History ObviousJudas / VideoGames

** Cait Sith from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII''. He's a [[CatsAreMean talking cat]] with a superiority complex and an [[TheFairFolk Irish accent]]. What part of that doesn't say "trouble"? Then again, [[ManBehindTheMan the person controlling him]] is Shinra's TokenGoodTeammate, who eventually turns on them and joins AVALANCHE for real.

** '"VideoGame/PokemonBlack2AndWhite2'' has Colress. A scientist dressed in the colors of Team Plasma (blue, black and white), usually met in areas where Team Plasma have been operating, and constantly talking about how his research is about drawing out the true potential of Pokémon no matter what it takes. Nobody was surprised when it's revealed that he's the one Ghetsis replaced N with as acting leader of Team Plasma.

** Ghetsis from ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite'' is a variation - he's actually cemented as a core part of the game's evil team, Team Plasma, right from the start, but he is in an advisory position to the team's actual leader, N. However, his [[ObviouslyEvil look]], creepy {{Letimotif}} and FauxAffablyEvil demeanor, combined with the fact that N is battled several times over across the span of the journey while Ghetsis is not makes it easy to guess that Ghetsis is [[TheManBehindTheMan really pulling the strings in Team Plasma]] and will be the FinalBoss. The biggest twist is simply ''how'' evil he turns out to be in this role.

** Cyrus from ''VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl'' isn't revealed to be the leader of Team Galactic until some time after getting the seventh Gym Badge. However, in his two prior appearances, he monologues about how conflict has ruined the world and that a new world should take its place, making it pretty easy to predict that he has a connection to the local criminal organization before TheReveal. [[AvertedTrope Averted]] in ''Platinum'', where he appears near the beginning of the game and [[ObviouslyEvil monologues about how he plans to make time and space his]].

* In ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry5'', it's pretty obvious that V is actually Dante's EvilTwin Vergil, to the point that he outright admits it to Trish halfway through the game. He's [[UniqueProtagonistAsset suspiciously aware of everything that's going on]], has the same MysticalWhiteHair and [[HalfHumanHybrid demonic powers]] as the rest of Dante's family, and flat-out warns Dante at the start of the game that Vergil's NotQuiteDead. Plus there's a ThemeSongReveal, as his battle music literally has the lines "devil in my blood" and "[[LiteralSplitPersonality split myself in two]]".

** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' has a far more obvious example than probably any other game in the series: Seymour, with his incredibly creepy theme music, DevilishHairHorns, [[RedRightHand veins all over his face]], AndNowYouMustMarryMe scene, CreepyHighPitchedVoice, a shady scene of him allowing the use of Machina despite being a Maestor of Yevon, someone supposed to condemn Machina, by saying "pretend you didn’t see it?", evil-looking elaborate outfit complete with a HighCollarOfDoom. For once Tidus actually averts his IdiotHero status by being [[OnlySaneMan the only person in the game]] to catch on to the insane amount of ObviouslyEvil traits in play here while everyone else is GenreBlind and completely surprised when it turns out that this ObviouslyEvil character is, in fact, evil.

* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' has a history with twist villains, usually evil team leaders pretending to be normal [=NPCs=], being really easy to see through:

* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' has a history with twist villains that are easy to see through:

* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'':
** Lysandre from ''VideoGame/PokemonXAndY'' has so many tip offs and ObviouslyEvil tropes stapled onto him. Between his intimidating character design, [[RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver red (specifically Team Flare red) and black color scheme]], ominous {{Leitmotif}}, tendency to go on {{Motive Rant}}s over the fate of the world (along with calling people "filth"), and ''the fact that Team Flare members openly congregate at his cafe'', the only people surprised that he was the BigBad were characters in-game... this includes the region's professor and Champion, both of whom he's ''openly given villainous monologues to''.

* As WebVideo/{{Caddicarus}} points out in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywkwq1KF1Ps&t=40m16s his review]] of ''VideoGame/LegoKnightsKingdom'', Lord Vladek has a name that sounds like a cross between UsefulNotes/VladTheImpaler and [[Series/DoctorWho Dalek]], wears [[RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver red and black armor]], tells the player that "[[FauxAffablyEvil I won't hurt you...too much.]]" and that they might need the skills they learned soon, and is held up as [[HorribleJudgeOfCharacter King Mathias]]' most trusted knight. As a result, it's not surprising when he betrays and usurps the king.

