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** The original ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoClassic'' allowed you to choose your player character from a roster, which had both males and females, but all of the said "characters" were completely devoid of any personality. Grand Theft Auto 2 was the first game to have a singular main character, but even he had absolutely no development.
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** The original ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoClassic'' allowed you to choose your player character from a roster, which had both males and females, but all of the said "characters" were completely devoid of any personality. Grand Theft Auto 2 ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoII'' was the first game to have a singular main character, but even he had absolutely no development.
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** The original Grand Theft Auto allowed you to choose your player character from a roster, which had both males and females, but all of the said "characters" were completely devoid of any personality. Grand Theft Auto 2 was the first game to have a singular main character, but even he had absolutely no development.
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** The original Grand Theft Auto ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoClassic'' allowed you to choose your player character from a roster, which had both males and females, but all of the said "characters" were completely devoid of any personality. Grand Theft Auto 2 was the first game to have a singular main character, but even he had absolutely no development.
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Not a trope.
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* ''VideoGame/TieFighter''. You play on the side of TheEmpire, and have Darth Vader as your wingman. Note that while you do spend quite a bit of time fighting the [[FreedomFighters Rebels]], the Empire is portrayed as quite a bit less ruthlessly evil than in the films and other media. The result is more like an [[AntiVillain Anti-Villain]] Protagonist.
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* ''VideoGame/TieFighter''. You play on the side of TheEmpire, and have Darth Vader as your wingman. Note that while you do spend quite a bit of time fighting the [[FreedomFighters Rebels]], Rebels, the Empire is portrayed as quite a bit less ruthlessly evil than in the films and other media. The result is more like an [[AntiVillain Anti-Villain]] Protagonist.
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* The majority of playable characters in both ''VideoGame/HotlineMiami'' and [[VideoGame/HotlineMiami2WrongNumber its sequel]] either fill this role or sit on the far end of the [[Analysis/AntiHero Sliding Scale Of Anti Heroes]]. First there's Biker from the first game, who's trying to get out of the professional killer business not because of any moral quandaries, but simply because he's bored. The second game adds in Jake, a racist neo-confederate working for 50 Blessings, the Fans, a gang of thrill-seeking copycat vigilantes continuing Jacket's work from the first game, The Son, the new leader of the Mafiya trying to take back his turf from invading Columbians, and Manny Pardo, a CowboyCop who uses his position as an excuse to go on killing sprees [[spoiler: and is the very same SerialKiller he's supposedly been hunting for the entire game.]] Martin Brown is a maybe-example, since everything he does is part of a movie, though he admits in a dream that he's an utter psychopath who relishes in being able to act out his violent fantasies on camera. Even Jacket himself could count, though it's offset by his obvious SanitySlippage and a girl he rescues from the Mafiya that becomes his MoralityPet.
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* The majority of playable characters in both ''VideoGame/HotlineMiami'' and [[VideoGame/HotlineMiami2WrongNumber its sequel]] either fill this role or sit on the far end of the [[Analysis/AntiHero Sliding Scale Of Anti Heroes]]. First there's Biker from the first game, who's trying to get out of the professional killer business not because of any moral quandaries, but simply because he's bored. The second game adds in Jake, a racist neo-confederate working for 50 Blessings, the Fans, a gang of thrill-seeking copycat vigilantes continuing Jacket's work from the first game, The Son, the new leader of the Mafiya trying to take back his turf from invading Columbians, and Manny Pardo, a CowboyCop who uses his position as an excuse to go on killing sprees [[spoiler: and is the very same SerialKiller he's supposedly been hunting for the entire game.]] Martin Brown is a maybe-example, since everything he does as the Pig Butcher is part of a movie, though he admits in a dream that he's an utter psychopath who relishes in being able to act out his violent fantasies on camera. Even Jacket himself could count, though it's offset by his obvious SanitySlippage and a girl he rescues from the Mafiya that becomes his MoralityPet.
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* The majority of playable characters in both ''VideoGame/HotlineMiami'' and [[VideoGame/HotlineMiami2WrongNumber its sequel]] either fill this role or sit on the far end of the [[Analysis/AntiHero Sliding Scale Of Anti Heroes]]. First there's Biker from the first game, who's trying to get out of the professional killer business not because of any moral quandaries, but simply because he's bored. The second game adds in Jake, a racist neo-confederate working for 50 Blessings, the Fans, a gang of thrill-seeking copycat vigilantes continuing Jacket's work from the first game, The Son, the new leader of the Mafiya trying to take back his turf from invading Columbians, and Manny Pardo, a CowboyCop who uses his position as an excuse to go on killing sprees [[spoiler: and is the very same SerialKiller he's supposedly been hunting for the entire game.]] Even Jacket himself could count, though it's offset by his obvious SanitySlippage and a girl he rescues from the Mafiya that becomes his MoralityPet.
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* The majority of playable characters in both ''VideoGame/HotlineMiami'' and [[VideoGame/HotlineMiami2WrongNumber its sequel]] either fill this role or sit on the far end of the [[Analysis/AntiHero Sliding Scale Of Anti Heroes]]. First there's Biker from the first game, who's trying to get out of the professional killer business not because of any moral quandaries, but simply because he's bored. The second game adds in Jake, a racist neo-confederate working for 50 Blessings, the Fans, a gang of thrill-seeking copycat vigilantes continuing Jacket's work from the first game, The Son, the new leader of the Mafiya trying to take back his turf from invading Columbians, and Manny Pardo, a CowboyCop who uses his position as an excuse to go on killing sprees [[spoiler: and is the very same SerialKiller he's supposedly been hunting for the entire game.]] Martin Brown is a maybe-example, since everything he does is part of a movie, though he admits in a dream that he's an utter psychopath who relishes in being able to act out his violent fantasies on camera. Even Jacket himself could count, though it's offset by his obvious SanitySlippage and a girl he rescues from the Mafiya that becomes his MoralityPet.
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* The majority of playable character in both ''VideoGame/HotlineMiami'' and [[VideoGame/HotlineMiami2WrongNumber its sequel]] either fill this role or sit on the far end of the [[Analysis/AntiHero Sliding Scale Of Anti Heroes]]. First there's Biker from the first game, who's trying to get out of the professional killer business not because of any moral quandaries, but simply because he's bored. The second game adds in Jake, a racist neo-confederate working for 50 Blessings, the Fans, a gang of thrill-seeking copycat vigilantes continuing Jacket's work from the first game, The Son, the new leader of the Mafiya trying to take back his turf from invading Columbians, and Manny Pardo, a CowboyCop who uses his position as an excuse to go on killing sprees [[spoiler: and is the very same SerialKiller he's supposedly been hunting for the entire game.]] Even Jacket himself count, though it's offset by his obvious SanitySlippage and a girl he rescues from the Mafiya that becomes his MoralityPet.
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* The majority of playable character characters in both ''VideoGame/HotlineMiami'' and [[VideoGame/HotlineMiami2WrongNumber its sequel]] either fill this role or sit on the far end of the [[Analysis/AntiHero Sliding Scale Of Anti Heroes]]. First there's Biker from the first game, who's trying to get out of the professional killer business not because of any moral quandaries, but simply because he's bored. The second game adds in Jake, a racist neo-confederate working for 50 Blessings, the Fans, a gang of thrill-seeking copycat vigilantes continuing Jacket's work from the first game, The Son, the new leader of the Mafiya trying to take back his turf from invading Columbians, and Manny Pardo, a CowboyCop who uses his position as an excuse to go on killing sprees [[spoiler: and is the very same SerialKiller he's supposedly been hunting for the entire game.]] Even Jacket himself could count, though it's offset by his obvious SanitySlippage and a girl he rescues from the Mafiya that becomes his MoralityPet.
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* The majority of playable character in both ''VideoGame/HotlineMiami'' and [[VideoGame/HotlineMiami2WrongNumber its sequel]] either fill this role or sit on the far end of the [[Analysis/AntiHero Sliding Scale Of Anti Heroes]]. First there's Biker from the first game, who's trying to get out of the professional killer business not because of any moral quandaries, but simply because he's bored. The second game adds in Jake, a racist neo-confederate working for 50 Blessings, the Fans, a gang of thrill-seeking copycat vigilantes continuing Jacket's work from the first game, The Son, the new leader of the Mafiya trying to take back his turf from invading Columbians, and Manny Pardo, a CowboyCop who uses his position as an excuse to go on killing sprees [[spoiler: and is the very same SerialKiller he's supposedly been hunting for the entire game.]]
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* The majority of playable character in both ''VideoGame/HotlineMiami'' and [[VideoGame/HotlineMiami2WrongNumber its sequel]] either fill this role or sit on the far end of the [[Analysis/AntiHero Sliding Scale Of Anti Heroes]]. First there's Biker from the first game, who's trying to get out of the professional killer business not because of any moral quandaries, but simply because he's bored. The second game adds in Jake, a racist neo-confederate working for 50 Blessings, the Fans, a gang of thrill-seeking copycat vigilantes continuing Jacket's work from the first game, The Son, the new leader of the Mafiya trying to take back his turf from invading Columbians, and Manny Pardo, a CowboyCop who uses his position as an excuse to go on killing sprees [[spoiler: and is the very same SerialKiller he's supposedly been hunting for the entire game.]]]] Even Jacket himself count, though it's offset by his obvious SanitySlippage and a girl he rescues from the Mafiya that becomes his MoralityPet.
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* The majority of playable character in both ''VideoGame/HotlineMiami'' and [[VideoGame/HotlineMiami2WrongNumber its sequel]] either fill this role or sit on the far end of the SlidingScaleOfAntiHeroes. First there's Biker from the first game, who's trying to get out of the professional killer business not because of any moral quandaries, but simply because he's bored. The second game adds in Jake, a racist neo-confederate working for 50 Blessings, the Fans, a gang of thrill-seeking copycat vigilantes continuing Jacket's work from the first game, The Son, the new leader of the Mafiya trying to take back his turf from invading Columbians, and Manny Pardo, a CowboyCop who uses his position as an excuse to go on killing sprees [[spoiler: and is the very same SerialKiller he's supposedly been hunting for the entire game.]]
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* The majority of playable character in both ''VideoGame/HotlineMiami'' and [[VideoGame/HotlineMiami2WrongNumber its sequel]] either fill this role or sit on the far end of the SlidingScaleOfAntiHeroes.[[Analysis/AntiHero Sliding Scale Of Anti Heroes]]. First there's Biker from the first game, who's trying to get out of the professional killer business not because of any moral quandaries, but simply because he's bored. The second game adds in Jake, a racist neo-confederate working for 50 Blessings, the Fans, a gang of thrill-seeking copycat vigilantes continuing Jacket's work from the first game, The Son, the new leader of the Mafiya trying to take back his turf from invading Columbians, and Manny Pardo, a CowboyCop who uses his position as an excuse to go on killing sprees [[spoiler: and is the very same SerialKiller he's supposedly been hunting for the entire game.]]
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* The majority of playable character in both ''VideoGame/HotlineMiami'' and [[VideoGame/HotlineMiami2WrongNumber its sequel]] either fill this role or sit on the far end of the SlidingScaleOfAntiHeroes. First there's Biker from the first game, who's trying to get out of the professional killer business not because of any moral quandaries, but simply because he's bored. The second game adds in Jake, a racist neo-confederate working for 50 Blessings, the Fans, a gang of thrill-seeking copycat vigilantes continuing Jacket's work from the first game, The Son, the new leader of the Mafiya trying to take back his turf from invading Columbians, and Manny Pardo, a CowboyCop who uses his position as an excuse to go on killing sprees [[spoiler: and is the very same SerialKiller he's supposedly been hunting for the entire game.]]
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* ''VideoGame/LockNChase'', a ''VideoGame/PacMan''-type MazeGame, has the player controlling a thief who must steal money from a bank while avoiding the police.
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* Longtime BigBad Bowser from ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'' is ''the'' central character in ''[[VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiBowsersInsideStory Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story]]'', though he functions more as an unwitting AntiHero secretly aided by the Mario Brothers rather than a villain. In other ''Mario'' [=RPGs=], he's more of a TokenEvilTeammate when playable.
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* Longtime BigBad Bowser SelfDemonstrating/{{Bowser}} from ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'' is ''the'' central character in ''[[VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiBowsersInsideStory Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story]]'', though he functions more as an unwitting AntiHero secretly aided by the Mario Brothers rather than a villain. In other ''Mario'' [=RPGs=], he's more of a TokenEvilTeammate when playable.
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* [[spoiler:Revya during the Demon Path]] of ''SoulNomadAndTheWorldEaters''. Unlike other [[Creator/{{Nippon Ichi}} Nippon Ichi]] games listed here, definitely ''not'' a NobleDemon.
