[[WebAnimation/ZeroPunctuation Yahtzee's]] use of AlternativeCharacterInterpretation is invoked for a number of games he reviews, his viewpoint tends to cast the protagonist in an extremely negative light.
----
* His first instance of this is [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/502-Tomb-Raider-Underworld reviewing]] ''VideoGame/TombRaiderUnderworld'', where he portrays Lara as an irreverent, iconoclastic kleptomanziac. Later reviews add "sociopath" to the tally, and he theorizes that Lara is actually a hedonistic thrill-seeker with a murder fetish who only got into the "archaeology" business because it provided the best opportunities for travel, death-defying stunts, and, well, murder.
** Lara from ''VideoGame/TombRaider2013'' has [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/115301-Rise-of-the-Tomb-Raider-Review asthma]]. She's also just as psychotic as the old Lara, and has added an Electra complex to the mix.
* ''VideoGame/BurnoutParadise'' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5-2VQH8t3c is set in]] a [[AfterTheEnd post-apocalyptic world]] where the car sat-navs became sentient and wiped out humanity, and [[TheLastDJ Atomica]] is the last human alive, who sets up ramps all night and encourages the cars to all crash each other during the day so he can one day reclaim the Earth.
* Demon Hunter Nero from ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry4'' is a [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/28-Devil-May-Cry-4 coward]].
* Nathan Drake of ''VideoGame/{{Uncharted}}'' is [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/27-Uncharted-Drakes-Fortune portrayed]] as a murderous racist and {{hypocrit|e}}ical SmugSnake who hides behind [[MaskOfSanity a thin veneer of personability]].
* The birds and pigs from VideoGame/{{Angry Birds}} have no limbs because of a leprosy outbreak in their world.
* Faith of ''VideoGame/MirrorsEdge'' could "[[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/457-Mirrors-Edge easily have been a terrorist]]" without changing the game much.
* Rico of ''VideoGame/JustCause2'' is an "[[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/1632-Just-Cause-2 immortal, physics-defying wizard]]."
** Also, [[http://zeropunctuation.wikia.com/wiki/Just_Cause_2 "the legendary son of Zeus and a Hispanic window cleaner".]]
* He [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/1528-Heavy-Rain encourages]] viewers to play ''VideoGame/HeavyRain'' whilst pretending that Agent Jayden is from the future.
** Also, the Origami Killer is a cheap rip-off of [[Franchise/{{Saw}} Jigsaw]].
* [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/1569-Final-Fantasy-XIII Vanille]] of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'' either has Alzheimer's or is from space. [[labelnote:Funny about that...]]Yahtzee only played five hours of the game. Had he played on, he'd have learned that [[spoiler:Vanille is from another planet.]][[/labelnote]]
* The protagonists of the ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' games have [[VideoGame/{{Syndicate}} chips in their mind]] and are actually [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/3008-Pokemon-White hunting rats]] in a CreepyBasement.
* The protagonist of ''VideoGame/FableIII'' is [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/2652-Fable-3 shagging his dog]].
-->'''Yahtzee:''' And I'm not even being disingenuous, when you "Pet" your dog, it strongly resembles making out. Especially when you dip it and stick your tongue down its throat like you're teaching it Dirty Dancing.
* Cole Phelps from ''VideoGame/LANoire'' is a robot who's [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/3347-L-A-Noire named]] after the fuel he runs on (i.e. Coal [=PH31-P5=]).
** He's also available for birthday parties.
* [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/1007-Mario-Luigi-Bowsers-Inside-Story Bowser]] of the ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'' games is a charismatic union leader similar to Jimmy Hoffa, who defies the upper-class bourgeoisies of the Mushroom Kingdom but secretly yearns for their approval; hence the cockney accent.
** Additionally, Bowser is painted as a multifaceted villain (quoting [[Theatre/{{Othello}} Iago]] in one review) who ''chooses'' to be evil because he has seen what "goodness" in his world leads to: an airheaded ditz like Peach consorting with a pair of foreigners (who herself is a GenderFlip of Silvio Berlusconi).
--->"Society calls him evil, but he ''wears'' their label! He '''reclaims''' it! [[RootingForTheEmpire And that is why they will never get him down!]]"
** However, his review of ''VideoGame/YoshisCraftedWorld'' portrays Baby Bowser as trying to find ways to pass the time "in these days before puberty hits and he takes an interest in date rape".
* Jack Slate of ''VideoGame/DeadToRights'' is more murderous sociopath than law enforcement agent, and is violently insane to the point of understanding no laws except those dictated to him by [[MadGod a mad ocelot god]] [[HearingVoices only he can see.]]