** ''VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield'' does this ''[[HereWeGoAgain again]]'' with Chairman Rose. Just like its predecessor, ''Sword and Shield'' had [[DiscOneFinalBoss Decoy Antagonists]] in the form of Team Yell, who were little more than obnoxious fans of your rival, Marnie. Meanwhile, Chairman Rose and his assistant Oleana were shown to have a lot of power in the Galar region by virtue of being the organizers of the Gym Challenge and Leon's sponsors. GenreSavvy players, already familiar with ''Sun and Moon''[='s=] plot, were able to catch on to Rose's villainy very quickly.

* Bishop and Qara from ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights2''. One's a SocialDarwinist who practically screams "don't trust me!", and the other's a sociopath who hates being one-upped, which TheHero frequently will. Do the math yourself. Surprisingly, though, this can be somewhat subverted; while Bishop will always sell you out, he can be persuaded not to fight you if you're female, and while Qara will almost always betray you, there's a slim chance she won't.
** You can easily plan for maintaining Qara's loyalty if given the simple piece of info that whoever is more loyal of Sand and Qara will stay with you and the other will betray you. If that's your thing. Pissing off Sand was not something most players did, as he's both plot-relevant and one of the more likeable characters.

* ''VideoGame/{{Ghostrunner}}'': Over the course of the final level it's revealed that [[spoiler:the Architect wanted you to kill the Keymaster so he could establish his own utilitarian dictatorship]]. [[SarcasmMode Who would have thought?]] It may be an IntendedAudienceReaction, as the obviousness of it is lampshaded by the Ghostrunner himself, who is quite clearly wary of the Architect and actively disobeys him on several occasions to help out others; he's only surprised by his direct attempt at killing him.

* ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'':
** Kreia aka [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder Darth Traya]] from ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLords''. She comes across like a Sith Lord, admits to ''having been one'' early on, constantly manipulates and ''mentally tortures'' your companions, and acts as arrogant and pompous as any of the Sith. Not to mention, her ([[AuthorAvatar and the writers']]) attempts at [[{{Deconstruction}} deconstructing]] the BlackAndWhiteMorality of the ''Franchise/StarWars'' universe almost always result in acting like a heartless bastard ([[BrokenAesop and Dark Side points]]). With a good Intelligence, you can outright call her out on being a former Sith and a possible traitor the moment you meet her... and her response is basically "So?"
** G0-T0 in the same game is a TokenEvilTeammate who forces himself onto your party and threatens to nuke the ship if he doesn't get his way. In the final act of the game, he tries to sabotage TheExile's attempt to destroy Malachor V in order to smuggle artifacts offworld, only to be destroyed by HK-47.
** SCORPIO in ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'' is a [[VideoGame/{{Portal}} GLaDOS]]-esque [[AIIsACrapshoot psycho droid]] recruited in the [[SecretPolice Imperial Agent]] questline after trying to kill the PlayerCharacter. Over time she gradually learns to appreciate the Agent's company and seemingly [[TokenEvilTeammate stops plotting to kill them]], but is still about as trustworthy as [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder a Sith Lord (or Kaliyo)]]. Regardless of whether the player is continuing as the Agent or not, she inevitably betrays them in the ''Fallen Empire'' and ''Eternal Throne'' expansions for her own ends.
** Zigzagged by Darth Jadus in the Agent storyline, [[MeaningfulName whose name is even an anagram of Judas]], as he stages a coup in order to rebuild TheEmpire according to his personal vision but is otherwise loyal. In Act 1 he's supposedly killed by terrorists, but given that he's one of the most powerful Sith alive and they NeverFoundTheBody it's fairly obvious he was FakingTheDead before the eventual reveal.
** Kannos in the FanGame ''Knights of the Old Republic III: VideoGame/TheJediMasters'' is a TokenEvilTeammate to an almost cartoonish degree. He's a PsychoForHire ''and'' CorruptCorporateExecutive (of a MurderInc no less), and you're told outright from the beginning not to trust him no matter how AffablyEvil he is. Although it's possible for the player to befriend him and while he never ''intended'' to betray them, regardless he's manipulated by the GreaterScopeVillain into becoming the BigBad. At the end of the game it's possible to have an IKnowYoureInThereSomewhereFight with him as a result of said friendship, earning the GoldenEnding [[GuideDangIt if the conditions are met]].

