History TheSociopath / VideoGames

* Danny St. John from ''VideoGame/TheWalkingDead'', while Danny himself is mostly not explored, due to his limited amount of screentime in the game, we did find out, [[spoiler:he was a cannibal, he killed Jolene just because she knew his secret, and he even gave Lee tips on how to cook him when he got trapped in the bear trap.]]
** From Season 2, we have one William "Bill" Carver, who is happy to beat a man almost to death, smack around an eleven-year-old girl, and candidly and remorselessly admits to killing Reggie in cold blood if Bonnie asks. More worrisome is that he [[NotSoDifferentRemark claims Clementine isn't so different]], although the truthfulness of this statement is up to the player.

* The ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'' series has three notable sociopaths, usually where VileVillainSaccharineShow tends to be in effect.

** [[spoiler:[[Characters/DanganronpaJunkoEnoshima Junko Enoshima]]]], the BigBad of the Hope's Peak saga, is a unique case, overlapping with AmbiguousDisorder as whatever condition they have, it's not an exact match for anything clinically documented.

* ''VideoGame/InjusticeGodsAmongUs'': ComicBook/TheJoker in the game proper is more of a NominalHero and doesn't get much screen time, but his Injustice counterpart takes the sociopath trope up to eleven, being the root cause for all of the misery that happens in the game. Five years prior to the game, [[spoiler:he planted the trigger for a nuclear bomb placed in the heart of Metropolis in a pregnant Lois Lane designed to go off the instant her heart stops beating. He also drugged Superman with Kryptonite-laced fear toxin, causing him to see Lois as Doomsday and kill her by dragging her into space so that the deaths of Lois, his unborn child, and all of Metropolis were on his hands]]. And the reason why he did it? He was tired of his constant defeats to Batman and wanted someone whom he could [[EvilIsPetty mentally break]] all ForTheEvulz. [[spoiler:While the Joker is KilledOffForReal]], his actions caused Superman to take a harder stance on crime and turned him into an even ''worse'' monster than he was. The fact that the Joker [[spoiler:[[DieLaughing gets the last laugh]]]] shows he was fully aware of this fact. Likewise, nobody has forgotten about his twisted legacy [[VideoGame/Injustice2 in the sequel.]]

* ''VideoGame/InjusticeGodsAmongUs'': ComicBook/TheJoker in the game proper is more of a NominalHero and doesn't get much screen time, but his Injustice counterpart takes the sociopath trope UpToEleven, being the root cause for all of the misery that happens in the game. Five years prior to the game, [[spoiler:he planted the trigger for a nuclear bomb placed in the heart of Metropolis in a pregnant Lois Lane designed to go off the instant her heart stops beating. He also drugged Superman with Kryptonite-laced fear toxin, causing him to see Lois as Doomsday and kill her by dragging her into space so that the deaths of Lois, his unborn child, and all of Metropolis were on his hands]]. And the reason why he did it? He was tired of his constant defeats to Batman and wanted someone whom he could [[EvilIsPetty mentally break]] all ForTheEvulz. [[spoiler:While the Joker is KilledOffForReal]], his actions caused Superman to take a harder stance on crime and turned him into an even ''worse'' monster than he was. The fact that the Joker [[spoiler:[[DieLaughing gets the last laugh]]]] shows he was fully aware of this fact. Likewise, nobody has forgotten about his twisted legacy [[VideoGame/Injustice2 in the sequel.]]

*** And then ''Dream Drop Distance reveals'' [[spoiler: that all the nobodies had the potential to grow new hearts and feel emotions all along. Bringing this trope UpToEleven with Xemnas, the one who lied to them and made them believe they were Sociopaths all in order to manipulate them and gain control of their minds, hearts, and bodies. And though he acts the most emotionless of them all, he likely had Terra's heart all along, meaning he was just naturally an uncaring monster.]]

** [[Characters/DanganronpaByakuyaTogami Byakuya Togami]] shows a lot of traits with how flippantly he treats the school Killing Game. [[spoiler: He crucified Chihiro's body to '''make the "game" more interesting'''.]] During the investigation, he calls [[spoiler:Chihiro]]'s body just an object, and after [[spoiler:Mondo]]'s execution, he claims it was a disappointing ending to their game. Also in the investigation, he doesn't care that they left Toko passed out and claims they'd be better off if she was dead. [[spoiler:In the daily life of Chapter 4, he tells Hina that he hopes Sakura would die after she's exposed as Monokuma's spy.]] He displays a typical smug self-importance and never acknowledges the ideals of others -- believing only he is right. [[spoiler:And the only reason he joins up with the others in the end is that he finds exposing the mastermind to be more interesting than participating in the Killing Game if no one will participate.]]