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* [[spoiler:Revya during the Demon Path]] of ''SoulNomadAndTheWorldEaters''. Unlike other [[Creator/{{Nippon Ichi}} Nippon Ichi]] Creator/NipponIchi games listed here, definitely ''not'' a NobleDemon.
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* [[spoiler:Revya during the Demon Path]] of ''SoulNomadAndTheWorldEaters''. Unlike other NipponIchi games listed here, definitely ''not'' a NobleDemon.
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* [[spoiler:Revya during the Demon Path]] of ''SoulNomadAndTheWorldEaters''. Unlike other NipponIchi [[Creator/{{Nippon Ichi}} Nippon Ichi]] games listed here, definitely ''not'' a NobleDemon.
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* Metallia from ''VideoGame/TheWitchAndTheHundredKnight'', even though you mostly play as the Hundred Knight.
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* The main character of ''VideoGame/{{Hatred}}'' is a ruthless MisanthropeSupreme willing to kill anything in his path just to sate whatever hate he feels.
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* The main character unnamed protagonist of ''VideoGame/{{Hatred}}'' is a ruthless MisanthropeSupreme willing to kill anything in his path just to sate whatever hate with the goal of dying while taking as many people with him as he feels.can.
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It is confirmed in the fourth game that Jeremy was NOT the murderer.
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* In ''Franchise/FiveNightsAtFreddys'', the BigBad - of the franchise as a whole - is the SerialKiller responsible for the deaths of the children. While his identity has never been confirmed, it is implied that it might be [[spoiler:Jeremy Fitzgerald, the protagonist of the second game, which would play this Trope straight in that installment. At the end of ''2'', it is implied that Jeremy scored himself a front row seat to the Bite of '87 after being reassigned to the day shift, meaning he could have been a witness, victim, a scapegoat framed by the killer... Or the killer true himself. A single drawing from ''3,'' also suggests that [[TheDogWasTheMastermind he may be the notorious Murderer,]] giving a perfectly good reason as to why the animatronics are out for his blood in the second game.]]
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* The protagonists from ''VideoGame/KaneAndLynch'' are an interesting example. Since they are the POV characters, we find out a lot about them. They both have traits that make them sympathetic. Kane is motivated by love for his daughter, Lynch struggles with severe mental illness and most of the time they are merely looking for a way to survive. However, they WILL kill anyone between them and their goals. In any other work, they would be co-Brutes and get killed by TheHero about an hour in.
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small typo
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* In ''Franchise/FiveNightsAtFreddys'', the BigBad - of the franchise as a whole - is the SerialKiller responsible for the deaths of the children. While his identity has never been confirmed, it is implied that it might be [[spoiler:Jeremy Fitzgerald, the protagonist of the second game, which would play this Trope straight in that installment. At the end of ''2'', it is implied that Jeremy scored himself a front row seat to the Bite of '87 after being reassigned to the day shift, meaning he could have been a witness, victim, a scapegoat framed by the killer... Or the killer true himself. A single drawing from ''3,'' also suggests that[[TheDogWasTheMastermind he may be the notorious Murderer,]] giving a perfectly good reason as to why the animatronics are out for his blood in the second game.]]
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* In ''Franchise/FiveNightsAtFreddys'', the BigBad - of the franchise as a whole - is the SerialKiller responsible for the deaths of the children. While his identity has never been confirmed, it is implied that it might be [[spoiler:Jeremy Fitzgerald, the protagonist of the second game, which would play this Trope straight in that installment. At the end of ''2'', it is implied that Jeremy scored himself a front row seat to the Bite of '87 after being reassigned to the day shift, meaning he could have been a witness, victim, a scapegoat framed by the killer... Or the killer true himself. A single drawing from ''3,'' also suggests that[[TheDogWasTheMastermind that [[TheDogWasTheMastermind he may be the notorious Murderer,]] giving a perfectly good reason as to why the animatronics are out for his blood in the second game.]]
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* ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'' had two campaigns: one for the heroes, and the other for the villains, including [[BigBad Dr. Eggman]] (in his first playable appearance in the series), [[EvilCounterpart Shadow the Hedgehog]], and Rouge the Bat.
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* In ''JawsUnleashed'', you play as the titular shark, eating people and causing mayhem.
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** {{Downplayed|Trope}} in the 3 ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV'' stories. The 3 protagonists are more of [[AntiHero Anti-Heroes]] than outright villains. Despite Niko, Johnny and Luis committing crimes and doing horrible things, they're quite sympathetic and have rather good qualities. They are shown to care a lot for their friends and families, can help strangers from time to time, and unlike the normal GTA protagonist, their motivations aren't power and greed. Also, when they are killing, it's usually criminals or corrupt people.
** Again downplayed in ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV'', at least for [[GangBangers Franklin]] and [[RetiredOutlaw Michael]]. They're both shown as somewhat sympathetic and are more like [[AntiVillain Anti-Villains]] than outright Villain Protagonists. The AxCrazy [[AxCrazy Trevor]], however, is an almost completely straight example of this, though even he has his moments of compassion.
** Again downplayed in ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV'', at least for [[GangBangers Franklin]] and [[RetiredOutlaw Michael]]. They're both shown as somewhat sympathetic and are more like [[AntiVillain Anti-Villains]] than outright Villain Protagonists. The AxCrazy [[AxCrazy Trevor]], however, is an almost completely straight example of this, though even he has his moments of compassion.
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** {{Downplayed|Trope}} in the 3 ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV'' stories. The 3 protagonists are more of [[AntiHero Anti-Heroes]] than outright villains. Despite Niko, Johnny and Luis committing crimes and doing horrible things, they're quite sympathetic and have rather good qualities. They are shown to care a lot for their friends and families, can help strangers from time to time, and unlike the normal GTA protagonist, their motivations aren't power and greed. Also, when they are killing, [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential in the story missions at least]], it's usually other criminals or corrupt people.
** Again downplayed in ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV'', at least for [[GangBangers Franklin]] and [[RetiredOutlaw Michael]]. They're both shown as somewhat sympathetic and are more like [[AntiVillain Anti-Villains]] than outright Villain Protagonists. The AxCrazy [[AxCrazy Trevor]], however, is an almost completely straight example of this, though even he has his [[PetTheDog moments ofcompassion.compassion]].
** Again downplayed in ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV'', at least for [[GangBangers Franklin]] and [[RetiredOutlaw Michael]]. They're both shown as somewhat sympathetic and are more like [[AntiVillain Anti-Villains]] than outright Villain Protagonists. The AxCrazy [[AxCrazy Trevor]], however, is an almost completely straight example of this, though even he has his [[PetTheDog moments of
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*Speaking of ''VideoGame/InFamous'', following the Evil Karma alignment makes your character--you guessed it--a VillainProtagonist.
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* All {{RTS}}s with playable factions, [[GreyAndGrayMorality a clear]] [[EvilVersusEvil good faction]] ''[[NoAntagonist and]]'' [[GoodVersusGood evil faction]], and a full compliment of Campaigns have this, especially ones with intertwined campaigns: At some point, you can or will be given the option to play the story's BigBad. Exceptions fall under NoCampaignForTheWicked.
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* All {{RTS}}s with playable factions, [[GreyAndGrayMorality a clear]] [[EvilVersusEvil good faction]] ''[[NoAntagonist and]]'' [[GoodVersusGood evil faction]], and a full compliment of Campaigns have this, especially ones with intertwined campaigns: At some point, you can or will be given the option to play the story's BigBad.BigBad (or at least a [[TheDragon major servant]]). Exceptions fall under NoCampaignForTheWicked.
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** In ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIII'', the protagonist was not even ''named'', and appeared to be doing what he did solely to survive (the game starts with him being busted out of a prison transport). Only at the very end does a revenge motive appear.
** The most clear-cut Villain Protagonist of the series is Tommy Vercetti from ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoViceCity''. Unlike the other protagonists, Tommy is not above dealing drugs, and the game's plot mostly revolves around Tommy seizing control of Vice City from the criminals who previously controlled it. Also unlike [[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas other]] [[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV protagonists]] in the series, he shows little to no remorse for any of his crimes and is only committing them to benefit himself as opposed to protecting those he cares about.
** By ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas'' the first AntiHero protagonist appeared, Carl Johnson. In cutscenes CJ is present as an honourable, even admirable character, and his motivation for most of the game is simple survival as well as keeping his family safe. Notably, CJ is opposed to dealing drugs of any nature, the only protagonist in the series that does so. Out of cutscenes he's just as willing to murder, steal, and destroy as any of the other protagonists.
** {{Downplayed|Trope}} in the 3 ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV'' stories. The 3 protagonists are more of [[AntiHero Anti-Heroes]] than outright villains. Despite Niko, Johnny and Luis committing crimes and horrible things, they're quite sympathetic and have rather good qualities. They are shown to care a lot for their friends and families, help strangers from time to time, and unlike the normal GTA protagonist, their motivations aren't power and greed. Also, when they are killing, it's usually criminals or corrupt people.
** Again downplayed in ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV'', at least for [[GangBangers Franklin]] and [[RetiredOutlaw Michael]]. They're both shown as somewhat sympathetic and are more like [[AntiVillain Anti-Villains]] than outright Villain Protagonists. The insane [[AxCrazy Trevor]], however, is a completely straight example of this.
** The most clear-cut Villain Protagonist of the series is Tommy Vercetti from ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoViceCity''. Unlike the other protagonists, Tommy is not above dealing drugs, and the game's plot mostly revolves around Tommy seizing control of Vice City from the criminals who previously controlled it. Also unlike [[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas other]] [[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV protagonists]] in the series, he shows little to no remorse for any of his crimes and is only committing them to benefit himself as opposed to protecting those he cares about.
** By ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas'' the first AntiHero protagonist appeared, Carl Johnson. In cutscenes CJ is present as an honourable, even admirable character, and his motivation for most of the game is simple survival as well as keeping his family safe. Notably, CJ is opposed to dealing drugs of any nature, the only protagonist in the series that does so. Out of cutscenes he's just as willing to murder, steal, and destroy as any of the other protagonists.
** {{Downplayed|Trope}} in the 3 ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV'' stories. The 3 protagonists are more of [[AntiHero Anti-Heroes]] than outright villains. Despite Niko, Johnny and Luis committing crimes and horrible things, they're quite sympathetic and have rather good qualities. They are shown to care a lot for their friends and families, help strangers from time to time, and unlike the normal GTA protagonist, their motivations aren't power and greed. Also, when they are killing, it's usually criminals or corrupt people.
** Again downplayed in ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV'', at least for [[GangBangers Franklin]] and [[RetiredOutlaw Michael]]. They're both shown as somewhat sympathetic and are more like [[AntiVillain Anti-Villains]] than outright Villain Protagonists. The insane [[AxCrazy Trevor]], however, is a completely straight example of this.
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** The original Grand Theft Auto allowed you to choose your player character from a roster, which had both males and females, but all of the said "characters" were completely devoid of any personality. Grand Theft Auto 2 was the first game to have a singular main character, but even he had absolutely no development.
** In ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIII'', the protagonist was not even ''named'', and appeared to be doing what he did solely to survive (the game starts with him nearly getting killed, and subsequently being busted out of a prison transport). Only at the very end does a revenge motive appear.
** The most clear-cut Villain Protagonist of the series is Tommy Vercetti from ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoViceCity''.Unlike the other protagonists, Tommy is not above dealing drugs, and unlike most of the other protagonists, is actually trying to be a kingpin of the trade. The game's plot mostly revolves around Tommy seizing control of Vice City from the criminals who previously controlled it. Also unlike [[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas other]] [[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV protagonists]] in the series, he shows little to no remorse for any of his crimes and is only committing them to benefit himself as opposed to protecting those he cares about.
** By ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas'' the first AntiHero protagonist appeared, Carl Johnson. In cutscenes CJ is present as an honourable, even admirable character, and his motivation for most of the game is simple survival as well as keeping his family safe. Notably, CJ is opposed to dealing drugs of any nature, the only protagonist in the series that does so.Out Outside of the cutscenes he's just as willing to murder, steal, and destroy as any of the other protagonists.
** {{Downplayed|Trope}} in the 3 ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV'' stories. The 3 protagonists are more of [[AntiHero Anti-Heroes]] than outright villains. Despite Niko, Johnny and Luis committing crimes and doing horrible things, they're quite sympathetic and have rather good qualities. They are shown to care a lot for their friends and families, can help strangers from time to time, and unlike the normal GTA protagonist, their motivations aren't power and greed. Also, when they are killing, it's usually criminals or corrupt people.