* Bishop and Qara from ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights2''. One's a SocialDarwinist who practically screams "don't trust me!", and the other's a sociopath who hates being one-upped, which TheHero frequently will. Do the math yourself. Surprisingly, though, this can be somewhat subverted; while Bishop will always sell you out, he can be persuaded not to fight you if you're female, and while Qara will almost always betray you, there's a slim chance she won't.
** You can easily plan for maintaining Qara's loyalty if given the simple piece of info that whoever is more loyal of Sand and Qara will stay with you and the other will betray you. If that's your thing. Pissing off Sand was not something most players did, as he's both plot-relevant and one of the more likeable characters.

* In ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry5'', it's pretty obvious that V is actually Dante's EvilTwin Vergil, to the point that he outright admits it to Trish halfway through the game. He's [[UniqueProtagonistAsset suspiciously aware of everything that's going on]], has the same MysticalWhiteHair and [[HalfHumanHybrid demonic powers]] as the rest of Dante's family, and flat-out warns Dante at the start of the game that Vergil's NotQuiteDead. Plus there's a ThemeSongReveal, as his battle music literally has the lines "devil in my blood" and "[[LiteralSplitPersonality split myself in two]]".
* ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'' subverts this by how quickly the villains turn; so soon that their reveals doesn't get a chance to become a spoiler. If playing the Human Noble background first, Arl Howe might surprise you in the introduction, otherwise he's already obviously evil the first time he's seen. Loghain commits his betrayal and heads for coup at the end of the first Act, and the first time we see him his pale, cadaverous look screams ObviouslyEvil (although the "evil" part turns out to be a case of WellIntentionedExtremist who's overestimated his own capabilities).
** If you fail to gain enough loyalty Zevran will turn on you as soon as he's given a chance to return to his previous life with the slate wiped clean of his initial failure. This is after he's spent the game playing up how shallow, self-interested and jovially merciless he is.
* ''VideoGame/BreathOfFireDragonQuarter'': Bosch. He may be your best friend, but it's obvious, due to his smug, aristocratic manner and the the way his ego is tied to his D-Ratio, that he's going to betray Ryu the moment Ryu bonds with the most powerful dragon in the land (thus proving that the all-important D-Ratio has nothing to do with the greatness of one's destiny).
* ''VideoGame/TalesSeries'':
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss'': The first half of the game does a good job at hiding the potential mole in your party. It's during the second half, when suddenly all curtains are raised and an arrow points at Anise, including her utterly [[LargeHam exaggerated]] reactions to things or mysterious disappearances, along with the fact that her parents are in debt to the Order of Lorelei, so Mohs has leverage against her. According to some players, Anise being the mole felt like an AssPull.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia'': In the series in general, everyone expects one traitor per game, but Alfred vin Svent/Alvin is not only a very suspicious mercenary who very conveniently bails Jude and Milla out of getting arrested, he betrays the party ''[[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder constantly]]'' (not kidding, it was at least eight times). The party justifies keeping him around by saying he'd follow them anyways and at least this way they can keep an eye on him, but it's a surprise no one just kills him with all the trouble and grief he causes.
** One of the factors to how obviously the Traitor character in any given ''Tales'' game will be portrayed comes down to [[SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism Idealistic vs. Pragmatic spread among the party members]]; ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'' is no exception. Raven betrays the party once or twice before he even formally introduces himself to them. When he does join, he shamelessly does so by exploiting their need for information he has after they make it clear they don't trust him. While the revelation of his true identity as Captain Schwann seems to catch everyone by surprise, only Karel and Rita seem genuinely surprised by his betrayal, whereas the more experienced Yuri and Judith seem to have anticipated his inevitable betrayal.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'': After Kratos, who was a mercenary with suspiciously varied knowledge in all sorts of aspects of the world of Sylvarant (see where Alvin got it from?), betrays you, the player can easily tell the next one coming. It's no surprise when it turns out that [[ChivalrousPervert Zelos]] is the next traitor in the group. He disappears at times, has convenient excuses or explanations for things. His ObfuscatingStupidity didn't fool any player for very long, either. Ultimately, however, it's subverted in that Kratos is really on your side the whole time, and in most story routes Zelos is too.
* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'':
** Lysandre from ''VideoGame/PokemonXAndY'' has so many tip offs and ObviouslyEvil tropes stapled onto him. Between his intimidating character design, [[RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver red (specifically Team Flare red) and black color scheme]], ominous {{Leitmotif}}, tendency to go on {{Motive Rant}}s over the fate of the world (along with calling people "filth"), and ''the fact that Team Flare members openly congregate at his cafe'', the only people surprised that he was the BigBad were characters in-game... this includes the region's professor and Champion, both of whom he's ''openly given villainous monologues to''.
** The Aether Foundation, specifically Lusamine from ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'' suffers from this to an even greater extent thanks to having [[TrailersAlwaysSpoil much of the games' plot revealed in marketing]]. In their debut trailer, the Aether Foundation appeared to be a group of {{Motherly Scientist}}s dressed in [[GoldAndWhiteAreDivine gold and white]] who run a conservation group for Pokémon that were hurt by Team Skull. Of course, people quickly got LightIsNotGood and PureIsNotGood vibes from them when they saw that their "branch chiefs" and "employees" were basically admins and grunts in disguise. Within the game itself, ''the opening sequence'' features Lillie running away from Aether employees, and their formal introduction includes a number of ObviouslyEvil tropes, raising the question of why the marketing even tried to pass them off as good guys. A twist still exists in that Lusamine's research with Ultra Beasts has made her BrainwashedAndCrazy, and that Admin Faba is the only actual sinister member of the organization (with the post-game of ''VideoGame/PokemonUltraSunAndMoon'' emphasizing both these points even more), though.
*** Not helped by the fact that Team Skull, a group of LargeHam goofballs mostly involved in petty crime who nobody took seriously in-game, were the ones advertised as the supposed actual villain team of the story. Due to the series' PlotLeveling of having the villainous teams becoming more and more dangerous with each new installment, to the point that the entire world was usually at stake by the end of the game, everyone correctly pegged them as {{decoy antagonist}}s meant to hide the real villains.
