by the Greater Galactic Coalition, the space-faring human armada. The organization traveled to the past with the objetive of [[KillAllHumans wiping all humankind]] to prevent this future from happening. Ironically, [[StableTimeLoop GEATHJERK's invasion was the reason behind the development of the technology that led to the creation of the Coalition in the first place]].]]

* In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'', the main conflict is ''entirely'' man-made. While there is an evil cult involved, they are ultimately secondary antagonists. The entire war across Fodlan started because of differing ideals (none entirely right or wrong) over who should rule Fodlan and how it should be run. The sad fact that by the time the war breaks out, no one trusts each other and, without Byleth to guide them (i.e. picking their route), the lords become progressively antagonistic. Edelgard becomes a KnightTemplar and as she commits more crimes, she believes IveComeTooFar and doubles down on her actions to prove it wasn't for nothing. Dimitri becomes a ShellShockedVeteran and a BloodKnight who believes victory is the only way to ease the deaths on his conscience. Claude is forced to assume a war footing because he knows the other two countries will happily destroy Leicester just to get at each other.

* In the ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsI'' DownloadableContent "Artorias of the Abyss", Hawkeye Gough and Lord's Blade Ciaran aren't terribly impressed with humanity. If the player chooses to attack them, they aren't surprised since they expected no better from humans. Even more telling, the most evil and vicious ''thing'' in the game [[spoiler:is a human who has let his fraction of the Dark Soul, aka humanity itself, go out of control, turning him and the entire population of Oolacile into monsters.]] It's stated that if the Age of Fire ends, the Age of Dark will come, but apparently [[spoiler:given that humans ''are'' Darkness, the Age of Dark would be a golden age for humanity... and this is not presented as a good thing.]]

* A common theme throughout the ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'' series is that while you are surviving against actual monsters, they are the result of Human Greed due to people experimenting on other living creatures using viruses, parasites and even fungi.

** Inverted in the sequels. In ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'', [[spoiler:it's revealed that despite the fact that a Reaper attacked the in-universe equivalent of the U.N. headquarters, the Council refuses to take any steps towards preparing for the imminent Reaper invasion. Cue Shepard going 'rogue' and working with Cerberus.]] In ''Mass Effect 3'', this is taken even further. [[spoiler:It's revealed that the Salarians DID take Shepard's warnings seriously but not seriously enough to push the Council into action. The Turians only took Shepard's warning seriously after the invasion began and, assuming he survived the events of ''Mass Effect 2'', recruit Garrus as a 'Reaper expert'. The Asari not only ignored Shepard's warnings, its revealed that they were concealing a fully operational Prothean data beacon not only capable of warning about the Reaper threat but containing vital information to building a weapon that could defeat the Reapers. AND this is on top of the fact that the Asari have effectively ruled the galaxy for centuries, which one of your teammates will point out. To add insult to injury, this is the same galaxy ruling species that passed laws forbidding withholding Prothean technology.]]

* In the ''Videogame/DarkSouls'' DownloadableContent "Artorias of the Abyss", Hawkeye Gough and Lord's Blade Ciaran aren't terribly impressed with humanity. If the player chooses to attack them, they aren't surprised since they expected no better from humans. Even more telling, the most evil and vicious ''thing'' in the game [[spoiler:is a human who has let his fraction of the Dark Soul, aka humanity itself, go out of control, turning him and the entire population of Oolacile into monsters.]] It's stated that if the Age of Fire ends, the Age of Dark will come, but apparently [[spoiler:given that humans ''are'' Darkness, the Age of Dark would be a golden age for humanity... and this is not presented as a good thing.]]

** Subverted when ''Videogame/DragonAgeInquisition'' reveals in its latter half that [[spoiler:humans had little if anything to do with the destruction of the Elven empire. The Elven empire was brought down by CivilWar -- the human slavers came in to loot and pillage years after the dust had settled and Elvish society was in ruins, "picking over a corpse".]]

