The Most Over-The-Top Video Game Villains Of All Time

Just like their heroic counterparts, villains come in a variety of shapes and sizes; from quiet and calculating, such as the Illusive Man from Mass Effect, or zany and full of personality, such as Batman’s The Joker. They all have their own dastardly end goals, and will go about accomplishing them in their own villainous ways.

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With such a wide variety of antagonists in gaming, there are bound to be those villains who are completely over the top, be they maniacal, cartoonishly evil, or taking the role of the villain to brand-new heights. Don’t be fooled, these villains are still tremendously capable, and should not be taken lightly.

10

Karl Heisenberg (Resident Evil Village)

Creates An Army Of Mechanical Abominations

Resident Evil Village brought the conclusion of the Winters’ storyline, culminating in an ending that was certainly a tear-jerker. Long before that, players needed to explore a remote Romanian village, contending with each of the Four Lords to save Ethan’s infant daughter, Rosemary. The last lord they meet is Karl Heisenberg, who is clearly a fan of the movie Frankenstein’s Army.

Like the aforementioned movie, Heisenberg is putting his mad genius to work by creating monstrosities that are part-man and part-machine—such as the terrifying Sturm—and he has a whole factory chock-full of these creations. Most RE villains are content with just unleashing a virus on unsuspecting folks, but that isn’t enough for Heisenberg, who just had to be extra with his experiments.

9

Lysandre (Pokemon X & Y)

Deadly Obsessions With Beauty

Systems

Released

October 12, 2023

OpenCritic Rating

Mighty

A new criminal organization has risen going by the name Team Flare, and it is up to the plucky trainer and the Pokemon they have at their disposal to thwart their criminal activities. With 72 new Pokemon added, they now have even more exciting power at their hands to battle with. Pokemon X & Y are set in the Kalos region, which draws inspiration from France, with some fixations on beauty.

However, none are quite as fixated as Lysandre, the antagonistic trainer who has some drastic ideas of how the world can achieve true beauty, and be rid of all things negative or ugly in the process. He thinks that, by culling the majority of the world’s population, his dreams will be realized. Of course, this is an abolustely outlandish and completely over-the-top way to achieve his goals, but not to Lysandre.

8

Flowey (Undertale)

His Final Form Is Overkill

Undertale was the “it game” of 2015, drawing in large crowds of adoring fans thanks to its charming characters and genuinely touching story that drew a few, or perhaps many, tears over its runtime. One of the first charming denizens of the underground the player character meets is Flowey, who shows he has less than kind intentions for the player before the kindly Toriel chases the deadly flora away and takes the player under her wing.

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Unfortunately, this won’t be the last they see of Flowey, as he appears once more as the final boss for the neutral run, not only as a single yellow flower, but as a monster sporting flamethrowers, deadly vines, and a flickering screen that shows terrifying and distorted images. His attacks are just absolute overkill, especially when he kills and resurrects the player over and over again in a fourth-wall-breaking scene, as Flowey apparently has access to the game’s save files.

7

Pagan Min (Far Cry 4)

His Greed And Narcissim Know No Bounds

Systems

Released

November 18, 2014

OpenCritic Rating

Mighty

On his way to fulfill his mother’s death wish for her ashes to return to her home country of Kyrat, Ajay is accosted by the Royal Army and a man in a pink suit by the name of Pagan Min, the King of the country who takes it upon himself to invite Ajay to dinner. However, he truly leaves Ajay no option, as he kidnaps him.

With an entrance like that, there is no disputing the fact that Pagan Min is an attention-grabbing villain, which is probably just how he likes it. Players will get to know just how over the top this antagonist is throughout the game, as they get to know the image Pagan has painted for himself through the propaganda he floods the streets of his kingdom with. The player witnesses this strangely soft-spoken man commit some truly bizarre deeds, such as consuming some of the protagonist’s mother’s ashes, which is clearly a part of his eccentric performance.

6

Neo Cortex (Crash Bandicoot)

Puts The “Mad” Into Mad Scientist

Every major classic franchise has its returning hero and villain, forever locked in a contest of skills and wits, with the hero forever prevailing, of course. The most iconic examples are Mario and Bowser, Sonic and Robotnik, and Crash and Neo Cortex from the Crash Bandicoot series.

The latter has lofty ambitions of world destruction, as mad scientists are wont to do, but Crash isn’t about to sit back and let them happen, constantly acting as a hindrance to Cortex’s outlandish plans. His plots are usually so over the top that even other scientists scoff at his work, which he takes as a slight to his genius. His madness is perhaps only topped by his intelligence and other nasty qualities, such as his temper, recklessness, and clear disdain for the lives of everyone else around him.