** ''VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield'' does this ''[[HereWeGoAgain again]]'' with Chairman Rose. Just like its predecessor, ''Sword and Shield'' had [[DiscOneFinalBoss Decoy Antagonists]] in the form of Team Yell, who were little more than obnoxious fans of your rival, Marnie. Meanwhile, Chairman Rose and his assistant Oleana were shown to have a lot of power in the Galar region by virtue of being the organizers of the Gym Challenge and Leon's sponsors. GenreSavvy players, already familiar with ''Sun and Moon''[='s=] plot, were able to catch on to Rose's villainy very quickly.
** ''VideoGame/PokemonScarletAndViolet'' does a terrible job of hiding that TheSmartGuy Penny is the boss of Team Star. Save a nerd getting picked on, then almost immediately have a MysteriousEmployer hack your phone and task you with getting rid of the same people responsible? That same nerd coincidentally happens to also be involved with said employer and happens to be in the area whenever you complete a task for them? That same employer also displays personal knowledge of all the Team Star bosses? And for the final strike, if you [[TheThreeTrials complete Arven's storyline first]] the PlayerCharacter [[InterfaceSpoiler offers to recruit Penny before they even find out she's the one who hacked their phone]].
** Nuzleaf of ''VideoGame/PokemonSuperMysteryDungeon'' has received this reaction from quite an number of players. He acts pleasant enough with the heroes, but [[VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeon the series]] has a tradition of making [[BitchInSheepsClothing the overtly nice ones]] be EvilAllAlong. He also seems a little too interested in the player character's amnesia and Serenity Villages's high security area. So of course, he eventually betrays you and reveals he is TheMole for [[BigBad Dark Matter]] (albeit a BrainwashedAndCrazy one).
* ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'':
** During one Alliance quest in Spires of Arak, the traitor who was selling plans to the Horde turns out to be a drunk with a history of disciplinary problems, meaning he clearly wasn't even pretending to be a model soldier.
** In the Dagger in the Dark scenario it is rather obvious that Rak'gor is going to turn on Vol'jin and the player based on his disrespect and simmering hostility. The hostility between Vol'jin and Garrosh's loyalists had been built up since ''Cataclysm,'' and the game even changes the objective to killing Rak'gor and the Kor'kron assassins with him ''before'' Vol'jin gets stabbed.
** In the Highmountain storyline, the player is tasked with helping Mayla Highmountain, chief of the Highmountain tauren, gain the assistance of three fellow tauren tribes. One of them, the Bloodtotem tribe, not only has the most imposing name, but is also the most xenophobic and hostile. Eventually, the player realizes that the Bloodtotem are in league with the Burning Legion.
** Baron Vyraz in the Maldraxxus storyline. He's supposedly a great warrior who has earned his place as Margrave Krexus' right hand man over many victories, but he always just employs AttackAttackAttack strategies that inevitably fail spectacularly and get everyone except him killed. So it doesn't come as a huge surprise when it's revealed he's working with the bad guys and has been deliberately setting you up for failure in an attempt to weaken the House of the Chosen so he can take over as it's new Margrave. He's also a new character who is only introduced in Maldraxxus, which makes him an obvious pick compared to established heroes Draka and Alexandros.
* ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'':
** The true SerialKiller and BigBad of ''VideoGame/Persona4'', Adachi, might stand out in the original version as [[InterfaceSpoiler the only major character to not have a Social Link]]. In the ''Golden'' UpdatedRerelease, this was changed and he's given a Social Link, but at that point the killer's identity was largely a LateArrivalSpoiler anyway. Still, if you did manage to go in unspoiled, you'd definitely raise an eyebrow upon seeing his Arcana is the Jester -- another 0, like your Fool. Or that his Link will only raise during plot events once it's past a certain level. His Social Link only maxes out after you reach the path to the true ending.
** In ''VideoGame/Persona5'', the InMediasRes part of the story begins with the Thieves getting arrested because a traitor sold them out. For a variety of reasons, it's fairly obvious that it's Goro Akechi, the detective investigating the Phantom Thieves, who'd recently forced them to let him join them with a mix of {{Blackmail}} and EnemyMine so that he could lure them into a trap. In a unique twist on this, after you get back to the starting point it's revealed that he's just as obvious in-universe as out; Joker had him figured out ever since May (the failed heist is in November), because he unknowingly revealed he'd been to the Metaverse by then in an offhand comment. Even his supposed boss, Shido, was well-aware that Akechi planned to betray him eventually and had a contingency to kill him when he tried. Even in ''VideoGame/PersonaQ2NewCinemaLabyrinth'', several members of the [[VideoGame/Persona4 Investigation Team]] and [[VideoGame/Persona3 S.E.E.S.]] realize that this trope is in play after being around Akechi for long enough.
** In the same game, there's also the true BigBad and the GreaterScopeVillain, Yaldabaoth himself, who was impersonating the BigGood Igor all along. And he does a ''terrible job'' hiding it too; his voice and speech tone are completely different from the real Igor, which is extremely arrogant and condescending and much unlike the real one who is much more calm and refined. In fact, he even blatantly tells you "the game is over" if you die! (As opposed to the real one who just tells you to hit the ResetButton, in case of a [[NonStandardGameOver deadline-induced game over]].) Igor starts acting even more strangely the night before the final dungeon of the original game, to the point that even the twins who are the Velvet Room attendants are unnerved. While the voice change can be dismissed as the result of [[TheOtherDarrin his previous Japanese voice actor's death]](although his voice actor is ''also'' changed for the English version), you can definitely see that "Igor" is ''defintely'' not the real thing if this is not your first ''Persona'' game.
** ''VideoGame/PersonaQ2NewCinemaLabyrinth'': There's the BigBad Nagi, actually Enlil. Unlike Yaldabaoth above, she doesn't even try to pretend that she's the BigGood. For all of the Persona users' ventures in the movie world, there is a clear story behind it, which is the embodiment of the traumas that caused Hikari to fall into suicidal depression, and even Doe has been revealed to actually trying to help her up to the fourth labyrinth. (Remember that the Fourth Dungeon is near-endgame in ''VideoGame/EtrianOdyssey'', which the ''VideoGame/{{Persona Q|ShadowOfTheLabyrinth}}'' titles take after.) Yet, Nagi herself appears to be absolutely doing close to ''nothing'' throughout the four movies. And of course... she's obviously going to be the ObliviouslyEvil BigBad of the game, being responsible for locking thousands in catatonic depression in a misguided attempt to save them from the pain of society.
** ''VideoGame/Persona5Strikers'' has Kuon Ichinose, who does nothing for a good majority of the game save for acting as a QuestGiver and yet is hyped up as a major character, takes MostDefinitelyNotAVillain and ObfuscatingStupidity to the next level, and has numerous ham fisted "hints" that "hint" at a secret agenda. Surprise, surprise: she turns out to be the villain.
* In ''VideoGame/UltimaV'', who would have suspected that [[SdrawkcabName Saduj]] was secretly plotting against you?