** Again downplayed in ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV'', at least for [[GangBangers Franklin]] and [[RetiredOutlaw Michael]]. They're both shown as somewhat sympathetic and are more like [[AntiVillain Anti-Villains]] than outright Villain Protagonists. Theinsane AxCrazy [[AxCrazy Trevor]], however, is a an almost completely straight example of this.this, though even he has his moments of compassion.
** In ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIII'', the protagonist was not even ''named'', and appeared to be doing what he did solely to survive (the game starts with him nearly getting killed, and subsequently being busted out of a prison transport). Only at the very end does a revenge motive appear.
** The most clear-cut Villain Protagonist of the series is Tommy Vercetti from ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoViceCity''.
** By ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas'' the first AntiHero protagonist appeared, Carl Johnson. In cutscenes CJ is present as an honourable, even admirable character, and his motivation for most of the game is simple survival as well as keeping his family safe. Notably, CJ is opposed to dealing drugs of any nature, the only protagonist in the series that does so.
** {{Downplayed|Trope}} in the 3 ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV'' stories. The 3 protagonists are more of [[AntiHero Anti-Heroes]] than outright villains. Despite Niko, Johnny and Luis committing crimes and doing horrible things, they're quite sympathetic and have rather good qualities. They are shown to care a lot for their friends and families, can help strangers from time to time, and unlike the normal GTA protagonist, their motivations aren't power and greed. Also, when they are killing, it's usually criminals or corrupt people.
** Again downplayed in ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV'', at least for [[GangBangers Franklin]] and [[RetiredOutlaw Michael]]. They're both shown as somewhat sympathetic and are more like [[AntiVillain Anti-Villains]] than outright Villain Protagonists. The
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* ''VideoGame/NaughtyBear'' has, well [[CaptainObvious Naughty Bear]], a teddy bear that goes on a murderous rampage [[DisproportionateRetribution After he's not invited to a birthday party]].
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* ''VideoGame/NaughtyBear'' has, well [[CaptainObvious Naughty Bear]], a teddy bear that goes on a murderous rampage [[DisproportionateRetribution After after he's not invited to a birthday party]].
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* In ''Custer's Revenge'', you play as commander George Armstrong Custer as he tries to rape a native American woman.
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* ''VideoGame/NaughtyBear'' has, well [[CaptainObvious Naughty Bear]], a teddy bear that goes on a murderous rampage [[DisproportionateRetribution After he's not invited to a birthday party]].
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* Two of the four [[AntiHero anti-heroic]] Vault Hunters in ''VideoGame/BorderlandsThePreSequel'' are villains/bosses . ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}'' and . Wilhelm the Enforcer and Nisha the Lawbringer will eventually end up as TheDragon and the DarkActionGirl, respectively, in ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands 2}}''. As for the rest, [[TokenGoodTeammate Athena the Gladiator]] used to be one of the Crimson Lance's deadliest assassins (this is the Crimson Lance who tried to invade Pandora back in ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}'', though she'd defected by the time of that game), and [[ButtMonkey Claptrap the Fragtrap]], who is essentially a pre-programmed robot with no free will. And who's playing MissionControl? Why, Handsome Jack, the BigBad of the second game, before his StartOfDarkness (which plays out during the game). Jack's Body Double is more of a PunchClockVillain however, simply working for Jack to pay off his student loans and grows increasingly horrified at Jack's atrocities as the game progresses.
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* Two of the four [[AntiHero anti-heroic]] Vault Hunters in ''VideoGame/BorderlandsThePreSequel'' are villains/bosses . ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}'' and . Wilhelm the Enforcer and Nisha the Lawbringer will eventually end up as TheDragon and the DarkActionGirl, respectively, in ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands 2}}''. As for the rest, [[TokenGoodTeammate Athena the Gladiator]] used to be one of the Crimson Lance's deadliest assassins (this is the Crimson Lance who tried to invade Pandora back in ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}'', though she'd defected by the time of that game), and [[ButtMonkey Claptrap the Fragtrap]], who is essentially a pre-programmed robot with no free will. And who's playing MissionControl? Why, Handsome Jack, the BigBad of the second game, before his StartOfDarkness (which plays out during the game). Jack's Body Double is more of a PunchClockVillain however, simply working for Jack to pay off his student loans and grows increasingly horrified at Jack's atrocities as the game progresses.progresses while Aurelia the Baroness is a vicious EgomaniacHunter, albeit one [[EvenEvilHasStandards who thinks Jack is going a bit too far]].
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* Dr. X and TOM from ''VideoGame/AVirusNamedTom'' qualify, as they're infecting the entire city with a computer virus.
* [[spoiler:Walker]] of ''VideoGame/SpecOpsTheLine''. Though he thinks he's the hero, he's the one who's [[spoiler:firebombing fellow soldiers and innocent people with white phosphorus and opening fire on an unarmed crowd. Late in the game, it's even spelled out for Walker why he's the bad guy, as part of a long VillainousBreakdown.]] How sympathetic he is in spite of the monstrous things he does is a matter of [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation no small amount of debate]], and indeed [[spoiler:the game's MultipleEndings essentially allow the player to choose how redeemable they believe he is as a character.]]
* All {{RTS}}s with playable factions, [[GreyAndGrayMorality a clear]] [[EvilVersusEvil good faction]] ''[[NoAntagonist and]]'' [[GoodVersusGood evil faction]], and a full compliment of Campaigns have this, especially ones with intertwined campaigns: At some point, you can or will be given the option to play the story's BigBad. Exceptions fall under NoCampaignForTheWicked.
* ''VideoGame/AmnesiaTheDarkDescent'' is an odd example. The backstory, which is slowly revealed over the course of the game, shows that the protagonist was once a normal man who sunk to shockingly low depths in order to save his own life.
** The sequel, ''VideoGame/AmnesiaAMachineForPigs'', the big twist is [[spoiler:Mandus is responsible for the machine's creation and his sons' deaths. A part of his soul is part of the machine and it was trying to purify the world based on his creator's intention.]] [[{{RedemptionEqualsDeath}} The ending does fix this.]]
* ''VideoGame/ArmoredCore'' For Answer is mostly GreyAndGrayMorality, but one of the endings has you and a psychopathic cohort go on an AxeCrazy murder spree that leaves millions dead in the span of a few hours. The final mission involves the two of you fighting everyone left standing that can oppose you, including your own com operator, [[BossRush all at once]]. They managed to kill your cohort, but fail to kill you. It's hinted your unchecked rampage sends humanity right back to the dark ages.
* ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights2: Mask of the Betrayer'' bears mention, because there is no other clear villain in the story unless the player takes it upon him or herself to be one. It is hard to consider The Founder a villain, despite what she did, and the only other character who bears any blame has been dead (for certain values of dead) for centuries.
* Longtime BigBad Bowser from ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'' is ''the'' central character in ''[[VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiBowsersInsideStory Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story]]'', though he functions more as an unwitting AntiHero secretly aided by the Mario Brothers rather than a villain. In other ''Mario'' [=RPGs=], he's more of a TokenEvilTeammate when playable.
** Mario was originally one of these. Read the supplementary material and you'll find out that Donkey Kong (Now Cranky Kong, Donkey Kong Jr. is the current Donky Kong) was his pet that he treated horribly, escaped, and kidnapped his girlfriend out of revenge.
** Still, if you consider Donkey Kong the villian of the old games (and definitely of the Mario vs Donkey Kong games), Donkey Kong Country could be seen as this (Though, Donkey Kong definitely is the hero in DKC).
* The Chaos Path in ''Der VideoGame/{{Langrisser}}'' has the protagonist Elwin become this. The other three paths (Light, Imperial and Independent) are [[BlackAndGreyMorality considerably more morally grey]].
* The main character of ''VideoGame/{{Hatred}}'' is a ruthless MisanthropeSupreme willing to kill anything in his path just to sate whatever hate he feels.
* ''VideoGame/{{Overlord}}'', although you're allowed to choose between being really evil and just [[NobleDemon self-proclaimed evil]]. Plus, given that all the "good" characters are corrupt, choosing the latter option makes you the most sympathetic character in the game with this depiction being decidedly canon (the Overlord at least saves the Elves and [[spoiler:Rose is the mother of his child]]). In the sequel you are 100% evil and you fight some genuinely Good foes, though your main enemies are still the anti-magic [[TheEmpire Glorious Empire]] bent on the destruction of all magic. Lord Gromgard of the Wii prequel ''Dark Legend'' is portrayed as a VillainWithGoodPublicity who is at the least well-liked amongst his servants for not letting them starve.
* [[ArmyOfThievesAndWhores Everyone]] in ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2''. The Pyro is a {{pyromaniac}} PsychopathicManchild; The Scout [[BloodKnight treats killing like a sport]]; The Soldier is so AxCrazy he was killing Germans on his own little campaign until ''four years'' after the end of UsefulNotes/WorldWarII; The Demoman is a MadBomber who is disturbingly casual about his job from what we've seen through the glimpses at his home life; The Heavy is insane enough that he talks to his guns while using them to mow down endless opponents; The Engineer finds mechanically induced death both hilarious and apparently fascinating, and a great thing to do around campfires; The Sniper, while he claims to be a [[NothingPersonal morally upright professional]], loves childish insults and the sounds of exploding skulls far too much to be considered one; The Medic has a [[NightmareFetishist morbid fascination with pain, diseases, injuries, and general human suffering]]; finally, the Spy ''is'' an actual professional soldier, but his sadistic nature ensures he is still this trope.
* The ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'' series stars mass-murderering criminals who [[EvilVersusEvil conquer other crime bosses]]. The different games have gone back-and forth with this trope:
** In ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIII'', the protagonist was not even ''named'', and appeared to be doing what he did solely to survive (the game starts with him being busted out of a prison transport). Only at the very end does a revenge motive appear.
** The most clear-cut Villain Protagonist of the series is Tommy Vercetti from ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoViceCity''. Unlike the other protagonists, Tommy is not above dealing drugs, and the game's plot mostly revolves around Tommy seizing control of Vice City from the criminals who previously controlled it. Also unlike [[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas other]] [[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV protagonists]] in the series, he shows little to no remorse for any of his crimes and is only committing them to benefit himself as opposed to protecting those he cares about.
** By ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas'' the first AntiHero protagonist appeared, Carl Johnson. In cutscenes CJ is present as an honourable, even admirable character, and his motivation for most of the game is simple survival as well as keeping his family safe. Notably, CJ is opposed to dealing drugs of any nature, the only protagonist in the series that does so. Out of cutscenes he's just as willing to murder, steal, and destroy as any of the other protagonists.
** {{Downplayed|Trope}} in the 3 ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV'' stories. The 3 protagonists are more of [[AntiHero Anti-Heroes]] than outright villains. Despite Niko, Johnny and Luis committing crimes and horrible things, they're quite sympathetic and have rather good qualities. They are shown to care a lot for their friends and families, help strangers from time to time, and unlike the normal GTA protagonist, their motivations aren't power and greed. Also, when they are killing, it's usually criminals or corrupt people.
** Again downplayed in ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV'', at least for [[GangBangers Franklin]] and [[RetiredOutlaw Michael]]. They're both shown as somewhat sympathetic and are more like [[AntiVillain Anti-Villains]] than outright Villain Protagonists. The insane [[AxCrazy Trevor]], however, is a completely straight example of this.
* ''VideoGame/DestroyAllHumans'', at least in the first game (the second casts the protagonist as more of an AntiHero by circumstance and the third has him become an UnwittingPawn).
* ''[[http://vz4.net/index.php?juegos/descripcion-2 The Bad Guy]]'', a famous demo game in the Hispanic RPGMaker scene, chronicles the rise of Omaen, an aspiring villain, while parodying every RPG trope. Omaen is presented as downright evil but the OnlySaneMan in comparison with both the [[StupidGood idiotic "heroes"]] and the other SlaveToPR {{Card Carrying Villain}}s who fear more the strike of the WeirdTradeUnion of monsters and minions than anything the heroic characters can do.
* ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}} III'' has a linear storyline that puts the player in control of different commanders from different sides of the war depending on the point of time in the story. The human campaign features Prince Arthas, an idealistic young man fighting a horrific undead army. As the war carries on, Arthas must resort to increasingly reprehensible tactics, starting with the slaughter of a sleeping town when he learns they've received shipments of food from a village secretly contaminated by the undead plague. Out of desperation to save the human population, he acquires, at the cost of his soul, a magic sword powerful enough to defeat his undead nemesis. The player is still in control of Arthas during the next campaign, but now he's a [[OurSoulsAreDifferent soulless]] Death Knight leading the undead in their war against the living.