** [[spoiler:[[Characters/DanganronpaJunkoEnoshima Junko Enoshima]] is a unique case. She is an extremely intelligent manipulator who coerces people to her side; she lacks remorse for any of her actions; and her desire for despair was brought about as a side-effect of her being the Ultimate Analyst. As such, ForTheEvulz is her main reason for doing anything. However, she fails at the inability to create emotional bonds as she states that she loved her twin sister and Matsuda, and even indicates that she cared for her class. However, it is established that she saw them as objects that she would make meaningful relationships with all so she could get off on the despair she would feel when killing them. Aside from this, killing them regardless would indicate she didn't love them enough to not harm them.]]

* ''VideoGame/{{Watch Dogs}}'': Jordi Chin is strongly implied to be one. As a contract killer, he shows no remorse in killing his targets and doesn't discriminate against assignments; whatever pays the most he'll take it. He openly tells Aiden that he shouldn't waste his time trying to save his sister, and that he needs to "Seperate the morals from the moolah."

** Quarian Admiral Daro'Xen displays several classic signs of sociopathy as well, especially in regards to [[MechanicalLifeforms the geth]], whom she plans to -- ''as a race'' -- mind-wipe and return to their "rightful place" as the quarians' slaves. Tali'Zorah flat-out calls Xen insane when this bit of info comes out, showing that even among the anti-geth quarians Xen's stance is seen as radical. Also, Xen apparently used to perform surgery on childhood toys; Tali's [[ThisExplainsSoMuch response]] is predictable. Lastly, she shows an unhealthy interest in Legion (your geth squadmate), once expressing the desire to dissect the poor thing to see what makes it tick (which Paragon!Shepard is having none of, by the way).

** The ''VideoGame/SonicRivals'' sub-series has Dr. Eggman Nega, who lacks Eggman's redeeming qualities and seeks to turn the entire planet into a playground of destruction.

* Danny St. John from ''VideoGame/TheWalkingDead'', while Danny himself is mostly not explored, due to his limited amount of time on the game, we did find out, [[spoiler:he was a cannibal, he killed Jolene just because she knew his secret, and he even gave Lee tips on how to cook him when he got trapped in the bear trap.]]

** Cyrus from ''[[VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl Diamond and Pearl]]'' believes that [[StrawNihilist human emotion is the source of everything wrong with the universe]], thus manipulated anyone he came across into joining Team Galactic to help him create a new universe completely devoid of emotion.

** ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword Skyward Sword]]'' has [[BloodKnight Ghirahim]] an arrogant and extremely sadistic Demon Lord who seeks to use Zelda's life force to [[spoiler: revive his master Demise]] and pursues this goal with total disregard for the lives around him. Going through his personality traits is going through a sociopath's checklist: superficial charm, feels no remorse for anything, extremely sadistic and relishes the pain he inflicts on others, and will not hesitate to manipulate others if it serves his ends.

* ''VideoGame/AsurasWrath'' has [[spoiler:[[GreaterScopeVillain Chakravartin]], a [[GodIsEvil cold, uncaring creator god]] who's willing to destroy and recreate the world on multiple occasions all in the name of finding an heir, and despite his claims of wishing to better the universe, [[NotSoWellIntentionedExtremist only really cares about stoking his own ego]]. He tries to justify his actions using his OmniscientMoralityLicense, but nobody is buying it]].

* [[spoiler:Fluffy Fluffy Bun Bun'' from ''VideoGame/{{Toonstruck}}'' puts on an obnoxiously cheery and cutesy image to hide the fact that she's actually a cruel manipulator who wants to take over the world and be treated like a god. She has no remorse for [[spoiler:kidnapping King Hugh, ordering her guards to capture Drew and Flux, or blasting Flux with her Cutifier]].

* ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'':
** ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIII'': Claude is easily the GTA protagonist who best fits the criteria for anti-social personality disorder. The guy absolutely lacks remorse, guilt, or empathy; leads a life of crime very willingly, [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder betrays and kills his former allies as if he had no conscience]], and ultimately seems to lead a life of crime simply for the money he earns from killing others, as well as seeking revenge on the psychotic woman who betrayed him. Even the closest thing he has to a PetTheDog moment in rescuing Maria seems to be challenged at the end. What makes Claude exceptionally sociopathic is that, unlike most GTA protagonists, he doesn't even have a FreudianExcuse or even [[TragicVillain a tragic event that motivated him to take up a life of crime]], all we know is that he was an illegal race runner and that's it, which gives us a sign that he was already leading an illegal life even before he met Catalina.
** [[spoiler: Being a sadistic, hypocritical [[{{Jerkass}} jerk]] with zero remorse, [[BigBad Dimitri Rascalov]]]] from ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV'' is perhaps one of the best examples of a true sociopath played completely straight in the game. [[spoiler: This quote by Niko Bellic (in the Deal Ending) puts him best: ]]
-->[[spoiler: "You're a strange man. You killed your best friend. You betrayed everyone who ever came in contact with you. You killed my cousin. I guess...the survival of the fittest thing really meant a lot to you."]]

* ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption2'': [[PsychoPartyMember Micah Bell]], [[spoiler:the BigBad of the entire storyline]], is a very accurate depiction of a true sociopath/psychopath. [[FauxAffablyEvil He is very good at putting on a facade of confidence]], has a heightened sense of self, a need for stimulation (as exemplified when he shoots an entire town), is a [[ConsummateLiar pathological liar]], an exceptional [[ManipulativeBastard manipulator]], lacks remorse, guilt or [[LackOfEmpathy empathy]]; possesses promiscuous sexual behavior, is a cold-blooded murderer [[TeensAreMonsters from an early age]], is irresponsible, and absolutely lacks realistic goals or objectives, which is very common for sociopaths to live day to day, harming others [[ForTheEvulz for the sake of it]], without goals of life. Unfortunately for him, [[spoiler: he's also completely unaware of how far people will go to hunt him down in revenge as shown in the epilogue, which perhaps also speaks towards his LackOfEmpathy]].

** There are several party members that qualify as well. Kagain is a fairly high-functioning example, able to function in society and forge relationships, but unclear on the whole morality thing and preferring the simplicity of "violence for gold". Montaron is medium-functioning, he lives for violence and cares nothing for life, including his own, but has enough self-control to not go on murder sprees or fuck with the wrong people. At the low-functioning end, there's Tiax, who is severely delusional and only maintains the barest minimum of self-control necessary to use magic, and Korgan, who is a DeconstructedCharacterArchetype of the typical D&D murderhobo, showing exactly what kind of person is drawn to the lifestyle of killing things for money they immediately spend on booze.

** Celestia Ludenberg downplays this somewhat. Although she fulfills most of the criteria for sociopathy, such as LackOfEmpathy, her [[ConsummateLiar nonstop lying,]] and [[AmbitionIsEvil doing anything to get what she wants]], she'll lash out if [[BerserkButton someone asks too many questions about her name or past]]. Plus, a complete sociopath would come off as genuinely friendly, charming, and warm, whereas her attempts at acting as such come off as cold, and from the beginning, it's implied that [[NoSocialSkills she never had many friends.]] [[spoiler: When you get down to it, you might even be able to say that ''Celestia Ludenburg'' (the persona) is a sociopath, but ''Taeko Yasuhiro'' (the actual person) is not. Despite this, it didn't stop her from masterminding two deaths and claiming not to feel guilty about it when she is set to be executed.]]

* [[spoiler: Being a sadistic, hypocritical [[{{Jerkass}} jerk]] with zero remorse, [[BigBad Dimitri Rascalov]]]] from ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV'' is perhaps one of the best examples of a true sociopath played completely straight in the game. [[spoiler: This quote by Niko Bellic (in the Deal Ending) puts him best: ]]

* [[BigBad The Cyclops Serial Killer]] from ''VideoGame/AiTheSomniumFiles'' fits this trope to a T: [[spoiler: he was born with a brain defect that made him unable to secrete oxytocin, causing him to be unable to feel pleasure except when [[HighOnHomicide killing]]. First he started murdering small animals, then committed his very first murder as a child. After killing several women and a convoluted series of events he ends up [[FreakyFridayFlip switching to a body without this brain defect]], and he ''hates it''.]]

* The VillainProtagonist of ''VideoGame/YandereSimulator'' admits to being one in the second intro: she states that she had never felt any emotion and feigns normalcy in her day-to-day life, but after seeing Senpai, falling in love with him, and seeing him get along with another female classmate, she began to feel emotion for the first time in her life: specifically, [[GreenEyedMonster jealousy and anger the likes of which cannot be fathomed]]. [[spoiler:This is [[ItRunsInTheFamily familial]], her mother Ryoba was arguably ''worse'', not even seeing what was wrong with MurderingTheHypotenuse so she could be with her Senpai (the protagonist's father) and convinced an entire nation she was set up by the Journalist that tried to expose her.]]