* It came as a surprise to absolutely no one when Richtofen, the AxCrazy HerrDoktor of ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyZombies'', ended up having [[TheChessmaster masterminded the events up to that point]] in order to take control of the zombies for himself. Of course, ''Zombies'' being [[DenserAndWackier what it is]], this was completely PlayedForLaughs.
--> '''''FINALLY! IT WILL BE MINE!''''' '''''[[EvilLaugh HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH-]]''''' I mean uh... [[VerbalBackpedaling Hey, look, I think we're in space!]]
* ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption2'': In Chapters 4, 5, and 6, Dutch begins to suspect that one of his men is talking to the Pinkerton Agents who are after them due to how quickly they keep getting found. It turns out he's right. Who's the traitor? Micah Bell, the ObviouslyEvil PsychoForHire who's only been in the gang a few months. Unfortunately, Dutch's paranoia causes him to start pushing away all of his lifelong friends who are questioning his [[SanitySlippage increasingly dubious decisions]] while relying on Micah more due to him always being (outwardly) supportive of anything Dutch does. Dutch does eventually get revenge on Micah in the game's epilogue, however.
* ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'':
** The Agartha arc has the Rider of Resistance, actually Christopher Columbus, having undergone a HistoricalVillainUpgrade. Between his overly-detailed, shadowy, and sketchy NonStandardCharacterDesign, black and purple outfit, and his guttural voice, it's pretty clear on the surface that he's bad news. That's before he keeps ranting about how he's close to achieving an unspecific goal, or his base burns down under oddly suspicious circumstances to necessitate the group move forward. Also, the fact that he keeps conspicuously hiding his identity is rarely a good sign, nor is the fact that your MissionControl is openly suspicious of who he really is. Despite this, the group pretty much does everything he says until the very last minute.
** In the Avalon Le Fae arc, we have Oberon betraying the heroes at the last minute. Between his NonstandardCharacterDesign sticking out like a sore thumb, his unexplained ability to consistently change class, his ominous placement in the newest opening for the game giving him more prominence than the supposed main villain of the story, Morgan, and that when he does fight with the heroes his golden looking attacks almost always dissolve into a black ichor at the last moment made a lot of people guess that he was going to backstab the heroes at some point. This is intentional as the script has dialogue options to consistently find him untrustworthy, rewarding a suspicious player with a bonus cutscene that discusses Oberon's relationship with the protagonist.