5

Albert Wesker (Resident Evil 5)

Wesker’s New Look Is Accompanied By A New Goal

Wesker is by far one of the most iconic villains in the Resident Evil franchise, first debuting as a member of S.T.A.R.S. alongside Chris and Jill before his duplicitous nature came to light. He has appeared in numerous other games in the series since, with fans still hoping for his return, despite his rather fiery end in a volcano in Resident Evil 5. This is the game where Wesker as a villain truly shined, offering a tremendously funny take on his character, whether it was intentional or not.

Not only is his outfit ridiculously overdone, but his goals are wacky even by horror game standards. He wants to introduce Uroboros to the rest of the world, hoping for “complete global saturation,” and he will accomplish this with the help of a few new allies, one being the mind-controlled and now suddenly blonde Jill. Apparently, it was due to the viruses she was injected with, which caused her hair to lose pigmentation, but with this Wesker, it wouldn’t be totally out of the question if he just wanted him and his new ally to be sporting matching ‘dos.

4

Handsome Jack (Borderlands 2)

None Can Match Jack’s Bravado Or Ego

When a man takes it upon himself to add the word “handsome” to their name, there is definitely some egotism going on. This might be a light way to describe the bombastic Handsome Jack, who can’t help but hog the limelight whenever he struts onto the scene. Despite acting as the primary antagonist of Borderlands 2, he likes to think of himself as the hero, wanting all the praise, accolades, and attention that comes with the title, propping himself up as the leader of Hyperion and Pandora, with his face plastered on nearly every surface.

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Whatever he thinks of himself, he is definitely still a villain, and one the player has the pleasure—or maybe displeasure—of dealing with once and for all at the end of Borderlands 2; but only after he unleashes the Warrior from the vault, of course. Even before that, Jack is an almost constant and unrelenting force in the game, with his ego so inflated it could probably reach every corner of the galaxy.

3

The Joker (Batman: Arkham Series)

A Recurring Menace With A Penchant For Mischief And Madness

Systems

Released

October 13, 2023

OpenCritic Rating

Fair

The Joker is the long-standing nemesis of Batman across all Batman media, from the comics to the big screen, from TV shows to video games, and this has not changed in the Batman: Arkham franchise, which kicked off with Arkham Asylum. Batman is forced to venture inside the asylum and try and restore order, as the inmates have taken over, spearheaded by the crafty Joker who intentionally got himself captured.

As always, Joker is utterly zany and downright insane, always hacking up a laugh as he delivers witty one-liners that could rival even the greatest of comedians. It seems as though he never understands the gravity of any given situation, but that is just how the Joker is, constantly dancing on the razor’s edge and reveling in the chaos he always brings about. If the Joker is in the house, one knows there is going to be plenty of mischief to be had.

2

Kefka Palazzo (Final Fantasy 6)

Yearns For Nothing More Than Complete Destruction

Following the War of Magi one thousand years ago, magic has all but faded for humanity, and instead, they look to science and technology to found a new civilization. Times of peace follow, up to the opening of Final Fantasy 6, which sees magic being reintroduced into society, combining it with technology and infusing some of the land’s subjects with magical powers.

However, nothing can be quite as devastating for the land as the game’s main antagonist, Kefka Palazzo, one of Final Fantasy’s most infamous villains. Though he is perhaps not as widely known outside of the fanbase as Sephiroth is, Kefka is still deserving of attention purely for his chaotic personality and his destructive tendencies. He craves ruination just for the sake of it, and finds the pain and suffering of others a source of great amusement. Combining that with his jester-like appearance, and Kefka has the makings of a memorable and utterly over-the-top villain.

1

Senator Steven Armstrong

Has Lofty Plans To Completely Reform America

Systems

Released

February 19, 2013

OpenCritic Rating

Mighty

Quite a different breed from other entries in the Metal Gear franchise, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance cast players as Raiden, a playable character who is almost half-machine. Raiden boasts an extensive cybernetic exoskeleton, for all the good it will do him when faced with the powerful Senator Armstrong and his nanomachines, which he famously brags about during his and Raiden’s confrontation at the end of the game.

A politician with some strong opinions and plans for America, Steven Armstrong is a ridiculously tall and hulking figure of mass destruction, which isn’t something people expect from political figures. His fight is one of the most ridiculous and over-the-top boss battles in all of gaming history, which definitely tilts it more down the hilarious route, but Armstrong isn’t a character to be taken completely seriously, even though some of his ideals are rather terrifying. He seems to be a dark parody of the American dream and patriotism but dialed up to a very extreme level.

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