* [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/3872-Catherine Vincent]] of ''VideoGame/{{Catherine}}'' is a bumbling idiot whose friends only pretend to like him.
* The ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' franchise revolves around hordes of [[JustifiedCriminal impressionable, poverty-stricken]] [[StreetUrchin young people]] having [[KillThePoor all their arms and legs broken]] by an [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/4915-Batman-Arkham-City extremely rich businessman]]... in his pants![[note]]"In his underwear" for us non-Brits.[[/note]]
** The [[Videogame/BatmanArkhamKnight Arkham Knight]] is an idiot who, despite his claims to know Batman's weaknesses, hasn't realized the problems of sending unmanned drones against a character with a no-kill policy.
* [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/2978-Dragon-Age-II Snarky!Hawke]] from ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'' is CampGay.
* [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/5148-The-Legend-of-Zelda-Skyward-Sword Link]] from ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' is a pathetic drug addict and SociopathicHero who can only function when given an adventure or while absolutely snowblind.
* [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/472-Sonic-Unleashed Sonic]] [[Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog the Hedgehog]] is a drug addicted paedophile.
* [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/616-50-Cent-Blood-on-the-Sand 50 Cent]] destabilized the Middle East, leading to the events of ''[[VideoGame/ModernWarfare Call of Duty 4]]''.
* [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/5346-Amy Lana]] from ''AMY'' is an absolute idiot.
* Creator/Suda51 was the result of a [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/33-No-More-Heroes bizarre cloning experiment]]. [[MultipleChoicePast Either that, or]] he was named after [[https://www.escapistmagazine.com/v2/zero-punctuation-travis-strikes-again-no-more-heroes/ his Wi-Fi password]] or [[https://v1.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/116981-Let-It-Die-Review the license plate on his car]].
* [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/5416-Kingdoms-of-Amalur-Reckoning The Fateless One]] from ''VideoGame/KingdomsOfAmalurReckoning'' was actually [[MindScrew pre-destined by fate to become what they became]].
* ''[[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/892-2-5D-Hoedown 'Splosion Man]]'' is a BrokenBird.
* [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/834-Red-Faction-Guerrilla The protagonist]] of ''VideoGame/RedFactionGuerrilla'' is a Norse god wielding the hammer Mjolnir.
* [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/5745-Sniper-Elite-V2 The player character]] in ''[[VideoGame/SniperEliteV2 Sniper Elite V2]]'' is either a hallucinating clock tower sniper a la Charles Whitman, or trapped in a combat simulation.
* ''VideoGame/MaxPayne'' is actually actively [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/5893-Max-Payne-3 looking for trouble]].
* [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/3801-Call-of-Juarez-The-Cartel Ben]] from ''VideoGame/CallOfJuarezTheCartel'' is paranoid and constantly over-reacting, and is essentially only on board with the job because he wants revenge on some guy who made fun of his hat some decades ago.
* [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/5932-Dragons-Dogma The Arisen]] of ''VideoGame/DragonsDogma'' is essentially pimping his/her Pawn.
* Protagonists who activate BulletTime by [[VideoGame/MaxPayne doing]] [[VideoGame/{{Wet}} acrobatics]] have air-cooled brains.
* [[VideoGame/{{Skate}} Skateboarders]] are [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/553-Skate-2 masochistic twats]].
* [[VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOpsII Raul Menendez]] is a freedom fighter seeking justice for the murder of his loved ones while the psychotic American military constantly [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/6565-Call-of-Duty-Black-Ops-2 gets in his way]].
** By a similar token, [[VideoGame/CallOfDutyGhosts the Ghosts]] are moronic racists who have no concept of stealth whatsoever, and were only annoyed about [[BlackDudeDiesFirst the death]] of [[TokenBlackFriend their black squadmate]] because [[SomeOfMyBestFriendsAreX then they couldn't claim to have black friends]]. The Federation that invades the United States is [[DesignatedVillain entirely justified in doing so]], as the United States [[MonochromeCasting has committed genocide judging by its demographics]] and possesses a massive military and [[KillSat orbital weapons]] that it's quite eager to fire at them.
* [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/6830-Ni-No-Kuni-Wrath-Of-The-White-Witch The main character]] in ''[[VideoGame/NiNoKuni Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch]]'' is actually suffering a guilt induced breakdown delusion.
* Ellie, Joel, and pretty much every human being from ''VideoGame/TheLastOfUs'' are psychotic murderers.
* Eric Bane from ''VideoGame/{{Dark}}'' isn't actually a vampire; he's either pretending or the other vampires are lying to him.
* Amadeus, the wizard protagonist of ''VideoGame/{{Trine}}'', is not a wizard. He merely has access to the level editor.