** Similarly, ''VideoGame/StarCraft'' has one campaign for each of the three factions, all of which form a cohesive story. During the Zerg campaign, you're an evil giant brain-slug monster, commanding your evil BigCreepyCrawlies into killing the good(ish) guys. Likewise in Brood War, the Terran Campaign has you play as the UED, who are pretty bad, although they rarely fight any good guys.
* Two of the four [[AntiHero anti-heroic]] Vault Hunters in ''VideoGame/BorderlandsThePreSequel'' are villains/bosses . ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}'' and . Wilhelm the Enforcer and Nisha the Lawbringer will eventually end up as TheDragon and the DarkActionGirl, respectively, in ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands 2}}''. As for the rest, [[TokenGoodTeammate Athena the Gladiator]] used to be one of the Crimson Lance's deadliest assassins (this is the Crimson Lance who tried to invade Pandora back in ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}'', though she'd defected by the time of that game), and [[ButtMonkey Claptrap the Fragtrap]], who is essentially a pre-programmed robot with no free will. And who's playing MissionControl? Why, Handsome Jack, the BigBad of the second game, before his StartOfDarkness (which plays out during the game). Jack's Body Double is more of a PunchClockVillain however, simply working for Jack to pay off his student loans and grows increasingly horrified at Jack's atrocities as the game progresses.
* In ''Star Trek Armada'', the second to last campaign is the Borg campaign. In the final mission, you [[spoiler:successfully assimilate Earth, killing Worf in the process]]. [[spoiler:This is undone via TimeTravel in the subsequent hidden campaign, in which the Federation, Klingons, and Romulans join forces to defeat the Borg.]]
* Kratos from the ''VideoGame/GodOfWar'' series is a berserker whose primary motivation is revenge on anyone who has spurned him. Which eventually expands to everyone who crosses his path or tries to stop him doing whatever he's doing. Also a fair few people whose deaths would be convenient for him.
* Any ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'' protagonist can be played this way.
* In ''Franchise/FiveNightsAtFreddys'', the BigBad - of the franchise as a whole - is the SerialKiller responsible for the deaths of the children. While his identity has never been confirmed, it is implied that it might be [[spoiler:Jeremy Fitzgerald, the protagonist of the second game, which would play this Trope straight in that installment. At the end of ''2'', it is implied that Jeremy scored himself a front row seat to the Bite of '87 after being reassigned to the day shift, meaning he could have been a witness, victim, a scapegoat framed by the killer... Or the killer true himself. A single drawing from ''3,'' also suggests that[[TheDogWasTheMastermind he may be the notorious Murderer,]] giving a perfectly good reason as to why the animatronics are out for his blood in the second game.]]
* Subverted with [[Characters/DisgaeaHourOfDarkness Laharl]] (''VideoGame/DisgaeaHourOfDarkness'') and newcomer Mao (''VideoGame/{{Disgaea 3|AbsenceOfJustice}}'') from the ''Franchise/{{Disgaea}}'' series-- but they are really {{Noble Demon}}s.
** Also the Prinnies in ''VideoGame/PrinnyCanIReallyBeTheHero'' SpinOff. Remember, those [[MadeOfExplodium volatile]] [[EverythingsBetterWithPenguins penguin]] {{Butt Monkey}}s contain the souls of dead criminals.
** The PSP port of ''{{VideoGame/Disgaea 2|CursedMemories}}'' has a [[AnotherSideAnotherStory side story]] starring Axel, though he's [[AntiVillain played much more sympathetically]] than [[GoldfishPoopGang in the main story]].
* Zetta from ''VideoGame/MakaiKingdom'' is another NobleDemon example of this trope.
* [[spoiler:Revya during the Demon Path]] of ''SoulNomadAndTheWorldEaters''. Unlike other NipponIchi games listed here, definitely ''not'' a NobleDemon.
* The Brotherhood of Nod in general, and Kane in particular, of the ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquer'' series, ''especially'' in ''Tiberium Wars'' where a large part of the Brotherhood's basic motivation stems from economic woes, health problems, and perceived oppression and marginalization by the Global Defense Initiative.
** Taken up to eleven in Kane's Wrath, where you learn that a previous mission you played in Wars, where you were defending as the bad-guy Nod and were attacked by a rogue group of Nod traitors supposedly led by Killian, where you learn the truth of the treachery. However the perpetrator did it in belief that she would be helping Nod rid themselves of an unbeliever, but unintentionally (however it was planned by Kane) triggering the arrival of the Scrin. What makes this a villain protagonist is that you are now in command of the traitor army. It's hard to understand exactly ''who'' she ended up helping in the end, but she's definitely a villain to all factions.
** The vast majority of RealTimeStrategy games have campaigns for both sides. Except when there is NoCampaignForTheWicked.
* ''VideoGame/TieFighter''. You play on the side of TheEmpire, and have Darth Vader as your wingman. Note that while you do spend quite a bit of time fighting the [[FreedomFighters Rebels]], the Empire is portrayed as quite a bit less ruthlessly evil than in the films and other media. The result is more like an [[AntiVillain Anti-Villain]] Protagonist.
* ''Videogame/TheForceUnleashed'' features Starkiller, a Dark Jedi who was raised by Darth Vader and has a disturbing talent for killing his enemies in outlandish, yet surprisingly amusing ways. Justified to an extent as he was raised from childhood to believe in Vader's cause and eventually turns against him anyway (canonically). The non-canon add-on missions included in ''Ultimate Sith Edition'' take it further, complete with Starkiller informing a captain "YouHaveFailedMe For The Last Time."
* ''VideoGame/StarWarsBattlefront II'''s Campaign mode. You play as the Republic's 501st Legion, who quite obviously become the bad guys just before the halfway point.
* ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'', if you go with the dark side on TheEmpire side. Sith warriors who follow this path will stun many a Jedi with their vicious brutality. Then you have the PsychoForHire bounty hunters, inquisitors with force lightning as way of greeting people, and Imperial agents who take the protocol of LeaveNoWitnesses to heart.
* ''VideoGame/AmericanMcGeesGrimm'' features a dwarf named Grimm who despises the {{Disneyfication}} of fairy tales and whose goal is to [[{{Grimmification}} return them into the dark stories that they were]]. His CatchPhrase in the ads is:
-->'''Grimm:''' Happily ever after ends NOW!
* The critically acclaimed freeware game ''VideoGame/EmilyEnough'' revolves around a [[EnfanteTerrible little girl who has slaughtered her entire family]] and who proceeds to kill several innocent people over the course of the game.
* ''VideoGame/SaintsRow2'' has the player becoming this, with the goal of the game being 'take over the city over the corpses of rival gangs, cops and any innocent civilians that get in the way'. The only reason the Saints look sympathetic is via the ''even worse'' antics of their enemies and the UndyingLoyalty the Saints develop to each other. This continues into the [[VideoGame/SaintsRowTheThird next game]], though much more downplayed in favour of chaos and stunts than outright villainy.
* ''VideoGame/TheMisadventuresOfTronBonne'' has you play as GoldfishPoopGang member from ''VideoGame/MegaManLegends'', Tron Bonne in her quest to steal one million zenny worth of goods to save her kidnapped air pirate family.
* In ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes'', Travis Touchdown creates [[EvenEvilHasStandards the line in the sand]] for a character who either just ''barely'' counts as a Villain Protagonist (he has very few, if any, likable qualities, and kills people for a living) or is not ''quite'' evil enough to be a Villain Protagonist (the people he kills are, for the most part, even ''more'' [[AssholeVictim sick and twisted]] than he is, or at the very least other assassins). Which side he is actually on is up for debate. He veers completely away from this in the sequel, however.
* Servant Avenger from ''VisualNovel/FateHollowAtaraxia'' is definitely a Villain Protagonist - he ''is'' supposed to Evil Incarnate, after all. His soul itself is twisted and AlwaysChaoticEvil, and he actively pursues murder and rape to [[ForTheEvulz pass the time]]. This does not prevent him from becoming a character you can sympathise with, especially after the flashback to his horrific StartOfDarkness and some very poignant conversations with other characters. Despite hating humanity, he still shoulders the responsibility [[HumansAreBastards that was forced onto him]] - [[spoiler:to bear every sin ever committed and will be committed by a human]] and forever serve as a twisted 'champion' of humanity. The ending is complete with a {{Tear Jerk|er}}ing HeroicSacrifice.
-->"Even if humanity is worthless, the history that has been laid down until now has meaning.\\
(...) It is not a sin to exist."
* In ''VideoGame/ThreadsOfFate'', you can choose to play as either Rue, the hero, or Mint, the IneffectualSympatheticVillain.
* The unreleased arcade game ''Videogame/ChimeraBeast'' is about ruthless and mindless HordeOfAlienLocusts who [[PowerCopying reabsorb the DNA of what they eat to become stronger]]... ''and you play as one of them'', digging your way through the food chain of your homeplanet starting from bacteria. If you win against the final boss [[spoiler:you end up [[EarthShatteringKaboom blowing up the planet]] and going through a killing spree across the universe, eventually reaching Earth... [[NoFourthWall Even the game mocks you]] for this. To get the "good" ending, you must lose to the final boss and opt not to continue.]]
* Firebrand of ''[[VideoGame/GargoylesQuest Demon's Crest]]'' is, for starters, a Red Arremer from ''[[VideoGame/GhostsNGoblins Ghouls 'n Ghosts]]'' (the original DemonicSpider). The game starts with him as a prisoner of the demon Phalanax, who interrupted his attempt to take over the world and stole the Crests he was using to do so. Once he breaks out, the rest of the game concerns him reclaiming his stolen property and kill Phanalax so that he can TakeOverTheWorld as previously planned.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Prototype}}'', the main character, Alex Mercer is quite unrepentant about the horrible things he does throughout the game. Unlike ''VideoGame/InFamous'', a game with a roughly similar premise, ''Prototype'' has no KarmaMeter, and automatically assumes [[PersonOfMassDestruction the player will choose to behave]] [[AxCrazy the way players ''always'' behave]] in a WideOpenSandbox game.
* Wylfred of ''VideoGame/ValkyrieProfileCovenantOfThePlume'' is one of these on the C path, if you use the Plume to sacrifice more than a certain number of your teammates. Otherwise, he's either a ByronicHero, or an AntiHero.
* ''VisualNovel/AtlachNacha'', where the protagonist is a [[ImAHumanitarian humanitarian]] GiantSpider who lusts after [[GirlsLove tender young schoolgirls]].
* In the ''Franchise/SilentHill'' series, which ending you get often determines whether your main character is a tortured hero or this trope. ''VideoGame/SilentHill4'' takes it one step further by having the plot revolve entirely around the BigBad ImplacableMan antagonist instead of the borderline FeaturelessProtagonist [[DullSurprise Henry Townshend]].
* ''VisualNovel/UminekoNoNakuKoroNi'' loves to play with this trope, at least in-universe. Namely, in the 5th Arc, [[spoiler:Battler become the [[AndThenJohnWasAZombie Endless Sorcerer]]]] while a Mary Sue of [[spoiler:Bernkastel]]'s creation takes up the 'protagonist' role. (That is, has a reliable perspective.) In reality, though, no face heels or heel faces occur. The 'protagonist' role simply gets taken over by the two most evil characters in the series while they force the good guys into the 'antagonist' role.
* In the ''VideoGame/{{Rampage}}'' games you score points by destroying as much property as possible and eating people, and most of the people haven't done anything to you or are just soldiers doing their job. You can also kick them to death or knock them off building/tear off parachutes and watch them splat.
* ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion'' has the Dark Brotherhood quest line, in which the player takes the role of an assassin. It mixes in clearly deserving targets (The very first one is lightly implied to be either a rapist or a murderer) with somewhat-deserving ones (A pirate, who's clearly killed people 'on the job' before) with clearly innocent people. You also get to kill [[spoiler:your entire 'family' of assassins]], which may or may not qualify for the MoralEventHorizon. Several of the Daedric quests in the game are also pretty villainous, ranging from gleeful sociopathy to diabolic evil: In Molag Bal's Daedric quest, the player is asked to goad a ReluctantWarrior into murder. Obviously, being a sandbox game it also features VideoGameCrueltyPotential aplenty.
* ''VideoGame/EvilGenius''. You play a typical {{supervillain}}, sending out henchmen from your [[SupervillainLair lair in a hollowed-out volcano]] (or somewhere like that) to commit evil deeds, working towards the culmination of EvilPlan, setting off your DoomsdayDevice or [[TakeOverTheWorld taking over the world]].
* ''VideoGame/DungeonKeeper'': Build your sprawling dungeon, employ creatures of darkness, spread your dark influence over the land. Don't forget to deal with those adventuring heroes who want to slay your army and steal your treasure. If the imps or the traps don't kill the them, have them tortured.