* ''VideoGame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance'': The [[RidiculouslyHumanRobot Ridiculously Wolf-Like Robot]] Bladewolf holds this view. He doesn't hate humans, at least not openly, but he does suggest that the reason the military project that made him was cancelled because he lacked the killing instinct and brutality that human soldiers possessed. Raiden does not disagree. This is quite a swerve in tone, as the ''Franchise/MetalGear'' series has pretty much always held the belief that RousseauWasRight; no matter how depraved or batshit insane the villain seemed, they always had a [[FreudianExcuse tragic backstory that made them that way]], or were a WellIntentionedExtremist. [[note]]Examples: [[MadBomber Fatman]]? He was bullied all his life until the only person he cared about was his bomb disposal instructor who he then sought to surpass. [[MagnificentBastard Ocelot]]? All the shit he does is done all out of love for the Big Boss. [[AxCrazy Psycho Mantis]]? [[AMindIsATerribleThingToRead He found out that his own father loathed him after reading his mind]], and then his mind got "infected" by that of a serial killer, causing him to adopt a murderously psychotic personality, to the point he burned down his hometown. [[DepravedBisexual Vamp]]? He was traumatically forced to drink his family's blood, and then his lover and the father of his best friend was murdered. The whole [[DarkActionGirl Beauty and the Beast]] unit? They were all [[BreakTheCutie driven mad]] by the [[WarIsHell horrors of warfare]], and their backstories are noted in-universe for being especially tragic. The only truly evil villains in the whole series were Volgin, Sundowner, and Hot Coldman.[[/note]]

* In the ''{{Mother}}'' series, the BigBad alien conqueror (Giygas) is usurped by his own henchman Porky, a local bully who lives next door to the game's hero. Giygas, however, has become a casualty of his immense power. Rather than risk destroying the universe he seeks to rule, his incorporeal form is placed in a RestrainingBolt device which is guarded by Porky..... who promptly releases the lock once you deplete his HP. He would rather destroy all existence than lose to the hero.

* ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'' games gave us the AnthropomorphicPersonification of this trope in Nyarlathotep -- an entity literally created as [[TheHeartless the dark, destructive side of the collective unconscious]], [[MadeOfEvil a monstrous entity born of Humanity's hatred, fear, and despair]]. [[AsLongAsThereIsEvil He will exist as long as Humanity does]]. He has been known to [[OmnicidalManiac indulge in omnicidal plans]]... [[VideoGame/{{Persona2}} and he has been]] known [[TheBadGuyWins to win]]. Of course, He of the Thousand Masks takes his name from a Lovecraftian EldritchAbomination who just likes to mess with sapient life.

** The third and fourth games, however, focus on subverting this - the protagonists associate with those around them, discover the core of strength that lies at the heart of humanity, and use it to [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu smash in the face of an unGodly monstrosity]]. Heck, this is made ''explicit'' in ''Persona 4'', where the final boss [[spoiler:reveals she was using three people to test humanity - one representing despair, one representing destruction, and one representing hope. ''You'' were hope, and as you finish her off, she declares, "Children of man... Well done!"]]

** In VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss, humans were bastards but only to the replicas - which all had an UncannyValley effect on the populace. (Well think about it...if someone who looked and sounded ''exactly'' like your dead friend showed up ''at your friend's funeral'', you probably would be a bit freaked out too!)

** In the same note, ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia'' has the elves once again hating half-elves and humans. They distanced themselves from humans when they began to work on the Mana Cannon, a powerful weapon that uses up the world's mana and will cause the world tree to wither and die, and have since been living in their village, refusing contact with humans unless they have royal permission. Their exact reasons for their hatred towards half-elves is never really explained (it could be because half-elves who do not grow up among several elves do not have the same values, perhaps) but it is much more intense than their hatred towards humans. Half-elves are not permitted in the elven village, any half-elf that ''does'' enter the village will be killed, etc. Though when you return [[spoiler: in the future time, 50 years from the present,]] the leader of the elves Brambard does reveal that they are improving themselves, allowing humans to enter the village without royal decree, but half-elves are still forbidden. Then you recall that Phantasia is supposed to be a very distant sequel to [[VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia Symphonia]]...
* In the ''VideoGame/ToeJamAndEarl'' series, where humans and other earthly life aren't wantonly malicious and "unfunky", they're still ''weird.'' Friendly ones in the series include the [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Wiseman in a Carrot Suit]] and the Soul Sisters -- a trio of black women who speak only in gospel song. In ''ToeJam & Earl 3'', you can convert most initially hostile Earthlings... such as chickens with army helmets and egg-firing mortars, and CreepyChild little girls with seemingly demon-possessed teddy bears. See? Weird.

