Summary
- Evil duos in horror games increase chaos and challenge, like Dracula & Death in Castlevania.
- Some games make villains protagonists, as seen in Ravenous Devils, providing unique gameplay.
- Games like Resident Evil feature sinister duos like Marguerite & Jack Baker, injecting horror into gameplay.
Horror games have produced some of the most iconic and terrifying antagonists of all time – take Pyramid Head or Scissorman, for example. Such villains are often integral to the main character’s development, representing a challenge to be overcome, if they can survive it. They also hold much of the appeal for players who enjoy being scared.
It is all well and good these single figures being able to produce such fear-inducing effects, but what if they had a helping hand, an accomplice evildoer? Multiplying a villain by two has the potential to cause even more chaos. These are some of the scariest evil duos in horror games that make double trouble sound like an understatement.
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10
Dracula & Death (Castlevania: Portrait Of Ruin)
One Battle, Two Bosses
- Released
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December 5, 2006
Portrait of Ruin is definitely not the most unique title in the Castlevania franchise compared to some of the later games in this gothic horror inspired series, but it still holds a lot of classic appeal with both new and returning characters.
Once the player reaches Dracula’s Throne Room, they are faced with a formidable duo: the vampire lord and his loyal servant, Death himself. After battling both, the two merge into one bigger and stronger boss in the form of a winged beast which, despite the 2D graphics, actually proves a palm-sweat-inducing enemy.
9
Hildred & Percival (Ravenous Devils)
Partners In Crime
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OpenCritic
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Top Critic Rating:
72/100
- Released
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April 29, 2022
- Developer(s)
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Bad Vices Games
Sometimes the villains of a game also happen to be the protagonists. Such is the case with Ravenous Devils – a Sweeny Todd-inspired cooking simulator set in Victorian London. The game follows tailor Percival and bartender Hildred, whose occupations are not as innocent as they sound.
In a mutually beneficial operation, Hildred’s pies are made from unconventional meats, while Percival’s clothes are conveniently second-hand. Beyond the gory macabre Gothic horror elements, Ravenous Devils is actually a very fun, albeit tense, game with lots of story and progression.
8
Albert Wesker & Ada Wong (Resident Evil 4)
All For One Or Everyone For Themselves?
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OpenCritic
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Top Critic Rating:
92/100
Ada Wong and Albert Wesker are two recurring figures in the Resident Evil games, both independently following their own motives. While not scary in a physical sense, their lack of loyalty and selfish pursuits make them untrustworthy and volatile.
6:54
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In Resident Evil 4, the two are in cahoots with the common goal of retrieving a sample of the “Las Plagas” parasite. While Ada is capable of mercy, Wesker has no reservations; what’s truly scary are the lengths that each will go to in order to succeed, and what their intentions are with such bio-weaponry.
The 2023 remake of Resident Evil 4 has a slightly different sequence of events, and expands on Ada and Wesker’s relationship in the Separate Ways DLC.
7
Granny & Grandpa (Granny: Chapter Two)
Retirement Is A Killer
- Platforms: Android, iOS, Windows
- Release Date: September 6, 2019
- Developer: DVloper
In Granny: Chapter Two, the titular murderous grandparent returns with her accomplice, Grandpa. Once again, the player must find and use items to escape within five days while being stalked by the inhuman baseball-wielding Granny, this time with her equally terrifying husband.
Fortunately, players can toggle whether to have both the enemies roaming or just one. With a bigger house and new ways to escape, Chapter Two comes with a lot more challenge than the original game and is complete with plenty more frights.
6
The Tweedle Brothers (American McGee’s Alice)
Far From The Innocent Carroll Characters
American McGee’s Alice
- Released
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December 5, 2000
- Developer(s)
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Rogue Entertainment
- Publisher(s)
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Electronic Arts
Both a popular nursery rhyme and characters in Lewis Carroll’s book Through the Looking-Glass, Tweedledum and Tweedledee are a familiar pair to many. Despite their innocent origins, American McGee’s Alice takes this classic duo and re-imagines them in a much darker way. While American McGee’s Alice is not a pure horror game, it relies on being a disturbing experience which makes it worth consideration.