* ''VideoGame/{{Daikatana}}'''s main villain openly tells Hiro multiple times that he shouldn't trust his allies. One of said allies, Mikiko, acts incredibly sadistic and cruel in all her combat dialogue, keeps pressing for the most selfish action possible whenever asked for her opinion, and told Hiro's other ally, Superfly, "don't worry; you'll get what's coming to you" in her first appearance. For some reason, Hiro is legitimately shocked when she proceeds to backstab Superfly and try to murder him.
%%* ''VideoGame/NinjaGaiden'', to the point where only two games in the series don’t utilize this trope. (ZCE- how?)
* The notorious ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'' mod ''VideoGame/TheFrontier'' features a note that there's a Caesar's Legion spy among the NCR Exiles. Not long after you hear this, you meet an NCR officer with the very obvious Latin name of Tiberius Rancor, who keeps refusing to answer questions about his past, [[NarrowedItDownToTheGuyIRecognize has a professional voice actor]], wears SinisterShades, and generally acts like a jerk. Bonus for being [[PlotArmor marked as essential]], so that if the player tries to kill him, he gets back up, revealing him to be relevant to the plot.
* In the prologue of ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles1'', Dunban is fighting the Mechon armies in Sword Valley, accompanied by his war mates Dickson and Mumkhar. Dunban opts to keep on fighting the Mechon with the Monado, with Dickson reluctantly agreeing to go with him. Mumkhar, on the other hand, doesn't ever talk about anything other than backing out. After Dunban and Dickson jump into battle, Mumkhar schemes that he'll just wait until the right time to get the hell out of dodge, which he immediately does within minutes. The appearances of these three warriors certainly don't help matters. This does, however, obfuscate that Mumkhar wouldn't be the ''only'' traitor in the group in the greater scope of the story...
* ''VideoGame/{{Minoria}}'' has [[VillainousPrincess Princess Amelia Soliette]] and the Church in general. Though seemingly the {{Big Good}}s of the setting, it is made abundantly clear since the beginning that they are a CorruptChurch- one of the first things we learn about them is that they killed heroine Semillia's mother for being a witch, and a little later it is casually mentioned that they burn down entire villages to kill suspected witches. We learn in about the halfway point that they would torture witches in a cellar below the cathedral. Amelia seems nice at first but starts badmouthing witches and spewing hateful rhetoric about them, and is fully supportive of the Church's atrocities. It is thus little surprise when they turn out to be the real villains.
* Seth, your MissionControl in the NOD campaign of ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerTiberianDawn'', is an incredibly arrogant man (the first time you see him, he identifies himself as ''two steps away from God'') who quickly shows a lack of respect for you and a growing jealousy for your successes. After the fifth mission, he starts blatantly lying to you about the conditions of each mission he assigns. He finally tips his hand by attempting to send you on an obvious suicide mission, only for Kane to finally step in... bullet-first.
* In ''VideoGame/SomaSpirits'', while Dissonance is openly presented as the antagonist, his sister Form is positioned as a benevolent ally and BigGood, and initially nothing seems amiss. Until she tells you that she wants a world of happiness and to only collect orbs of joy, which is already at odds with the moral of achieving balance, and when you see that doing this requires you to sacrifice the happiness of the greater society, combined with her being incredibly pushy and demanding if you disobey her- or even if you obey her- and outright encouraging you to condemn the wildlife of Freezing Fjord to die in an endless winter, it becomes increasingly hard to trust her. Sure enough, she is every bit as evil as her brother and wants to [[HappinessIsMandatory force everyone in the world to be happy against their will]].
* ''VideoGame/GhostSchool'': [[TokenEvilTeammate Yakumo Kurosaki]] is a {{white hair|BlackHeart}}ed and callous {{Jerkass}} who shows no concern for the safety of his fellow students trapped inside the titular school, instead being more concerned with getting to see a spirit up close, and refuses to help Senna until he decides he feels like it. It is thus of little surprise when he goes AxCrazy and tries to murder the party.