* The leader of the Saints from ''VideoGame/SaintsRow'', particularly ''VideoGame/SaintsRow2'', is the cousin of The Riddler from ''Franchise/{{Batman}}''.
* The rebooted Dante from ''VideoGame/DMCDevilMayCry'' is a nine-year-old boy.
* ''WebVideo/JudgingByTheCover'' is based solely on trying to extrapolate details about plot and character from still publicity images. In the very first episode, he concluded that the protagonist of ''VideoGame/{{Bloodborne}}'' was "a Victorian goth carpenter" who builds weapons from chair legs and nails, and strongly suspected them to be the all-consuming shadow mentioned on the back of the box. He's also claimed that the [[VideoGame/MegaManClassic Robot Masters]] (and God himself) are trying to fist Megaman, VideoGame/{{Ico}} has a "[[GagPenis three-foot todger]]", and the cover of "[[Film/HitmanAgent47 Hitman: Agent At]]" depicts the invasion of the MirrorUniverse.
* The Frank West who appears [[HesJustHiding and perishes]] in the non-DLC ending of ''VideoGame/DeadRising4'' is, in fact, Frank West's boring cousin Marlon - hence why he has a [[YouDontLookLikeYou different face]] and a [[TheOtherDarrin different voice]], and has gone from lovable and charming to a desperate [[Film/TheEvilDead1981 Ash Williams]] {{Expy}}.
* Beck of ''VideoGame/MightyNo9'' is a CategoryTraitor and BoomerangBigot, eager to force his fellow machines back to HappinessInSlavery by destroying their personalities, with even his name [[MeaningfulName implying his servile nature.]]
* Wonder Woman in ''VideoGame/Injustice2'' is a SociopathicHero who was incredibly eager to go JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope despite having no motivation to do so.
* John Donovan, the CIA operative in ''VideoGame/MafiaIII'', is actually a FairyGodmother, which is why he has enough resources to singlehandedly supply Lincoln's operations and why nobody else seems to talk about him.
* VideoGame/DukeNukem is mentally handicapped, possessing two testicles in place of a brain, which makes him only able to communicate in pop-culture references.
* Prophet, by the time of ''VideoGame/Crysis3'', is a dick and a body snatcher, who destroyed the personality of Alcatraz to facilitate his own return.
* Jason Brody in ''VideoGame/FarCry3'''s "Save Your Friends" ending will turn out to be a StrangerInAFamiliarLand, and inside of a week is going to be [[HuntingTheMostDangerousGame skinning pedestrians]].
* The Jackal in ''VideoGame/FarCry2'' is actually a perfectly nice guy who wants to be best friends with the protagonist.
* People in the ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' games know that "Mister Chuffy" is the protagonist, which is why they care so much about what he's up to, including random dreams.
* Emperor Uriel Septim VII of ''Videogame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion'' [[MediumAwareness is aware that he's in an RPG]], and knew he was going to die not because of prophetic visions, but because [[ImDyingPleaseTakeMyMacGuffin he realized he was talking to the protagonist]].
* Darius Mason, the protagonist of ''VideoGame/RedFactionArmageddon'', is suffering from a GuiltComplex that makes him take responsibility for disasters that weren't his fault and he had no way to stop - and on a related note, he's a complete moron. In addition, the oft-mentioned backstory of ''Armageddon'' referred to a cancelled game that would have starred Darius's dad, and considering that Darius's story was apparently the worthier of the two, his dad was "[[TheBore a geography teacher who defeated the cultists by diligently doing his taxes at them.]]" [[note]] In actuality, the story of Jake Mason, Darius's dad, was chronicled in the Film/SyfyChannelOriginalMovie ''Film/RedFactionOrigins'' [[/note]]
* Senua, the protagonist of ''Videogame/HellbladeSenuasSacrifice'', is sexually attracted to doors according to the post-review livestream of said game. Her face paint is actually paint that had not yet dried during an intimate moment with one particular door.
* Yahtzee assumes the dead wife and child of ''VideoGame/Prototype2'' protagonist James Heller that were killed in the events of the [[VideoGame/{{Prototype}} first game]] to be two of the civilians he used to refill Alex Mercer's health while fighting the Hunter.
* In his review of ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil2Remake'', Yahtzee claims that Mr. X is [[OccidentalOtaku a creepy anime-obsessed nerd]] with no sense of personal boundaries who is following Claire and Leon around, not to cover up Umbrella's actions, but because he's trying to force them to watch more of his anime collection.
* Artyom of the ''Franchise/{{Metro}}'' series suffers from a very specific social-anxiety disorder that renders him completely unable to speak outside loading screens.
----