In the game, the Tweedle brothers are working for the Mad Hatter as bodyguards in his Looking Glass Land asylum. Cruel and grotesque, their abusive nature comes to a head when the player is forced to fight them both in a twisted fairytale boss battle.
5
Lucy & The Demon (Visage)
Unlikely Friends
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OpenCritic
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Top Critic Rating:
77/100
- Released
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October 30, 2020
- Developer(s)
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SadSquare Studio
Visage is a psychological horror game, taking place from the perspective of guilt-ridden addict Dwayne Anderson as he roams the house, experiencing the fates of its previous tenants. In the first chapter, the player bears witness to Lucy‘s story, an angry young girl with an unconventional friend.
4:20
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In a The Grudge-meets-Babadook-type collaboration, both Lucy and her manipulative Demon stalk the player throughout the chapter, posing fatal threats. Even more terrifyingly, the Demon can’t be seen, occasionally popping up out of nowhere to terrorize its victim.
4
The Twin Chefs (Little Nightmares)
Sharing A Disturbing Enthusiasm For Meat
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OpenCritic
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Top Critic Rating:
79/100
- Franchise
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Little Nightmares
- Released
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April 28, 2017
- Developer(s)
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Tarsier Studios
In Little Nightmares, the Twin Chefs are residents of the Maw ship, encountered in the grubby kitchen hacking up slabs of meat. Engrossed in their work, they do not take very kindly to Six running about their workplace and become hostile if she is heard or spotted.
Despite their size, the Twin Chefs are relatively fast, albeit clumsy. From their grotesque appearance to their grim, unhygienic food prepping methods and suspiciously body-shaped produce, the Twin Chefs are downright disturbing and very tense to maneuver around.
3
Donna Beneviento & Angie (Resident Evil Village)
Ventriloquism Gone Too Far
There is no doubt that dolls have the potential to be extremely creepy, and have long been featured in horror films from Chucky to Annabelle. It’s no surprise, then, that they have crossed into the realm of gaming. In Resident Evil Village, the player must face an ominous lady in black and her violent dolls.
Donna Beneviento is one of the Four Lords and a doll-maker who speaks through her doll, Angie. Gaining psychic powers after being experimented on by Mother Miranda, she is extremely dangerous. Her boss battle is slightly less confrontational than the others, but the twisted game of hide and seek is just as deadly and even more freaky.
2
The Twins (Outlast)
Calculated Serial Killers
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OpenCritic
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Top Critic Rating:
77/100
- Released
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November 4, 2013
The Twins in Outlast are two of the delusional Father Martin’s devotees, supposedly giving the player some kind of reassurance as the priest wants Miles alive. That being said, the pair still seem to have an itch to kill and eat Miles that proves impossible to restrain later in the game.
7:35
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Unlike the other Mount Massive Asylum inmates, the Twins are suspiciously more rational and calculated, making them significantly more unnerving. This is only made worse by their stealthy movements; unexpectedly emerging from the darkness right in front of the player is just as terrifying as them being hot on their heels.
1
Marguerite & Jack Baker (Resident Evil 7)
Far From Domestic Bliss
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OpenCritic
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Top Critic Rating:
86/100
- Released
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January 24, 2017
Ethan Winter’s search for his missing wife in Resident Evil 7 leads him to stumble upon much more sinister goings-on at a plantation in Louisiana; namely an unhinged cannibal family, the Bakers. At the head of the family are Jack and Marguerite. Granted, during the events of the game, they are under the influence of Eveline’s mold, but this knowledge does not make them any less horrifying.
Marguerite is able to spawn hostile insects, herself turning into an unnaturally lanky form during her boss fight. Jack is equally hideous, eventually revealing himself as a huge moldy mass with protruding eyeballs. Overall, Resident Evil 7 nails the disturbing, grungy slasher and body horror elements, up there with the likes of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre; this couple is certain to leave players’ skin crawling.
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