* [[TheGunslinger Caleb]], the main character in the ''VideoGame/{{Blood}}'' series, is a psychotic undead cowboy killing his way through his former cult so he can get revenge on their god, Tchernobog. What pushes Caleb into true villainy is just how much he ''loves'' his RoaringRampageOfRevenge; when he isn't wisecracking or snarking, he's cackling like a madman while chucking dynamite at anything that gets in his way. And then, in the second game, [[spoiler:his disuse of Tchernobog's powers begins to unravel the very stability of the universe; he's quite happy to let the totality of existence collapse out of '''boredom'''.]]
* In the flash game ''Videogame/ArmedWithWings'', you play as the exiled king Vandheer Lorde, the main villain of the series, who is undeniably {{Badass}}.
* ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry 3: [[UpdatedRerelease Special Edition]]'' adds the ability to play through the story as Dante's EvilTwin, Vergil. However, this is solely a gameplay feature as aside from a new intro cutscene Vergil doesn't have a special story mode and simply goes through Dante's missions as usual, with the only difference being that the Vergil boss battles have a PaletteSwap.
* ''VideoGame/{{Centipede}}'': The comic book adaptation has the playable character (a wizard) in the role of the bad guy, with a boy trying to stop him.
* ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong'' too. Seriously, Mario was the villain of the story, [[http://www.cracked.com/article_19321_5-classic-games-you-didnt-know-had-wtf-backstories.html if the backstory is to be believed.]]
* ''VideoGame/SandsOfDestruction'' has us follow the adventures of the [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin World Destruction Committee]]. Although only one is actively seeking the destruction of the world, the other is tagging along because he likes our [[AxeCrazy crazed]] lady protagonist, and the third is going with to protect him.
* ''VideoGame/{{Okage}}'''s main character is a slave of the evil king Stan, and through the game, you're trying to take the power of the other evil kings that showed up while Stan was in a jar, so he can take over the world. It's not very prominent though, what with Stan being a HarmlessVillain who spends more time fighting evil than causing it.
* The title character in ''VideoGame/LegacyOfKain'' is quite the nasty piece of work. The series starts with him becoming a vampire so he can avenge his death. He then decides to destroy the town he was murdered in. And then he gets a list of people to kill, and just settles for slaughtering every man, woman, and child he sees. And right as he's finished, he ruins the whole point of the quest and just decides to rule over Nosgoth's dying remains. In ''Blood Omen 2'', he mind controls bystanders to their deaths, kills every human he sees, [[spoiler:and murders his LoveInterest when she realizes what a monster he is]], all in the name of regaining his empire. It takes Nosgoth itself dying in the ''Soul Reaver'' series for him to simmer down, and then, he's a ManipulativeBastard to his vampire offspring Raziel, and is only out to save himself.
* [[spoiler:Scott Shelby]] in ''VideoGame/HeavyRain'' especially when it is revealed that [[spoiler:he ''is'' the Origami Killer masquerading as a private investigator.]]
* ''VideoGame/TransformersWarForCybertron'' has a campaign where you play as the Decepticons, and control [[BigBad Megatron]] for most of the levels.
* The ''[[VideoGame/{{Descent}} Descent 3: Mercenary]]'' ExpansionPack casts you on the side of the BigBad CorruptCorporateExecutive Dravis, as the leader of his Black Pyro squadron.
* This happens in ''VideoGame/BlazBlue'' when you play as Hazama in story mode, he's the story's Villain Protagonist, with no past or reasons to justify his villainy. Also the same goes to Relius Clover.
* ''[[VideoGame/{{Wizardry}} Wizardry IV]]'' is an atypical entry in the series: it has the player take control of Werdna, the EvilSorcerer of the first episode, now resurrected and thirsty for revenge... If he manages to just leave the dungeon where he was buried first, which is [[NintendoHard not an easy task]].
* ''VideoGame/PAYDAYTheHeist'' has you as a crook taking part in various heists, complete with taking hostages and shooting a whole lot of cops.
* Jinkuro, the malevolent ghost possessing Momohime's body, in ''VideoGame/MuramasaTheDemonBlade''. He's outright only into the whole ordeal to get his chosen weapon back and find a better target in his GrandTheftMe scheme to live forever, and does a lot of villainous actions (such as invading Heaven) in order to find alternate routes to immortality.
* ''VideoGame/EscapeVelocity'':
** The Voinian campaign in ''Escape Velocity: Override'' is about as unambiguously evil as they come. The Voinians are a race of vicious [[AlienInvasion alien warlords]] bent on conquering the galaxy and enslaving everything in their path. The player has the option to help the Voinians break their stalemate with the human United Earth[[note]]Word of God is it fails and the stalemate ends up broken in favour of the UE[[/note]], and crippling the attempts of a ''previously'' conquered race to rebel against their overlords. Rewards for doing so include access to a variety of powerful Voinian military vessels and the unsettling satisfaction of committing genocide against your own race.
** ''All'' ''Escape Velocity'' games have at least one storyline where the player character can be called a villain: in ''Classic'', working for the Confederation and trying to bring the Rebels back to heel, in ''Override'', the Voinian and the two Renegade storylines, and in ''Nova'', the Federation storyline (after a certain point of no return).
* Brice, a UFO-obsessed ghost and one of the playable characters in the adventure game, ''VideoGame/AmberJourneysBeyond''. [[spoiler:After you complete his level he is sent to Hell in a particularly horrifying way - granted, he did murder at least 3 people in the game's backstory.]]
* Demitri Maximoff from ''VideoGame/{{Darkstalkers}}''. He wants to TakeOverTheWorld, and yet was advertised as the lead originally. Unfortunately, this led to DarknessInducedAudienceApathy, as his foe was Pyron, another world-conqueror.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Disciples}}'' ''2'', the Elves are initially on the side of the "good" guys. In ''Rise of the Elves'', their god Gallean, driven mad by his resurrection and the TraumaCongaLine inflicted upon him by the vengeful [[WomanScorned Mortis]], commands them to be brutal warmongers. Gallean is sick of the Elves always getting shafted by their so-called allies and has them taking what he believes is rightfully theirs by force. The "Villain" part is [[EstablishingCharacterMoment established]] in the first scenario, where the goal is to slaughter a town of innocent humans. A few Elves question these orders, but their doubts don't last. Ironically, the only Elf who continues to have reservations about this is the Oracle who relays Gallean's will to his people.
* In ''VideoGame/{{DEFCON}}'', each player takes up the role of a GeneralRipper during a global thermonuclear war. Each player's goal is to ensure that the capitalist/communists/whatever '''''[[KillAllHumans die in a nuclear fire]]'''''. The "[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Genocide]]" mode elevates this - the only way to gain points is to nuke population centers.
* ''VideoGame/TheLordOfTheRingsOnline'' has a monster-play feature which lets you be an orc, goblin, warg, or other baddie minion, and play in a PvP dungeon against hero players.
* ''VideoGame/CrusaderKings'' calls them "successful rulers".
* A staple in ''Videogame/HeroesOfMightAndMagic'', due to aversion of NoCanonForTheWicked. Examples would be Xeron in ''3'' and Tawni in ''4''. Heck, even Tawni's most loyal subordinate [[spoiler:who is her ''real'' father]] calls her out [[spoiler:for her genocide of the Merfolks!]]. [[CrapsackWorld And she's not even the worst of them all.]] In the ''Heroes Chronicles'' campaigns, the main character Tarnum is this for roughly half of the first campaign (the following campaigns are spent as TheAtoner) -- he starts out merely ruthless in trying to liberate his people, but eventually goes ''way'' too far with it and becomes a brutal oppressor in his own right.
* No. 47 in the ''VideoGame/{{Hitman}}'' series. Granted, he is for the most part killing people [[PayEvilUntoEvil much nastier than himself]] (arms dealers, terrorists, mobsters etc.) and might even qualify as a HitmanWithAHeart depending on one's interpretation, but that doesn't really dull the force of playing as a ProfessionalKiller who's not above utilizing some pretty unpleasant methods to get the job done.
* In ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaLordsOfShadow2'' you control the series longtime BigBad [[EvilOverlord Dracula]] as he seeks [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge vengeance]] against God, Satan, the Brotherhood of Light, and just about everyone else who ruined his life.
* This is what happens to [[spoiler: Nepgear]] in ''VideoGame/HyperdimensionNeptuniaMk2'', particularly the infamous [[KillEmAll Conquest Ending]].
* This can happen in any FightingGame that has the villains as playable characters.
* The entire point of VideoGame/{{Deception}}. Taking over a mansion/castle just to lure adventurers or heroes to messy deaths within does not leave wiggle room for heroics. The character has the opportunity to pull a HeelFaceTurn at the end, but it's by no means obligatory.
* ''{{VideoGame/Tekken}}'' always ends up becoming this. The whole story is centered around the Mishima bloodline, and the conflict between it's generations within it. As one protagonist takes down another antagonist, they end up becoming more of a jerkass than the previous antagonist in the next game, where as the previous antagonist then tries take them down for being worse than they were before. It can get confusing.
** ''Tekken 1'' had Kazuya being presented as a Ryu expy hero, with his father Heihachi as the BigBad and owner of the powerful and oppressive Mishima Zaibatsu Corporation, who Kazuya wanted to take down.
** ''Tekken 2'' switched it around. Kazuya took over Heihachi's empire, and became even worse than he was (doning a rather pimp purple suit, and using the Zaibatsu for far more chaotic and malicious things where as Heihachi just used it for order). Ironically leading to Heihachi becoming a sort of AntiHero, to take Kazuya down, and the previous villain actually doing the world a good service when taking his company back and restoring the world to controlled peace.
** ''Tekken 3'' led to Kazuya's son, Jin, arising as a new Mishima, far more honourable and nicer than any of his family, and for seemly the first time, we believed that he would finally become a moral compass for the family.
** ''Tekken 4'' dealt with a three way clash between all three. Jin, former protagonist, hiding in the shadows after the previous game, emerged as somewhat of a [[WildCard Wildcard]]. While still rebelling against his family roots because of their evil, he started to become too confused, single minded, and spurred on by hate and anger, to really be seen as noble and righteous as he once was. Kazuya and Heihachi were jerkasses, but ''[[Main/AtLeastIAdmitIt they weren't even trying to hide it]]''. But the story, at least until the climax, generally focuses on Kazuya wanting revenge, and is somewhat shown from his perspective.
** And now with the climax of Tekken 5 leading to Tekken 6, Jin has followed in his father's footsteps and took over the Zaibatsu for himself, and the once believed more heroic than the rest of his family, has become even MORE of a menace than either Kazuya or Heihachi ever have, plunging the entire globe into world war so that chaos is all there is. Thus far, Lars is the only Mishima inroduced, that hasn't become destructive and malicious yet, but only time will tell.
* CardCarryingVillain Overlord Badman in ''VideoGame/WhatDidIDoToDeserveThisMyLord''. He's also kind of a DesignatedVillain since he rarely does anything even mildly unpleasant and seems to have a lot of [[AFatherToHisMen genuine love for his monsters]] even if he does remind you that they have to be culled every now and again, while the Heroes are at best hapless and at worst ridiculously nasty.
* In ''VideoGame/KZManager'' you play a ''[[ThoseWackyNazis Nazi]] [[POWCamp camp director]]''.
* In ''VideoGame/QuestFantasy'', [[spoiler:S O U L tries to portray HERO as one. It's open to interpretation whether he really is, though. Later on, however, played more straight with Guy, who is subjected to the same 'you killed this innocent man' guilt trips the other protagonists are subject to and doesn't even care. He would grow up to become TheDragon.]]
* All three main characters of the ''VideoGame/MentalSeries'' are effectively this. They rack up a massive body count over all five games, with them killing anyone in their way in order to escape. Fred in ''The Journey'' even [[spoiler: sets a building on fire and crosses a gap by jumping off one of the inhabitants as they try to leap to safety]]! All the killings become a plot point in the fifth and final game, ''Murder Most Foul'', where the amount of bodies racked up by the trio makes them the most wanted criminals in the country. Oops.
* Despite the title, subverted in ''VideoGame/{{Bully}}'', in which the protagonist is an AntiHero.
* Possible in ''VideoGame/BaldursGate'', depending on which alignment the player chooses.
* Ellen and the Cocoon organization from ''VideoGame/PaleBlue'' are made as villains by the developers in order to provide a perspective flip to the usual heroism tales such as ''Franchise/PowerRangers'', ''Franchise/{{Kamenrider}}'' and ''Series/{{Ultraman}}''.
* ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedRogue'' has you playing as Assassin turned Templar Shay Cormac as he participates in the purge of the Colonial Assassins.
* Bass from the ''VideoGame/MegaManClassic'' skirts the line between this and AntiHero whenever he's playable. He never stops working for Dr. Wily and trying to kill Mega Man, but his desire to prove himself as the world's strongest robot can cause him to save the day by accident. His sole reason for turning on Wily in the ''Power Battles'' games is to get him to acknowledge that ''he's'' his greatest creation and that he doesn't need to create other Robot Masters to take down Mega Man, and when King declares himself king of the robots in ''VideoGame/MegaManAndBass'', Bass goes after him to prove that he's more worthy of the title instead.
* An interesting variation in the ''[[VideoGame/TheWalkingDead Walking Dead]]'' series: [[spoiler:Tavia, the final playable protagonist of DLC ''400 Days'', who wasn't revealed to be working for Carver, Season 2's BigBad until Episode 3 of the next season.]]
* Waluigi in the ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'' fangame ''VideoGame/PsychoWaluigi'', who spends the game conquering the land of Unconcia one kingdom at a time [[spoiler: [[EvenEvilHasStandards though he draws the line at flat-out destroying it]], as Psycho Iris decides to do once Waluigi's conquest is complete.]]
* ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear XX Accent Core+'' feature's Justice's Story Mode, which is a reenactment of the events of the first game, and has the player use the first game's BigBad to beat the crap out of the original roster and kill Kliff before Sol finally comes in and puts a stop to things.
* The ''VideoGame/WarioLand'' series starred the evil Wario from ''VideoGame/SuperMarioLand2'' as he fought with rival villains on a quest to get rich. The first game was even marketed with the tagline, "Be the Bad Guy."
** At least in the first game. The sequels make him more of a NominalHero.
* ''VideoGame/{{Nefarious}}'' has Crow. He's a CardCarryingVillain out to kidnap princesses and TakeOverTheWorld, and dang proud of it.
* In a bonus chapter of ''The Keepers: Lost Progeny'', you play as the demon antagonist whom you (as the protagonist) defeated in the main game.
* ''TheWitchsHouse'', in a CruelTwistEnding, it turns out [[spoiler: You were the evil witch Ellen all along. Ellen is also the main character of the prequel novel, ''Diary of Ellen'']].
----
* [[spoiler:Walker]] of ''VideoGame/SpecOpsTheLine''. Though he thinks he's the hero, he's the one who's [[spoiler:firebombing fellow soldiers and innocent people with white phosphorus and opening fire on an unarmed crowd. Late in the game, it's even spelled out for Walker why he's the bad guy, as part of a long VillainousBreakdown.]] How sympathetic he is in spite of the monstrous things he does is a matter of [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation no small amount of debate]], and indeed [[spoiler:the game's MultipleEndings essentially allow the player to choose how redeemable they believe he is as a character.]]
* All {{RTS}}s with playable factions, [[GreyAndGrayMorality a clear]] [[EvilVersusEvil good faction]] ''[[NoAntagonist and]]'' [[GoodVersusGood evil faction]], and a full compliment of Campaigns have this, especially ones with intertwined campaigns: At some point, you can or will be given the option to play the story's BigBad. Exceptions fall under NoCampaignForTheWicked.
* ''VideoGame/AmnesiaTheDarkDescent'' is an odd example. The backstory, which is slowly revealed over the course of the game, shows that the protagonist was once a normal man who sunk to shockingly low depths in order to save his own life.
** The sequel, ''VideoGame/AmnesiaAMachineForPigs'', the big twist is [[spoiler:Mandus is responsible for the machine's creation and his sons' deaths. A part of his soul is part of the machine and it was trying to purify the world based on his creator's intention.]] [[{{RedemptionEqualsDeath}} The ending does fix this.]]
* ''VideoGame/ArmoredCore'' For Answer is mostly GreyAndGrayMorality, but one of the endings has you and a psychopathic cohort go on an AxeCrazy murder spree that leaves millions dead in the span of a few hours. The final mission involves the two of you fighting everyone left standing that can oppose you, including your own com operator, [[BossRush all at once]]. They managed to kill your cohort, but fail to kill you. It's hinted your unchecked rampage sends humanity right back to the dark ages.
* ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights2: Mask of the Betrayer'' bears mention, because there is no other clear villain in the story unless the player takes it upon him or herself to be one. It is hard to consider The Founder a villain, despite what she did, and the only other character who bears any blame has been dead (for certain values of dead) for centuries.
* Longtime BigBad Bowser from ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'' is ''the'' central character in ''[[VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiBowsersInsideStory Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story]]'', though he functions more as an unwitting AntiHero secretly aided by the Mario Brothers rather than a villain. In other ''Mario'' [=RPGs=], he's more of a TokenEvilTeammate when playable.
** Mario was originally one of these. Read the supplementary material and you'll find out that Donkey Kong (Now Cranky Kong, Donkey Kong Jr. is the current Donky Kong) was his pet that he treated horribly, escaped, and kidnapped his girlfriend out of revenge.
** Still, if you consider Donkey Kong the villian of the old games (and definitely of the Mario vs Donkey Kong games), Donkey Kong Country could be seen as this (Though, Donkey Kong definitely is the hero in DKC).
* The Chaos Path in ''Der VideoGame/{{Langrisser}}'' has the protagonist Elwin become this. The other three paths (Light, Imperial and Independent) are [[BlackAndGreyMorality considerably more morally grey]].
* The main character of ''VideoGame/{{Hatred}}'' is a ruthless MisanthropeSupreme willing to kill anything in his path just to sate whatever hate he feels.
* ''VideoGame/{{Overlord}}'', although you're allowed to choose between being really evil and just [[NobleDemon self-proclaimed evil]]. Plus, given that all the "good" characters are corrupt, choosing the latter option makes you the most sympathetic character in the game with this depiction being decidedly canon (the Overlord at least saves the Elves and [[spoiler:Rose is the mother of his child]]). In the sequel you are 100% evil and you fight some genuinely Good foes, though your main enemies are still the anti-magic [[TheEmpire Glorious Empire]] bent on the destruction of all magic. Lord Gromgard of the Wii prequel ''Dark Legend'' is portrayed as a VillainWithGoodPublicity who is at the least well-liked amongst his servants for not letting them starve.
* [[ArmyOfThievesAndWhores Everyone]] in ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2''. The Pyro is a {{pyromaniac}} PsychopathicManchild; The Scout [[BloodKnight treats killing like a sport]]; The Soldier is so AxCrazy he was killing Germans on his own little campaign until ''four years'' after the end of UsefulNotes/WorldWarII; The Demoman is a MadBomber who is disturbingly casual about his job from what we've seen through the glimpses at his home life; The Heavy is insane enough that he talks to his guns while using them to mow down endless opponents; The Engineer finds mechanically induced death both hilarious and apparently fascinating, and a great thing to do around campfires; The Sniper, while he claims to be a [[NothingPersonal morally upright professional]], loves childish insults and the sounds of exploding skulls far too much to be considered one; The Medic has a [[NightmareFetishist morbid fascination with pain, diseases, injuries, and general human suffering]]; finally, the Spy ''is'' an actual professional soldier, but his sadistic nature ensures he is still this trope.
* The ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'' series stars mass-murderering criminals who [[EvilVersusEvil conquer other crime bosses]]. The different games have gone back-and forth with this trope:
** In ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIII'', the protagonist was not even ''named'', and appeared to be doing what he did solely to survive (the game starts with him being busted out of a prison transport). Only at the very end does a revenge motive appear.
** The most clear-cut Villain Protagonist of the series is Tommy Vercetti from ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoViceCity''. Unlike the other protagonists, Tommy is not above dealing drugs, and the game's plot mostly revolves around Tommy seizing control of Vice City from the criminals who previously controlled it. Also unlike [[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas other]] [[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV protagonists]] in the series, he shows little to no remorse for any of his crimes and is only committing them to benefit himself as opposed to protecting those he cares about.
** By ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas'' the first AntiHero protagonist appeared, Carl Johnson. In cutscenes CJ is present as an honourable, even admirable character, and his motivation for most of the game is simple survival as well as keeping his family safe. Notably, CJ is opposed to dealing drugs of any nature, the only protagonist in the series that does so. Out of cutscenes he's just as willing to murder, steal, and destroy as any of the other protagonists.
** {{Downplayed|Trope}} in the 3 ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV'' stories. The 3 protagonists are more of [[AntiHero Anti-Heroes]] than outright villains. Despite Niko, Johnny and Luis committing crimes and horrible things, they're quite sympathetic and have rather good qualities. They are shown to care a lot for their friends and families, help strangers from time to time, and unlike the normal GTA protagonist, their motivations aren't power and greed. Also, when they are killing, it's usually criminals or corrupt people.
** Again downplayed in ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV'', at least for [[GangBangers Franklin]] and [[RetiredOutlaw Michael]]. They're both shown as somewhat sympathetic and are more like [[AntiVillain Anti-Villains]] than outright Villain Protagonists. The insane [[AxCrazy Trevor]], however, is a completely straight example of this.
* ''VideoGame/DestroyAllHumans'', at least in the first game (the second casts the protagonist as more of an AntiHero by circumstance and the third has him become an UnwittingPawn).
* ''[[http://vz4.net/index.php?juegos/descripcion-2 The Bad Guy]]'', a famous demo game in the Hispanic RPGMaker scene, chronicles the rise of Omaen, an aspiring villain, while parodying every RPG trope. Omaen is presented as downright evil but the OnlySaneMan in comparison with both the [[StupidGood idiotic "heroes"]] and the other SlaveToPR {{Card Carrying Villain}}s who fear more the strike of the WeirdTradeUnion of monsters and minions than anything the heroic characters can do.
* ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}} III'' has a linear storyline that puts the player in control of different commanders from different sides of the war depending on the point of time in the story. The human campaign features Prince Arthas, an idealistic young man fighting a horrific undead army. As the war carries on, Arthas must resort to increasingly reprehensible tactics, starting with the slaughter of a sleeping town when he learns they've received shipments of food from a village secretly contaminated by the undead plague. Out of desperation to save the human population, he acquires, at the cost of his soul, a magic sword powerful enough to defeat his undead nemesis. The player is still in control of Arthas during the next campaign, but now he's a [[OurSoulsAreDifferent soulless]] Death Knight leading the undead in their war against the living.
** Similarly, ''VideoGame/StarCraft'' has one campaign for each of the three factions, all of which form a cohesive story. During the Zerg campaign, you're an evil giant brain-slug monster, commanding your evil BigCreepyCrawlies into killing the good(ish) guys. Likewise in Brood War, the Terran Campaign has you play as the UED, who are pretty bad, although they rarely fight any good guys.
* Two of the four [[AntiHero anti-heroic]] Vault Hunters in ''VideoGame/BorderlandsThePreSequel'' are villains/bosses . ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}'' and . Wilhelm the Enforcer and Nisha the Lawbringer will eventually end up as TheDragon and the DarkActionGirl, respectively, in ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands 2}}''. As for the rest, [[TokenGoodTeammate Athena the Gladiator]] used to be one of the Crimson Lance's deadliest assassins (this is the Crimson Lance who tried to invade Pandora back in ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}'', though she'd defected by the time of that game), and [[ButtMonkey Claptrap the Fragtrap]], who is essentially a pre-programmed robot with no free will. And who's playing MissionControl? Why, Handsome Jack, the BigBad of the second game, before his StartOfDarkness (which plays out during the game). Jack's Body Double is more of a PunchClockVillain however, simply working for Jack to pay off his student loans and grows increasingly horrified at Jack's atrocities as the game progresses.
* In ''Star Trek Armada'', the second to last campaign is the Borg campaign. In the final mission, you [[spoiler:successfully assimilate Earth, killing Worf in the process]]. [[spoiler:This is undone via TimeTravel in the subsequent hidden campaign, in which the Federation, Klingons, and Romulans join forces to defeat the Borg.]]
* Kratos from the ''VideoGame/GodOfWar'' series is a berserker whose primary motivation is revenge on anyone who has spurned him. Which eventually expands to everyone who crosses his path or tries to stop him doing whatever he's doing. Also a fair few people whose deaths would be convenient for him.
* Any ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'' protagonist can be played this way.
* In ''Franchise/FiveNightsAtFreddys'', the BigBad - of the franchise as a whole - is the SerialKiller responsible for the deaths of the children. While his identity has never been confirmed, it is implied that it might be [[spoiler:Jeremy Fitzgerald, the protagonist of the second game, which would play this Trope straight in that installment. At the end of ''2'', it is implied that Jeremy scored himself a front row seat to the Bite of '87 after being reassigned to the day shift, meaning he could have been a witness, victim, a scapegoat framed by the killer... Or the killer true himself. A single drawing from ''3,'' also suggests that[[TheDogWasTheMastermind he may be the notorious Murderer,]] giving a perfectly good reason as to why the animatronics are out for his blood in the second game.]]
