Last week, I wrote an article about number 10 through 6 of the best villains in gaming that I have seen over my long time playing many different video games. Today, simply put, I want to cover my top five, all the way to the top.
As a reminder: these are from video games that I have played, personally. I haven’t played every video game ever made, and there may be better ones than those on my list from games I haven’t played. It is all my opinion.
5. Josh (“Until Dawn”)
If these ranks were given out based on how utterly psychopathically insane these villains were, Josh would belong at the top, hands down. After the main group of protagonists play a prank on Josh’s sister, which ultimately and indirectly leads to her death, Josh invites them back to the mountain lodge where it all happened, one year after the fact. Seemingly innocent, Josh joins in with the protagonists in their adventures and fun at first, seeming to bear no ill will towards anyone for causing the death of Hannah and Beth. In fact, for two episodes, Josh is your stereotypical college-aged, party loving, girl chasing guy. That all comes crashing down in Episode three, though. After playing with a Oujia board, one where Josh suspects his friends of pranking him with the attempted contact of his deceased sisters, Josh leaves the room. He would later turn out to be the psycho, the masked maniac stalking the group of friends, the one responsible for faking his own death, causing Ashley to witness what she thought was someone getting sawn in half. Ultimately, a lot can be found in common between Josh and Jigsaw from the infamous “Saw” movies: Josh takes his revenge on his former friends by putting them through twisted games of life and death, such as his game of “pick who lives and who dies” with Chris and Ashley, and between his fake body and Ashley. He also ultimately causes the death of Jessica before getting murdered by the Wendigo. We can chalk a lot of his actions up to his history of being mentally ill from a young age. But what we also know is that Josh was one twisted dude.
4. Mr. Jefferson (“Life is Strange”)
Much like my 8th and 9th best villains, Jefferson and Josh nearly ended up as my 4A and 4B here. Both are tagged with the “psychopath” archetype, and for good reason. However, what gave Jefferson the edge on this list is his reasoning behind becoming the villain. With Josh, he took on the revenge narrative. He debatably would not have done what he had done had he not been pushed to the edge (victim shaming notwithstanding) but with Jefferson, he kills, rapes, and kidnaps people for a hobby. This is evident in the Dark Room, after he has shot Chloe in the head and drugged Max, kidnapping her, and taking pictures of her bonded to a chair, shortly before intending to murder her. In the Dark Room, it is revealed that Jefferson is in fact a psychopath, one who has killed many people, including Rachel Amber. He would have added Max to the list until a timely intervention by David at the last moment saves Max, arresting Jefferson and cuffing him up. However, he also murders Jefferson after he found out Jefferson killed his daughter. The complexion of the many scenes in the Dark Room and the many possibilities the game gives you of interacting and dealing with Jefferson, along with the fact that he’s been a main character since the very first season, delicately handled and very abruptly revealed to be the villain at the end of episode four, makes him a magnificent choice for a villain, and an obvious one to crack my Top 5.
3. Shadowman (“Call of Duty Black Ops III”)
If, like me, you grew up hooked on World at War zombies, and stuck with the franchise to the end, the Shadowman would have been as iconic to your world of gaming as that of Bowser or Donkey Kong to a Nintendo fan, or Dr. Eggman to a Sega fan. That said, the Shadowman is the ultimate source of the plague which has ridden the world with the zombie virus throughout the World at War and three Call of Duty games. In the Revelations map, he also threatens the very fabric of existence. He is the center of the ultimate final battle, a final battle befitting of such a mighty series of games that the Black Ops series embodies, the ultimate final battle that the player has spent years preparing for, hours studying how to access, and hours perfecting their craft, readying themselves to do battle with the Shadowman. Yet, the Shadowman finds himself lower than he should be on the list. On paper, he seems like an obvious candidate for the tippity top. Yet, he doesn’t rank quite that high simply because he was completely unknown until Black Ops III, is introduced in the very first map the game offers, and is then left completely alone until the very last, being reintroduced very randomly. While his impact on the game’s franchise cannot be understated, it is also a bit too abbreviated for what otherwise would have made the perfect ultimate villain. That said, the pros absolutely outweigh the cons, justifying his rank as #3
2. Ramsay Snow (Telltale’s “Game of Thrones”)
Ah, meet the perfect blend of Rais (ranked #9 on this list) and Mr. Jefferson. One who enjoys asserting his authority, violently, and one who hardly needs much of a reason to brutally murder someone. This is the life of Game of Thrones antagonist Ramsay Snow. The beautiful thing about Ramsay is how amazing TTG did with their writing. Ramsay’s condescending, albeit nonchalant attitude when he forces a garrison into the Forrester’s territory, and murders Lord Ethan, is utterly brilliant for a villain. What’s best is that it incites a very emotional response from the player as well; over 96 percent of all players, when given the choice, murdered Snow later in the game, the first chance they had. If you think that’s impressive, consider that that figure is totally unprecedented for a TTG game; the next highest figure for players dealing with an antagonist would be a 74 percent rate of the player allowing Kenny to kill Carver (ranked #8 on this list) in “The Walking Dead.” That’s a 22 percent jump from second place! Ramsay was an easy choice for #2 on this list, and would have definitely cracked the top had it not been for…
- Jarl Storvald (“Neverwinter”)
A surprise choice for #1? Quite possibly, but for me, nobody can quite stack up against the power hungry leader of the Frost Giants. A very angry, powerful, and well, giant, guy, Storvald’s character is unique in that he was debatably not even a willing villain. If we take what Harshnag the Grim says to us after defeating Storvald to heart, when he says “Storvald was a strong warrior, and smart leader, but ultimately corrupted by his thirst for power” it is implied that perhaps Storvald’s villainy arose from his obsessive pursuit of the Ring of Winter. It is also funny listing Storvald this high despite the fact that he is the final boss in the lengthiest, most poorly rated campaign in all of Neverwinter. Perhaps the large length of the campaign contributed to his high ranking. Finally, after months of farming Bryn Shander reputation, preparing yourself to trek the treacherous Fangbreaker Island, mustering up the might to defeat Storvald’s daughter, Drufi, and undergoing the tedious process of finding nine other players to assault Storvald’s home, Svardborg, you finally have a shot at taking down the big man himself. Between his oppressively large army, his pet Manticores, and Storvald himself, the fight is not easy, and only truly elite players can band together to take him down. For me, Storvald edges Ramsay Snow out because he represents an entirely unique type of villain. Where villains such as Ramsay, Carver, Jefferson, and Rais place on this list for their psychopathic, murderous, and twisted ways, Storvald is unique in that he, while being barbaric and willing to kill if the slightest need to do so arises, is not as senseless or bloodthirsty as his fellow villains on this list. No, Storvald’s ultimate scheme is to use the Ring of Winter to dominate the whole world, thus feeding in to his obsessive need to attain as much power as possible. Storvald is also unique in that his storyline could theoretically carry on; he is subdued upon defeating him in Svardborg, but he is not necessarily destroyed nor killed, simply frozen solid. While it is unlikely he ever becomes the focal point of a campaign again, the possibility of that happening definitely makes him all the more appealing of a villain.
Coming up next, I talk about truly BAD villains, starting with 10-6!