* As WebVideo/{{Caddicarus}} points out in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywkwq1KF1Ps&t=40m16s his review]] of ''VideoGame/LegoKnightsKingdom'', Lord Vladek has a name that sounds like a cross between UsefulNotes/VladTheImpaler and [[Series/DoctorWho Dalek]], wears [[RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver red and black armor]], tells the player that "[[FauxAffablyEvil I won't hurt you...too much.]]" and that they might need the skills they learned soon, and is held up as [[HorribleJudgeOfCharacter King Mathias]]' most trusted knight. As a result, it's not surprising when he betrays and usurps the king.
* ''10,000 Bullets'': Crow's mentor is literally named Judas, and sure enough turns out to be a spy working for a rival gang, the Sleepers, and the final BigBad.
* ''VideoGame/{{Cuphead}}'': From the DLC ''The Delicious Last Course'', Chef Saltbaker initially appears as a genuinely nice fellow who shows no signs of a single vice, in contrast to the other characters' more rounded personalities. Adding to the fact that no one else in the cast was set up as a potential suspect, the moment Saltbaker is revealed to be the DLC's BigBad and subsequently its FinalBoss came to no surprise for plenty of players.

*** In the ''Birthright'' route, Zola, who'd been introduced posing as Izana in order to try to kill the Avatar and Sakura. He looks as ObviouslyEvil as they come and is another example of "joins the group but isn't playable," after he tags along with the group after the Avatar prevents Leo from killing him. Everyone remains suspicious of him from the moment he joins, and sure enough, he's a HeelFaceMole. It's played with, however, in that Zola genuinely came to sympathize with the party while he was with them and pleads with [[BigBad Garon]] to spare them, which [[RewardedAsATraitorDeserves gets him]] [[HeelFaceDoorSlam killed]].

