The Best Open-World Games With Anti-Heroes As Protagonists

Usually, in a game, the player takes on the role of a hero with all the heroic values that make them likable. However, some games have unlikely protagonists who are better described as anti-heroes because they don’t have the usual heroic values that are seen in other protagonists.

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These characters, such as Arthur Morgan from Red Dead Redemption 2 or Alex Mercer from Prototype, tend to lack idealism and morality. Although they may do heroic things, the reason for doing them may not align with the player’s beliefs. These open-world games are some of the best for playing as an anti-hero.

8

The Suicide Squad – Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League

The Bad Guys Have To Stop The Heroes For A Change

Although Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League released to quite poor reviews, it cannot be denied that the action-adventure title that allows the player to control various members of the Suicide Squad has one of the most interesting open-world designs.

Traversing Metropolis as the villains turned heroes – better described as anti-heroes – Harley Quin, Captain Boomerang, Deadshot, and King Shark makes for a thrilling experience that flips the script, with these villains now saving the world from the Justice League heroes, who have been influenced by the supervillain, Brainiac. Naturally, the player is in for some funny moments between these team members, who are usually used to being the bad guys.

7

Altair – Assassin’s Creed

Fights Off Both Templars And Assassins

From the first game in the Assassin’s Creed franchise, Altair Ibn-La’Ahad is arguably one of the greatest anti-heroes in the entire series. Throughout the first Assassin’s Creed game, Altair is shown to turn on not only the Templars but also the Creed due to his stubbornness and refusal to change his ways, even while exploring an open world.

As an assassin, there is also a lack of morality or concern for life, as although Altair is tasked with killing people who are Templars and may not have humanity’s best interests in mind, he is still incredibly lethal, showing non-heroic actions at points, with some players deeming him to be egotistical at the start of Assassin’s Creed.

6

V – Cyberpunk 2077

Mercenaries Can Work For Anyone

The open world of Cyberpunk 2077 is already filled with people and organizations with bad moral compasses. V, the main protagonist of Cyberpunk 2077, is only a product of the environment they exist in, turning them into the perfect anti-hero avatar for the player to explore the world. This all begins with picking a life path for V, as each one has anti-hero elements since players can either be a street kid who works for the various gangs of Night City, an employee of the Arasaka Corporation – the main antagonist of the game – or a Nomad who tends to keep to themselves.

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Even on top of this, all that V does is simply to try and save themselves from being killed by the chip that is slowly overriding their brain, allowing the player to take different routes to save themselves and treat people in different ways in Night City.

5

Cole McGrath – InFamous

Players Can Follow A Darker Morality Path

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Some of the best open-world titles are those like InFamous which allow the player to turn their main character, in this case Cole McGrath, into more of an anti-hero through various choices that can be made within the game.

Sucker Punch gave InFamous a morality system where certain actions would steer Cole in a specific moral direction. This would not only change the ending of InFamous, but also how Cole reacted to individuals and the types of powers he would obtain. It was still possible to do morally good things, but players in this open world had the choice to either mindlessly murder civilians while still achieving a better outcome for the city, or be a more generically good hero who doesn’t sacrifice the innocent for his goals.

4

The Boss – Saints Row: The Third

Control The Saints And (Somewhat) Save The World

The Saints Row franchise is legendary for players who are looking for the best open-world games where they can play as an anti-hero. The Boss – the protagonist of the franchise – is the perfect example of what it means to be an anti-hero.

The Saints, by all definitions, are a gang. Their main goal is to expand their gang by taking over various districts in Saints Row: The Third to make more money and earn more credibility with the people who live there. Even as they have become quite the brand name for some households before the events of Saints Row: The Third, they are still the same gang as before, leading them to do various immoral activities such as insurance fraud or mindless mayhem.

3

Trevor – Grand Theft Auto 5

One Of The Most Chaotic Protagonists In GTA History

The Grand Theft Auto franchise is filled with a variety of anti-hero characters, though one of the most chaotic that truly teeters on the line between anti-hero and outright villain is the terrifying but lovable Trevor from Grand Theft Auto 5.

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Throughout the events of Grand Theft Auto 5, Trevor is shown to be incredibly violent, even in the context of the Grand Theft Auto franchise. Certain missions see* Trevor torture individuals or just go on mindless killing sprees. However, in between all this mayhem, Trevor is also another character who has fought against the corrupt government and is shown to care for some of the people he meets.

2

Alex Mercer – Prototype

An Experiment Who Loses Faith In Humanity

To take on a horrific virus that has turned some folks into monsters, the player must take control of the monster themselves. Alex Mercer has no recollection of what his life was like before he was experimented upon, and now he must save the world from this virus as well as fight against the government while looking for answers.

Navigating this open world is incredible for an anti-hero like Alex, as he isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty while traversing New York. Whatever answers are found in Prototype appear to be awful, as this particular anti-hero later becomes the antagonist of Prototype 2.

1

Arthur Morgan – Red Dead Redemption 2

An Outlaw With A Heart Of Gold

By far, one of the greatest open-world games for playing as an anti-hero has to be Red Dead Redemption 2. While playing as Arthur Morgan, a player can choose to take two different moral paths with him, either as a noble outlaw or a ruthless bandit.

However, even when playing Arthur as a good person, he is still part of an outlaw gang that steals from people in the hopes of making enough money to finally flee from America. These heists occur constantly throughout the story of Red Dead Redemption 2, though outside these moments, Arthur is free to be guided however the player wishes.

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