** In ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'', humans have done some terrible things. Currently, many elves are former slaves who still have second-class citizen status and lives in city slums. Their Dalish cousins are forced to constantly live a nomadic-like lifestyle and move their camps every few months or so. They still remember their old civilization, which was wiped out by KnightTemplar humans because the elves refused to worship Andraste. Subverted in that the elves also had their bastard moments, such as their first civilization trying to conquer humans. Then there's the Tevinter Imperium, where the ruling magisters can do whatever they please.
** In ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'', due to continuing mistreatment by overzealous Templars, many Mages are forced to resort to BloodMagic to either try to escape or simply protect themselves. However, this only creates a vicious circle as the Templars use this as proof that they need to tighten their choke-hold over the Mages. Eventually, the events at the endgame push the Mages too far, causing every Circle in Thedas to rise up and [[ThisMeansWar declare all-out War!]]

* The ''Franchise/DeadRising'' franchise has this as a major theme, as the bosses are all human and most are either insane or exhibit the worst qualities of humanity. On a {{gameplay|AndStoryIntegration}} level, too, they are usually [[ThatOneBoss far tougher]] [[DemonicSpiders and deadlier]] than the zombies.

* Seems to be a major theme of the entire ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys'' franchise. Yes, the animatronics are trying to kill you, but they are literally dead children just trying to avenge their deaths. Meanwhile, the alive humans are bastards: The people at [[IncompetenceInc Fazbear Ent.]] are comically corrupt, the Brother from the fourth game is a {{Jerkass}} who bullies his younger brother and [[spoiler:kills him]] (even if he [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone regretted it as soon as it happened]]), and then we have [[BigBad Wil]][[SerialKiller liam]] [[WouldHurtAChild Af]][[TheSociopath ton]]...
* In ''VideoGame/FTLFasterThanLight'', you'll encounter any number of aliens with unique abilities trying to kill you--the [[BloodKnight Mantises]], the [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder Slugs]], and the [[ProudWarriorRaceGuys Rockmen]] are three especially vicious species. Even the [[EnergyBeing Zoltans]] will get pretty uppity over laws in their territories, and the generally-peaceful [[AmbiguousRobot Engi]] can and will engage you in combat if they believe you to be trouble to them and their creations. But the Rebel faction that's out to destroy TheFederation? It's comprised of ''humans''. Yes, the same species described as being [[PunyEarthlings boring]] [[MasterOfNone and]] [[HumansAreAverage average]] have amassed to big enough numbers and developed a strong enough fleet to pose a fatal threat to the Federation and possess the single strongest ship in the entire game, the [[FinalBoss Rebel Flagship]].

** [[VideoGame/TheLastOfUsPartII The sequel]] ramps this trope up further, with the Infected getting even less screentime in favour of the monstrous groups of humans. The two main factions in Seattle, the [[FullCircleRevolution despotic]] [[ArmiesAreEvil paramilitary]] [[WellIntentionedExtremist WLF]] and the [[HumanSacrifice human sacrificing]] {{cult}} of [[ReligionOfEvil the Seraphites]], are downright genocidal towards one another, attack any outsiders on sight, and even being part of them isn't exactly pleasant. And that's not getting into the atrocities committed by protagonists Ellie and Abby in the name of {{revenge}}.

* ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'' games gave us the AnthropomorphicPersonification of this trope in Nyarlathotep -- an entity literally created as [[TheHeartless the dark, destructive side of the collective unconscious]], [[MadeOfEvil a monstrous entity born of Humanity's hatred, fear, and despair]]. [[AsLongAsThereIsEvil He will exist as long as Humanity does]]. He has been known to [[OmnicidalManiac indulge in omnicidal plans]]... [[VideoGame/{{Persona2}} and he has been]] [[TheBadGuyWins known to win]]. Of course, He of the Thousand Masks takes his name from a Lovecraftian EldritchAbomination who just likes to mess with sapient life.

** A [[WildMassGuessing popular theory]] has it that the cosmic error which transformed God Almighty into [[GodIsEvil the uncaring bastard He is today]] exists because humans want a God that represents them (instead of, say, a caring and compassionate ruler). Considering [[ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve how powerful]] [[GodsNeedPrayerBadly human belief is in this setting]], this is a distinct possibility.

** [[spoiler:On another note, the greatest threat in the game is not the [[AIIsACrapshoot haywire gynoids of Sangvis Ferri]], the [[WesternTerrorists terroristic Paradeus]], or the [[TechnicallyLivingZombie zombie-like ELID Infectees]], but the [[ArmiesAreEvil human-dominant KCCO who betrayed Griffon & Kryuger to further their own goals]].]]

* ''Videogame/{{Bloodborne}}'' does this in a subtle way. The [[EldritchAbomination Great Ones]] are powerful elder gods who induce madness, but few of them show up on the battlefield intentionally looking for a fight[[note]]the Amygdala are aggressive to anyone who can notice their presence, and yet they're suspiciously human-like in appearance and battle tactics[[/note]]. Their only real interest in humans seems to be to use human women as surrogate wombs for their children. Humans, on the other hand, experiment on and enslave one of the Great Ones, angry mobs storm the streets, burning and lynching anyone who looks like they could have been infected, and the Hunt that seeks to destroy the Great Ones is made up of humans[[note]]sponsored by another eldritch entity (Moon Presence), but one who is separate from the Great Ones and suspiciously near-human in appearance[[/note]]. Humans are powerful, dangerous, and potentially more violent and lethal than any of the Great Ones; Formless Odeon's blood is the source of the plague, but it only came into being because humans experimented on him and haphazardly spread the blood.

** In ''VideoGame/DeadRising2: Off the Record'', Chuck Greene points out that zombies are so mindless, weak, and [[ZombieGait slow]] that defeating them should be child's play, but whenever an outbreak or other disaster happens, people give in to their greed, fear, etc and turn on each other.

* ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands 2}}''
** GentlemanAdventurer Sir Hammerlock asks you to investigate why the giant Crystalisks (giant tripedal rock-like creatures with [[AttackItsWeakPoint crystalline formations on their legs]]) have become so violent when they were previously quite docile. It turns out that the Crystalisks did not particularly appreciate having their crystals "mined" off of them by workers from the Dahl Corporation since, without those crystals, the Crystalisk dies. [[ChainReactionDestruction In a prolonged and explosive manner]]. As the Crystalisks are [[NighInvulnerable highly resilient]] to small arms fire, things get [[CurbStompBattle very messy]] for Dahl, and the Crystalisks now regard just about ''anything'' as a potential threat to be exterminated with extreme prejudice.

* PlayedForLaughs in ''VideoGame/{{Earthbound}}'' when you defeat the zombies of Threed by [[ItMakesSenseInContext gluing them to the ground with "zombie paper"]]. Keeping in mind that all the humans of Threed were doing was [[CrimeOfSelfDefense defending themselves]], one of the zombies has this to say:

* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII''. [[GeniusLoci The Planet is a living being]] that every single life form protects and loves, ''except for the vast majority of humanity''. See, humans like to dig holes to suck out the very LifeForce of the planet, mess with genetics to make monsters, and kill each other, ''in addition'' to polluting the environment around them. So, when the Planet's natural protectors (the [=WEAPONs=]) are activated to respond to the very real threat of the Planet's extinction, do they go after the EldritchAbomination that desecrates life with its very presence? No, [[GaiasVengeance they go straight after human population centers and attempt to reduce them to ashes]], in some cases succeeding, ''just to reduce the number of human beings on the Planet''.