* The notorious ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'' mod ''VideoGame/TheFrontier'' features a note that there's a Caesar's Legion spy among the NCR Exiles. Not long after you hear this, you meet an NCR officer with the very obvious Latin name of Tiberius Rancor, who keeps refusing to answer questions about his past, [[NarrowedItDownToTheGuyIRecognize has a professional voice actor]], and generally acts like a jerk. Bonus for being [[PlotArmor marked as essential]], so that if the player tries to kill him, he gets back up, revealing him to be relevant to the plot.

** Speaking of ''VideoGame/PersonaQ2NewCinemaLabyrinth'', there's the BigBad Nagi, actually Enlil. Unlike Yaldabaoth above, she doesn't even try to pretend that she's the BigGood. For all of the Persona users' ventures in the movie world, there is a clear story behind it, which is the embodiment of the traumas that caused Hikari to fall into suicidal depression, and even Doe has been revealed to actually trying to help her up to the fourth labyrinth. (Remember that the Fourth Dungeon is near-endgame in ''VideoGame/EtrianOdyssey'', which the ''VideoGame/{{Persona Q|ShadowOfTheLabyrinth}}'' titles take after.) Yet, Nagi herself appears to be absolutely doing close to ''nothing'' throughout the four movies. And of course... she's obviously going to be the ObliviouslyEvil BigBad of the game, being responsible for locking thousands in catatonic depression in a misguided attempt to save them from the pain of society.

** ''VideoGame/TalesOfXillia'': In the series in general, everyone expects one traitor per game, but Alvin vin Svent is not only a very suspicious mercenary who very conveniently bails Jude and Milla out of getting arrested, he betrays the party ''[[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder constantly]]'' (not kidding, it was at least eight times). The party justifies keeping him around by saying he'd follow them anyways and at least this way they can keep an eye on him, but it's a surprise no one just kills him with all the trouble and grief he causes.

** In ''VideoGame/Persona5'', it's learned at the beginning that someone betrayed the party, but not said who. For a variety of reasons, it's fairly obvious that it's Goro Akechi, the detective investigating the Phantom Thieves, who'd recently forced them to let him join them with a mix of {{Blackmail}} and EnemyMine so that he could lure them into a trap. In a unique twist on this, it's eventually revealed that the party was entirely aware of Akechi being a mole after Joker realizes he was able to hear Morgana long before he said he could while the game is deliberately misdirecting the player, leading to dueling {{Gambit Roulette}}s from both the traitor and the party. Even in ''VideoGame/PersonaQ2NewCinemaLabyrinth'', several members of the [[VideoGame/Persona4 Investigation Team]] and [[VideoGame/Persona3 S.E.E.S.]] realize that this trope is in play after being around Akechi for long enough.

** In ''VideoGame/Persona5'', it's learned at the beginning that someone betrayed the party, but not said who. For a variety of reasons, it's fairly obvious that it's Goro Akechi, the detective investigating the Phantom Thieves, who'd recently forced them to let him join them with a mix of {{Blackmail}} and EnemyMine so that he could lure them into a trap. In an unique twist on this, it's eventually revealed that the party was entirely aware of Akechi being a mole after Joker realizes he was able to hear Morgana long before he said he could while the game is deliberately misdirecting the player, leading to dueling {{Gambit Roulette}}s from both the traitor and the party. Even in ''VideoGame/PersonaQ2NewCinemaLabyrinth'', several members of the [[VideoGame/Persona4 Investigation Team]] and [[VideoGame/Persona3 S.E.E.S.]] realize that this trope is in play after being around Akechi for long enough.

* As WebVideo/{{Caddicarus}} points out in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywkwq1KF1Ps&t=40m16s his review]] of ''VideoGame/LegoKnightsKingdom'', Lord Vladek has a name that sounds like a cross between UsefulNotes/VladTheImpaler and [[Series/DoctorWho Dalek]], [[RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver dresses in red and black]], tells the player that "[[FauxAffablyEvil I won't hurt you...too much.]]" and that they might need the skills they learned soon, and is held up as [[HorribleJudgeOfCharacter King Mathias]]' most trusted knight. As a result, it's not surprising when he betrays and usurps the king.