%% Examples are alphabetized by the name of the work. Please add any further examples accordingly.

** [[Characters/DanganronpaByakuyaTogami Byakuya Togami]] shows a lot of traits with how flippantly he treats the school Killing Game. [[spoiler: He crucified Chihiro's body to '''make the "game" more interesting'''.]] During the investigation, he calls [[spoiler:Chihiro]]'s body just an object, and after [[spoiler:Mondo]]'s execution, he claims it was a disappointing ending to their game. Also in the investigation, he doesn't care that they left Toko passed out and claims they'd be better off if she was dead. [[spoiler:In the daily life of chapter 4, he tells Hina that he hopes Sakura would die after she's exposed as Monokuma's spy.]] He displays a typical smug self-importance and never acknowledges the ideals of others - believing only he is right. [[spoiler:And the only reason he joins up with the others in the end is that he finds exposing the mastermind to be more interesting than participating in the Killing Game if no one will participate.]]

* Stanislaus Braun of ''VideoGame/Fallout3.'' A heartless MadScientist who previously engineered the worst atrocities of the vaults, he's currently living it up in a virtual reality scenario in which he can torture the other ''real'' inhabitants to his heart's content. Braun's character is a checklist of all the most notable traits of psychopathy: he's a narcissist, [[InsufferableGenius holding his intellect in very high regard]] and expecting the player to follow his commands without question. He's glibly charming, [[BitchInSheepsClothing feigning friendliness in his guise as Betty]], and even expresses admiration if you play along with his games - but will turn on you in a heartbeat if you disobey him. He wants to be entertained on a near-constant basis, [[AllergicToRoutine ultimately deleting scenarios once he's exhausted their potential for fun]], and enlists you to amuse him through a progressively more sadistic array of crimes across Tranquility Lane. He lies and manipulates without so much as a guilty twinge, roping thousands of innocent people into the vaults with the promise of surviving nuclear war, offering his own vault residents the hope of enjoying a virtual heaven in the Tranquility Loungers, and manipulates you into cooperating by withholding the location of your father. Finally, he demonstrates a total lack of empathy for anyone he tortures and kills over the course of his games, and takes great delight in observing the suffering of real people - whether it's making a little boy cry, breaking up a happy couple's marriage, or murdering everyone on Tranquility Lane [[FateWorseThanDeath only to bring them back and torture them again]]. [[spoiler: And if you ever manage to MercyKill his captives, his biggest complaint is that you took away his toys.]]

** [[AmoralAfrikaner Hoyt Volker]], the BigBad. TheDon of a massive trafficking ring that sells drugs and slaves centered on the Rook Islands, Hoyt is a man who appears friendly on the surface, but undermines casual small talk with his workers by committing some atrocity or other, like burning one of his men alive for disloyalty. He has a LackOfEmpathy for his slaves, dismissing them as his "product", and cheerfully blows up a boat with passengers on it just because the customer doesn't want to negotiate with him outside country lines, heedless of the fact that he could end up killing his own men with pieces of the exploding boat. He orders "Foster"(actually Jason Brody) to go downstairs and torture a prisoner for him ([[KickTheDog Jason's own brother Riley]]), and Jason has to go through with it to maintain his cover. [[spoiler:And then he learns that Hoyt knew who he was all along, so he tortured Riley for nothing other than Hoyt's sick amusement.]] Hoyt's only interests in life are making money- [[ItsAllAboutMe and all company profits go to him instead of his men]]- smoking cigars, enjoying opera music, [[BreadEggsMilkSquick and murdering people]]. He also is a shockingly AxCrazy man, enough that [[RuthlessModernPirates Vaas]], who's very much ''not'' a shining depiction of sanity himself, is intimidated into compliance by his boss' anger. Above all else, Hoyt is a SmugSnake- even after Jason, the OneManArmy, destroys half his organization, he still feels confident that he can kill Jason in a KnifeFight [[spoiler:upon beating him in a poker game and cutting off one of his fingers. Like the aforementioned Buck, it doesn't end well for Mr. Volker.]] Really, Hoyt's character can all be summed up in this exchange between Jason and himself:

** Morinth of ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'': a coldblooded SerialKiller with the ability to destroy her victim's minds while melding, she will gladly manipulate others for her own gain and amusement, forms relationships with others only so she can kill them, sports a pathological desire for stimulation that she satisfies through drugs and murder, claims to be "the genetic destiny of the asari," and has no empathy for anyone. The mission overview after Samara's loyalty mission even says that her biotic powers would have made her an excellent addition to the squad... if her "sociopathic tendencies were mitigated." [[spoiler:Though you can kill Samara and recruit her anyway.]] According to the codex, all Ardat-Yakshi have the potential for this behavior, though few are actually murderers and most are only kept imprisoned in case their condition goes full-blown Morinth - or for fear that someone outside the asari might learn that Ardat-Yakshi exist, an embarrassing cultural secret.
** Quarian Admiral Daro'Xen displays several classic signs of sociopathy as well, especially in regards to [[MechanicalLifeforms the geth]], whom she plans to - ''as a race'' - mind-wipe and return to their "rightful place" as the quarians' slaves. Tali'Zorah flat-out calls Xen insane when this bit of info comes out, showing that even among the anti-geth quarians Xen's stance is seen as radical. Also, Xen apparently used to perform surgery on childhood toys; Tali's [[ThisExplainsSoMuch response]] is predictable. Lastly, she shows an unhealthy interest in Legion (your geth squadmate), once expressing the desire to dissect the poor thing to see what makes it tick (which Paragon!Shepard is having none of, by the way).

--->'''The Lantern King''': ''(The crowned living flame slowly turns to you, his glowing mask throbbing in rage. His wrath intertwines with the very essence of the surroundings, [[RealityWarper making the whole world change]].)'' To drink without quenching thirst. To climb a mountain that has no peak. [[ForTheEvulz I staged the performance]], and you left it [[NoEnding without a finale]]. You took away [[spoiler: Nyrissa, my precious toy, carefully crafted of [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds despair and wrath]]]]. I could reduce you to dust, revive you, and turn you to dust once more, here and now. But the universe abhors inelegance. So instead I shall repay you — with your own coin!

* Adrian Zorlescu of ''VideoGame/TheSecretWorld.'' A cold-hearted [[PathOfInspiration Morninglight]] operative, witness reports confirm that he will happily lie, cheat and manipulate in order to recruit for his cause, or to force innocent victims into doing his dirty work; he has no ability to emotionally reciprocate, and even [[CreepyMonotone talks in a flat monotone]]; he lacks empathy, considering the ordered torture of Alina as a "gift" to one of his sadistic lieutenants; finally, when you actually meet him, he's keeping himself amused by tormenting Rada Nastase - the woman he was ordered to serve as a CloudcuckoolandersMinder to - sometimes to the point of menacing her with a knife.
* ''[[VideoGame/ShadowrunReturns Shadowrun]]: Hong Kong'' has Racter, a MadScientist who was diagnosed as this at age 8. In game terms, this is what allows him [[spoiler: to have his entire lower-half be robotic - CyberneticsEatYourSoul simply doesn't apply to him.]] That said, he also expresses MoralSociopathy, because he believes that his research into his condition and the aforementioned spoiler could vastly improve humanity's lot.
* Chairman Yang of ''VideoGame/SidMeiersAlphaCentauri''. The GURPS supplement outright calls him one. While he's passionate about the greater welfare of humanity as a whole, he displays a shocking lack of compassion or remorse for the suffering his collectivist policies cause for his people. One key tenet of his faction's ideology is "mind over matter" - any amount of pain and suffering can be borne [[YourMindMakesItReal as long as you're able to convince yourself that you're not really feeling pain]].

** Doctor Eggman is a family-friendly version. Firstly, he has no conscience to speak of, using living creatures as batteries and by extension, experimentation on sentient beings. He is determined to take over the world purely because he ''deserves'' to rule the world - while at the same time not being exactly clear on what he'd do afterwards. As well as this, he is always prepared to briefly ally with Sonic against greater evils, then toss him aside once he has no use. He has been known to lie without the twitch of a mustache. Most obvious is his vanity - despite his many, many failures, he continues to fight Sonic with very little variation to his methods. Continuing in that vein, he is portrayed as also being charming and polite even to his enemies. Like most real-life Sociopaths, he also lacks CharacterDevelopment - while his origins have expanded over the franchise, his goals and methods remain the same.

** Dr Henry Lawson definitely counts. He's a MadScientist who views everyone as pawns or test subjects for him to use and throw away. Controlled every aspect of his two daughters right down to their DNA and has no problem killing them or using them as [[HumanShield Human Shields]]. He has in fact killed several daughters before Miranda because they weren't "perfect". He also sets up a refugee camp for people fleeing the Reapers, only for them to end up as guinea pigs for his experiments on Reaper tech, by turning them into [[WasOnceAMan husks]], and killing them when they don't meet his expectations. He claims to be saving humanity, but he's really doing it for his own ego thinking that people in the future would see him as humanity's savior.