* Subverted with [[Characters/DisgaeaHourOfDarkness Laharl]] (''VideoGame/DisgaeaHourOfDarkness'') and newcomer Mao (''VideoGame/{{Disgaea 3|AbsenceOfJustice}}'') from the ''Franchise/{{Disgaea}}'' series-- but they are really {{Noble Demon}}s.
** Also the Prinnies in ''VideoGame/PrinnyCanIReallyBeTheHero'' SpinOff. Remember, those [[MadeOfExplodium volatile]] [[EverythingsBetterWithPenguins penguin]] {{Butt Monkey}}s contain the souls of dead criminals.
** The PSP port of ''{{VideoGame/Disgaea 2|CursedMemories}}'' has a [[AnotherSideAnotherStory side story]] starring Axel, though he's [[AntiVillain played much more sympathetically]] than [[GoldfishPoopGang in the main story]].
* Zetta from ''VideoGame/MakaiKingdom'' is another NobleDemon example of this trope.
* [[spoiler:Revya during the Demon Path]] of ''SoulNomadAndTheWorldEaters''. Unlike other NipponIchi games listed here, definitely ''not'' a NobleDemon.
* The Brotherhood of Nod in general, and Kane in particular, of the ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquer'' series, ''especially'' in ''Tiberium Wars'' where a large part of the Brotherhood's basic motivation stems from economic woes, health problems, and perceived oppression and marginalization by the Global Defense Initiative.
** Taken up to eleven in Kane's Wrath, where you learn that a previous mission you played in Wars, where you were defending as the bad-guy Nod and were attacked by a rogue group of Nod traitors supposedly led by Killian, where you learn the truth of the treachery. However the perpetrator did it in belief that she would be helping Nod rid themselves of an unbeliever, but unintentionally (however it was planned by Kane) triggering the arrival of the Scrin. What makes this a villain protagonist is that you are now in command of the traitor army. It's hard to understand exactly ''who'' she ended up helping in the end, but she's definitely a villain to all factions.
** The vast majority of RealTimeStrategy games have campaigns for both sides. Except when there is NoCampaignForTheWicked.
* ''VideoGame/TieFighter''. You play on the side of TheEmpire, and have Darth Vader as your wingman. Note that while you do spend quite a bit of time fighting the [[FreedomFighters Rebels]], the Empire is portrayed as quite a bit less ruthlessly evil than in the films and other media. The result is more like an [[AntiVillain Anti-Villain]] Protagonist.
* ''Videogame/TheForceUnleashed'' features Starkiller, a Dark Jedi who was raised by Darth Vader and has a disturbing talent for killing his enemies in outlandish, yet surprisingly amusing ways. Justified to an extent as he was raised from childhood to believe in Vader's cause and eventually turns against him anyway (canonically). The non-canon add-on missions included in ''Ultimate Sith Edition'' take it further, complete with Starkiller informing a captain "YouHaveFailedMe For The Last Time."
* ''VideoGame/StarWarsBattlefront II'''s Campaign mode. You play as the Republic's 501st Legion, who quite obviously become the bad guys just before the halfway point.
* ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'', if you go with the dark side on TheEmpire side. Sith warriors who follow this path will stun many a Jedi with their vicious brutality. Then you have the PsychoForHire bounty hunters, inquisitors with force lightning as way of greeting people, and Imperial agents who take the protocol of LeaveNoWitnesses to heart.
* ''VideoGame/AmericanMcGeesGrimm'' features a dwarf named Grimm who despises the {{Disneyfication}} of fairy tales and whose goal is to [[{{Grimmification}} return them into the dark stories that they were]]. His CatchPhrase in the ads is:
-->'''Grimm:''' Happily ever after ends NOW!
* The critically acclaimed freeware game ''VideoGame/EmilyEnough'' revolves around a [[EnfanteTerrible little girl who has slaughtered her entire family]] and who proceeds to kill several innocent people over the course of the game.
* ''VideoGame/SaintsRow2'' has the player becoming this, with the goal of the game being 'take over the city over the corpses of rival gangs, cops and any innocent civilians that get in the way'. The only reason the Saints look sympathetic is via the ''even worse'' antics of their enemies and the UndyingLoyalty the Saints develop to each other. This continues into the [[VideoGame/SaintsRowTheThird next game]], though much more downplayed in favour of chaos and stunts than outright villainy.
* ''VideoGame/TheMisadventuresOfTronBonne'' has you play as GoldfishPoopGang member from ''VideoGame/MegaManLegends'', Tron Bonne in her quest to steal one million zenny worth of goods to save her kidnapped air pirate family.
* In ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes'', Travis Touchdown creates [[EvenEvilHasStandards the line in the sand]] for a character who either just ''barely'' counts as a Villain Protagonist (he has very few, if any, likable qualities, and kills people for a living) or is not ''quite'' evil enough to be a Villain Protagonist (the people he kills are, for the most part, even ''more'' [[AssholeVictim sick and twisted]] than he is, or at the very least other assassins). Which side he is actually on is up for debate. He veers completely away from this in the sequel, however.
* Servant Avenger from ''VisualNovel/FateHollowAtaraxia'' is definitely a Villain Protagonist - he ''is'' supposed to Evil Incarnate, after all. His soul itself is twisted and AlwaysChaoticEvil, and he actively pursues murder and rape to [[ForTheEvulz pass the time]]. This does not prevent him from becoming a character you can sympathise with, especially after the flashback to his horrific StartOfDarkness and some very poignant conversations with other characters. Despite hating humanity, he still shoulders the responsibility [[HumansAreBastards that was forced onto him]] - [[spoiler:to bear every sin ever committed and will be committed by a human]] and forever serve as a twisted 'champion' of humanity. The ending is complete with a {{Tear Jerk|er}}ing HeroicSacrifice.
-->"Even if humanity is worthless, the history that has been laid down until now has meaning.\\
(...) It is not a sin to exist."
* In ''VideoGame/ThreadsOfFate'', you can choose to play as either Rue, the hero, or Mint, the IneffectualSympatheticVillain.
* The unreleased arcade game ''Videogame/ChimeraBeast'' is about ruthless and mindless HordeOfAlienLocusts who [[PowerCopying reabsorb the DNA of what they eat to become stronger]]... ''and you play as one of them'', digging your way through the food chain of your homeplanet starting from bacteria. If you win against the final boss [[spoiler:you end up [[EarthShatteringKaboom blowing up the planet]] and going through a killing spree across the universe, eventually reaching Earth... [[NoFourthWall Even the game mocks you]] for this. To get the "good" ending, you must lose to the final boss and opt not to continue.]]
* Firebrand of ''[[VideoGame/GargoylesQuest Demon's Crest]]'' is, for starters, a Red Arremer from ''[[VideoGame/GhostsNGoblins Ghouls 'n Ghosts]]'' (the original DemonicSpider). The game starts with him as a prisoner of the demon Phalanax, who interrupted his attempt to take over the world and stole the Crests he was using to do so. Once he breaks out, the rest of the game concerns him reclaiming his stolen property and kill Phanalax so that he can TakeOverTheWorld as previously planned.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Prototype}}'', the main character, Alex Mercer is quite unrepentant about the horrible things he does throughout the game. Unlike ''VideoGame/InFamous'', a game with a roughly similar premise, ''Prototype'' has no KarmaMeter, and automatically assumes [[PersonOfMassDestruction the player will choose to behave]] [[AxCrazy the way players ''always'' behave]] in a WideOpenSandbox game.
* Wylfred of ''VideoGame/ValkyrieProfileCovenantOfThePlume'' is one of these on the C path, if you use the Plume to sacrifice more than a certain number of your teammates. Otherwise, he's either a ByronicHero, or an AntiHero.
* ''VisualNovel/AtlachNacha'', where the protagonist is a [[ImAHumanitarian humanitarian]] GiantSpider who lusts after [[GirlsLove tender young schoolgirls]].
* In the ''Franchise/SilentHill'' series, which ending you get often determines whether your main character is a tortured hero or this trope. ''VideoGame/SilentHill4'' takes it one step further by having the plot revolve entirely around the BigBad ImplacableMan antagonist instead of the borderline FeaturelessProtagonist [[DullSurprise Henry Townshend]].
* ''VisualNovel/UminekoNoNakuKoroNi'' loves to play with this trope, at least in-universe. Namely, in the 5th Arc, [[spoiler:Battler become the [[AndThenJohnWasAZombie Endless Sorcerer]]]] while a Mary Sue of [[spoiler:Bernkastel]]'s creation takes up the 'protagonist' role. (That is, has a reliable perspective.) In reality, though, no face heels or heel faces occur. The 'protagonist' role simply gets taken over by the two most evil characters in the series while they force the good guys into the 'antagonist' role.
* In the ''VideoGame/{{Rampage}}'' games you score points by destroying as much property as possible and eating people, and most of the people haven't done anything to you or are just soldiers doing their job. You can also kick them to death or knock them off building/tear off parachutes and watch them splat.
* ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion'' has the Dark Brotherhood quest line, in which the player takes the role of an assassin. It mixes in clearly deserving targets (The very first one is lightly implied to be either a rapist or a murderer) with somewhat-deserving ones (A pirate, who's clearly killed people 'on the job' before) with clearly innocent people. You also get to kill [[spoiler:your entire 'family' of assassins]], which may or may not qualify for the MoralEventHorizon. Several of the Daedric quests in the game are also pretty villainous, ranging from gleeful sociopathy to diabolic evil: In Molag Bal's Daedric quest, the player is asked to goad a ReluctantWarrior into murder. Obviously, being a sandbox game it also features VideoGameCrueltyPotential aplenty.
* ''VideoGame/EvilGenius''. You play a typical {{supervillain}}, sending out henchmen from your [[SupervillainLair lair in a hollowed-out volcano]] (or somewhere like that) to commit evil deeds, working towards the culmination of EvilPlan, setting off your DoomsdayDevice or [[TakeOverTheWorld taking over the world]].
* ''VideoGame/DungeonKeeper'': Build your sprawling dungeon, employ creatures of darkness, spread your dark influence over the land. Don't forget to deal with those adventuring heroes who want to slay your army and steal your treasure. If the imps or the traps don't kill the them, have them tortured.
* [[TheGunslinger Caleb]], the main character in the ''VideoGame/{{Blood}}'' series, is a psychotic undead cowboy killing his way through his former cult so he can get revenge on their god, Tchernobog. What pushes Caleb into true villainy is just how much he ''loves'' his RoaringRampageOfRevenge; when he isn't wisecracking or snarking, he's cackling like a madman while chucking dynamite at anything that gets in his way. And then, in the second game, [[spoiler:his disuse of Tchernobog's powers begins to unravel the very stability of the universe; he's quite happy to let the totality of existence collapse out of '''boredom'''.]]
* In the flash game ''Videogame/ArmedWithWings'', you play as the exiled king Vandheer Lorde, the main villain of the series, who is undeniably {{Badass}}.
* ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry 3: [[UpdatedRerelease Special Edition]]'' adds the ability to play through the story as Dante's EvilTwin, Vergil. However, this is solely a gameplay feature as aside from a new intro cutscene Vergil doesn't have a special story mode and simply goes through Dante's missions as usual, with the only difference being that the Vergil boss battles have a PaletteSwap.
* ''VideoGame/{{Centipede}}'': The comic book adaptation has the playable character (a wizard) in the role of the bad guy, with a boy trying to stop him.
* ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong'' too. Seriously, Mario was the villain of the story, [[http://www.cracked.com/article_19321_5-classic-games-you-didnt-know-had-wtf-backstories.html if the backstory is to be believed.]]
* ''VideoGame/SandsOfDestruction'' has us follow the adventures of the [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin World Destruction Committee]]. Although only one is actively seeking the destruction of the world, the other is tagging along because he likes our [[AxeCrazy crazed]] lady protagonist, and the third is going with to protect him.
* ''VideoGame/{{Okage}}'''s main character is a slave of the evil king Stan, and through the game, you're trying to take the power of the other evil kings that showed up while Stan was in a jar, so he can take over the world. It's not very prominent though, what with Stan being a HarmlessVillain who spends more time fighting evil than causing it.