* The ''Franchise/DeadRising'' franchise has this as a major theme, as the bosses are all human and most are either insane or exhibit the worst qualities of humanity.

* The plot of ''VideoGame/{{Prototype}}'' is about a [[TheVirus viral infestation]] that threatens Manhattan and potentially the world. The citizens' only "hope" is Blackwatch, an ''army'' of bastards who kill both infected and healthy people. [[spoiler:Backstory reveals that the Blacklight Virus was originally designed as a SyntheticPlague meant to commit racial genocide, and when it gained sentience and outgrew its programming, Blackwatch nuked an entire city just to ensure nothing survived.]] You later learn that your character [[spoiler: is not really Alex Mercer. The real Alex unleashed the Blacklight Virus out of pure spite and died before the game began. The Alex we know is actually a personification of the Virus itself that copied Alex's genetic makeup. The Virus is absolutely disgusted that ''it's own creator let it loose on the world'' and spends the entire game essentially trying to save the world from it's own infestation and is even willing to sacrifice itself for the planet. When the HumanoidAbomination who was created specifically to destroy the world ends up being the most sympathetic and heroic character in the game, you ''know'' Humans Are The Real Monsters.]]

* ''VideoGame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance'': The [[RidiculouslyHumanRobot Ridiculously Wolf-Like Robot]] Bladewolf holds this view. He doesn't hate humans, at least not openly, but he does suggest that the reason the military project that made him was cancelled because he lacked the killing instinct and brutality that human soldiers possessed. Raiden does not disagree. This is quite a swerve in tone, as the ''Franchise/MetalGear'' series has pretty much always held the belief that RousseauWasRight; no matter how depraved or batshit insane the villain seemed, they always had a [[FreudianExcuse tragic backstory that made them that way]], or were a WellIntentionedExtremist. [[note]]Examples: [[MadBomber Fatman]]? He was bullied all his life until the only person he cared about was his bomb disposal instructor. [[MagnificentBastard Ocelot]]? All the shit he does is done all out of love for the Big Boss. [[AxCrazy Psycho Mantis]]? [[AMindIsATerribleThingToRead He found out that his own father loathed him after reading his mind]], and then his mind got "infected" by that of a serial killer, causing him to adopt a murderously psychotic personality. The whole [[DarkActionGirl Beauty and the Beast]] unit? They were all [[BreakTheCutie driven mad]] by the [[WarIsHell horrors of warfare]], and their backstories are noted in-universe for being especially tragic. The only truly evil villains in the whole series were Volgin and Sundowner.[[/note]]

** Furthermore, both ''Brood War'' and ''Starcraft II'' shows that humans and protoss at the very least are NotSoDifferent. The existence of a Dark Templar society and the Tal'Darim shows that the Protoss are just as prone to factionalism as the Terrans. Both races are slowly learning to distinguish friend from foe (The Khalai protoss respect Raynor's service to Aiur and skill as a commander, but still are hostile to the Dominion and the UED, while the Tal'Darim and the Dominion are hostile to all other factions, Terran and Protoss alike.)

** Oh, and humanity also managed to collectively alienate the VUX by insulting their appearance in the first contact -- ironically, humans look just as attractive to the VUX as the other way around (VUX is sometimes treated as an acronym for "Very Ugly Xenoform"). This would lead to a massive political crisis and, indirectly, to the VUX joining the Ur-Quan as well as, isolated, they could not match the Hierarchy. So out of 7 races in the original Hierarchy, humankind is responsible for two. Unsurprisingly, the Alliance (which humans were members of) eventually lost the first war.
*** ...And the VUX example is subverted when we learn that [[spoiler:the "won't forgive you because of [[http://wiki.uqm.stack.nl/The_Insult The Insult]]" is an excuse, but the ''real'' reason is they find us so repellant that they never even considered ''not going to war with us''.]] So really, humans may be foul-mouthed bastards, but the VUX are just {{jerkass}}es.