* The title character in ''VideoGame/LegacyOfKain'' is quite the nasty piece of work. The series starts with him becoming a vampire so he can avenge his death. He then decides to destroy the town he was murdered in. And then he gets a list of people to kill, and just settles for slaughtering every man, woman, and child he sees. And right as he's finished, he ruins the whole point of the quest and just decides to rule over Nosgoth's dying remains. In ''Blood Omen 2'', he mind controls bystanders to their deaths, kills every human he sees, [[spoiler:and murders his LoveInterest when she realizes what a monster he is]], all in the name of regaining his empire. It takes Nosgoth itself dying in the ''Soul Reaver'' series for him to simmer down, and then, he's a ManipulativeBastard to his vampire offspring Raziel, and is only out to save himself.
* [[spoiler:Scott Shelby]] in ''VideoGame/HeavyRain'' especially when it is revealed that [[spoiler:he ''is'' the Origami Killer masquerading as a private investigator.]]
* ''VideoGame/TransformersWarForCybertron'' has a campaign where you play as the Decepticons, and control [[BigBad Megatron]] for most of the levels.
* The ''[[VideoGame/{{Descent}} Descent 3: Mercenary]]'' ExpansionPack casts you on the side of the BigBad CorruptCorporateExecutive Dravis, as the leader of his Black Pyro squadron.
* This happens in ''VideoGame/BlazBlue'' when you play as Hazama in story mode, he's the story's Villain Protagonist, with no past or reasons to justify his villainy. Also the same goes to Relius Clover.
* ''[[VideoGame/{{Wizardry}} Wizardry IV]]'' is an atypical entry in the series: it has the player take control of Werdna, the EvilSorcerer of the first episode, now resurrected and thirsty for revenge... If he manages to just leave the dungeon where he was buried first, which is [[NintendoHard not an easy task]].
* ''VideoGame/PAYDAYTheHeist'' has you as a crook taking part in various heists, complete with taking hostages and shooting a whole lot of cops.
* Jinkuro, the malevolent ghost possessing Momohime's body, in ''VideoGame/MuramasaTheDemonBlade''. He's outright only into the whole ordeal to get his chosen weapon back and find a better target in his GrandTheftMe scheme to live forever, and does a lot of villainous actions (such as invading Heaven) in order to find alternate routes to immortality.
* ''VideoGame/EscapeVelocity'':
** The Voinian campaign in ''Escape Velocity: Override'' is about as unambiguously evil as they come. The Voinians are a race of vicious [[AlienInvasion alien warlords]] bent on conquering the galaxy and enslaving everything in their path. The player has the option to help the Voinians break their stalemate with the human United Earth[[note]]Word of God is it fails and the stalemate ends up broken in favour of the UE[[/note]], and crippling the attempts of a ''previously'' conquered race to rebel against their overlords. Rewards for doing so include access to a variety of powerful Voinian military vessels and the unsettling satisfaction of committing genocide against your own race.
** ''All'' ''Escape Velocity'' games have at least one storyline where the player character can be called a villain: in ''Classic'', working for the Confederation and trying to bring the Rebels back to heel, in ''Override'', the Voinian and the two Renegade storylines, and in ''Nova'', the Federation storyline (after a certain point of no return).
* Brice, a UFO-obsessed ghost and one of the playable characters in the adventure game, ''VideoGame/AmberJourneysBeyond''. [[spoiler:After you complete his level he is sent to Hell in a particularly horrifying way - granted, he did murder at least 3 people in the game's backstory.]]
* Demitri Maximoff from ''VideoGame/{{Darkstalkers}}''. He wants to TakeOverTheWorld, and yet was advertised as the lead originally. Unfortunately, this led to DarknessInducedAudienceApathy, as his foe was Pyron, another world-conqueror.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Disciples}}'' ''2'', the Elves are initially on the side of the "good" guys. In ''Rise of the Elves'', their god Gallean, driven mad by his resurrection and the TraumaCongaLine inflicted upon him by the vengeful [[WomanScorned Mortis]], commands them to be brutal warmongers. Gallean is sick of the Elves always getting shafted by their so-called allies and has them taking what he believes is rightfully theirs by force. The "Villain" part is [[EstablishingCharacterMoment established]] in the first scenario, where the goal is to slaughter a town of innocent humans. A few Elves question these orders, but their doubts don't last. Ironically, the only Elf who continues to have reservations about this is the Oracle who relays Gallean's will to his people.
* In ''VideoGame/{{DEFCON}}'', each player takes up the role of a GeneralRipper during a global thermonuclear war. Each player's goal is to ensure that the capitalist/communists/whatever '''''[[KillAllHumans die in a nuclear fire]]'''''. The "[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Genocide]]" mode elevates this - the only way to gain points is to nuke population centers.
* ''VideoGame/TheLordOfTheRingsOnline'' has a monster-play feature which lets you be an orc, goblin, warg, or other baddie minion, and play in a PvP dungeon against hero players.
* ''VideoGame/CrusaderKings'' calls them "successful rulers".
* A staple in ''Videogame/HeroesOfMightAndMagic'', due to aversion of NoCanonForTheWicked. Examples would be Xeron in ''3'' and Tawni in ''4''. Heck, even Tawni's most loyal subordinate [[spoiler:who is her ''real'' father]] calls her out [[spoiler:for her genocide of the Merfolks!]]. [[CrapsackWorld And she's not even the worst of them all.]] In the ''Heroes Chronicles'' campaigns, the main character Tarnum is this for roughly half of the first campaign (the following campaigns are spent as TheAtoner) -- he starts out merely ruthless in trying to liberate his people, but eventually goes ''way'' too far with it and becomes a brutal oppressor in his own right.
* No. 47 in the ''VideoGame/{{Hitman}}'' series. Granted, he is for the most part killing people [[PayEvilUntoEvil much nastier than himself]] (arms dealers, terrorists, mobsters etc.) and might even qualify as a HitmanWithAHeart depending on one's interpretation, but that doesn't really dull the force of playing as a ProfessionalKiller who's not above utilizing some pretty unpleasant methods to get the job done.
* In ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaLordsOfShadow2'' you control the series longtime BigBad [[EvilOverlord Dracula]] as he seeks [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge vengeance]] against God, Satan, the Brotherhood of Light, and just about everyone else who ruined his life.
* This is what happens to [[spoiler: Nepgear]] in ''VideoGame/HyperdimensionNeptuniaMk2'', particularly the infamous [[KillEmAll Conquest Ending]].
* This can happen in any FightingGame that has the villains as playable characters.
* The entire point of VideoGame/{{Deception}}. Taking over a mansion/castle just to lure adventurers or heroes to messy deaths within does not leave wiggle room for heroics. The character has the opportunity to pull a HeelFaceTurn at the end, but it's by no means obligatory.
* ''{{VideoGame/Tekken}}'' always ends up becoming this. The whole story is centered around the Mishima bloodline, and the conflict between it's generations within it. As one protagonist takes down another antagonist, they end up becoming more of a jerkass than the previous antagonist in the next game, where as the previous antagonist then tries take them down for being worse than they were before. It can get confusing.
** ''Tekken 1'' had Kazuya being presented as a Ryu expy hero, with his father Heihachi as the BigBad and owner of the powerful and oppressive Mishima Zaibatsu Corporation, who Kazuya wanted to take down.
** ''Tekken 2'' switched it around. Kazuya took over Heihachi's empire, and became even worse than he was (doning a rather pimp purple suit, and using the Zaibatsu for far more chaotic and malicious things where as Heihachi just used it for order). Ironically leading to Heihachi becoming a sort of AntiHero, to take Kazuya down, and the previous villain actually doing the world a good service when taking his company back and restoring the world to controlled peace.
** ''Tekken 3'' led to Kazuya's son, Jin, arising as a new Mishima, far more honourable and nicer than any of his family, and for seemly the first time, we believed that he would finally become a moral compass for the family.
** ''Tekken 4'' dealt with a three way clash between all three. Jin, former protagonist, hiding in the shadows after the previous game, emerged as somewhat of a [[WildCard Wildcard]]. While still rebelling against his family roots because of their evil, he started to become too confused, single minded, and spurred on by hate and anger, to really be seen as noble and righteous as he once was. Kazuya and Heihachi were jerkasses, but ''[[Main/AtLeastIAdmitIt they weren't even trying to hide it]]''. But the story, at least until the climax, generally focuses on Kazuya wanting revenge, and is somewhat shown from his perspective.
** And now with the climax of Tekken 5 leading to Tekken 6, Jin has followed in his father's footsteps and took over the Zaibatsu for himself, and the once believed more heroic than the rest of his family, has become even MORE of a menace than either Kazuya or Heihachi ever have, plunging the entire globe into world war so that chaos is all there is. Thus far, Lars is the only Mishima inroduced, that hasn't become destructive and malicious yet, but only time will tell.
* CardCarryingVillain Overlord Badman in ''VideoGame/WhatDidIDoToDeserveThisMyLord''. He's also kind of a DesignatedVillain since he rarely does anything even mildly unpleasant and seems to have a lot of [[AFatherToHisMen genuine love for his monsters]] even if he does remind you that they have to be culled every now and again, while the Heroes are at best hapless and at worst ridiculously nasty.
* In ''VideoGame/KZManager'' you play a ''[[ThoseWackyNazis Nazi]] [[POWCamp camp director]]''.
* In ''VideoGame/QuestFantasy'', [[spoiler:S O U L tries to portray HERO as one. It's open to interpretation whether he really is, though. Later on, however, played more straight with Guy, who is subjected to the same 'you killed this innocent man' guilt trips the other protagonists are subject to and doesn't even care. He would grow up to become TheDragon.]]
* All three main characters of the ''VideoGame/MentalSeries'' are effectively this. They rack up a massive body count over all five games, with them killing anyone in their way in order to escape. Fred in ''The Journey'' even [[spoiler: sets a building on fire and crosses a gap by jumping off one of the inhabitants as they try to leap to safety]]! All the killings become a plot point in the fifth and final game, ''Murder Most Foul'', where the amount of bodies racked up by the trio makes them the most wanted criminals in the country. Oops.
* Despite the title, subverted in ''VideoGame/{{Bully}}'', in which the protagonist is an AntiHero.
* Possible in ''VideoGame/BaldursGate'', depending on which alignment the player chooses.
* Ellen and the Cocoon organization from ''VideoGame/PaleBlue'' are made as villains by the developers in order to provide a perspective flip to the usual heroism tales such as ''Franchise/PowerRangers'', ''Franchise/{{Kamenrider}}'' and ''Series/{{Ultraman}}''.
* ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedRogue'' has you playing as Assassin turned Templar Shay Cormac as he participates in the purge of the Colonial Assassins.
* Bass from the ''VideoGame/MegaManClassic'' skirts the line between this and AntiHero whenever he's playable. He never stops working for Dr. Wily and trying to kill Mega Man, but his desire to prove himself as the world's strongest robot can cause him to save the day by accident. His sole reason for turning on Wily in the ''Power Battles'' games is to get him to acknowledge that ''he's'' his greatest creation and that he doesn't need to create other Robot Masters to take down Mega Man, and when King declares himself king of the robots in ''VideoGame/MegaManAndBass'', Bass goes after him to prove that he's more worthy of the title instead.
* An interesting variation in the ''[[VideoGame/TheWalkingDead Walking Dead]]'' series: [[spoiler:Tavia, the final playable protagonist of DLC ''400 Days'', who wasn't revealed to be working for Carver, Season 2's BigBad until Episode 3 of the next season.]]
* Waluigi in the ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'' fangame ''VideoGame/PsychoWaluigi'', who spends the game conquering the land of Unconcia one kingdom at a time [[spoiler: [[EvenEvilHasStandards though he draws the line at flat-out destroying it]], as Psycho Iris decides to do once Waluigi's conquest is complete.]]
* ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear XX Accent Core+'' feature's Justice's Story Mode, which is a reenactment of the events of the first game, and has the player use the first game's BigBad to beat the crap out of the original roster and kill Kliff before Sol finally comes in and puts a stop to things.
* The ''VideoGame/WarioLand'' series starred the evil Wario from ''VideoGame/SuperMarioLand2'' as he fought with rival villains on a quest to get rich. The first game was even marketed with the tagline, "Be the Bad Guy."
** At least in the first game. The sequels make him more of a NominalHero.
* ''VideoGame/{{Nefarious}}'' has Crow. He's a CardCarryingVillain out to kidnap princesses and TakeOverTheWorld, and dang proud of it.
* In a bonus chapter of ''The Keepers: Lost Progeny'', you play as the demon antagonist whom you (as the protagonist) defeated in the main game.
* ''TheWitchsHouse'', in a CruelTwistEnding, it turns out [[spoiler: You were the evil witch Ellen all along. Ellen is also the main character of the prequel novel, ''Diary of Ellen'']].
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