It’s Time to Embrace the Dark Side
We’ve all dabbled in a few evil options. We’ve tried mean-spirited dialogue and then immediately reloaded. It’s always fun to see what happens when you venture down the brambled path—but some players yearn for the cruelty, and we’re here to break down the best games that encourage evil playthroughs.
1. Fable Series
Fable isn’t short on choices, all of which contribute to your horns or halo. Should you go down the evil route, you can do anything from slaughter the guards, rob people’s houses, sacrifice townspeople, or work with slavers. It’s just so unfortunate that a corrupt playthrough earns you such an awesome appearance.
2. Red Dead Redemption 2
It’s canon to start Arthur as a morally corrupt cowboy who becomes the gang’s saintly guardian. But not everyone wants to help the little guy. Some players just can’t help antagonizing those poor working girls or setting fire to random ranches. What are they going to do? Not loot a can of cover scent lotion?
3. Prototype
Alex Mercer’s morality was already shaky at best, and some players decided to go all out with him. After all, why try to fight the ever-consuming virus that rages through you when you can just lock up your sister or keep feeding it innocent people?
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4. Fallout Series
Betraying allies, poisoning the water supply, sacrificing children to slavers—what can’t you do in Fallout? Of course, you can always side with the Institute or craft devices that electrocute innocent people, too. Then again, some people just ask children to innocently hug their fathers…
5. Divinity: Original Sin Series
Who among us wouldn’t love to side with an evil cult? Okay, well, it’s not us. However, if you did want to embrace your evil side, you could always sell out your closest friends or allow Lohse to get fully possessed by her demon. Ugh, how could you?
6. Baldur’s Gate 3
One of the greatest—and goriest—storylines of BG3 is playing Dark Urge. Spoiler alert: you play as Bhaal’s spawn, inherently corrupted with his cruel bloodlust that you either give into or fight to break free of. If you embrace your father’s gifts, you turn into the horrifying monster that you are.
7. Skyrim
Why give money to begging children when you could just trap their souls instead? Maybe you’d like to venture into the world of…special meat. You could always join the Dark Brotherhood as well. Whatever you do, just don’t tell us about it.
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8. Mass Effect Series
Ah, what’s another scar? If you’re okay with the cosmetic (and mental) changes, you can always side with the Renegade path and make as many sarcastic comments as you want. You’d be in good company, too; a lot of players argue that it’s not even an evil route per se.
9. Pathfinder: Wrath Of The Righteous
Not everyone wants to dive head first into evilness, but you don’t really have a choice with Pathfinder. We’re talking about cartoon villains here. It’s the kind of stuff you’d say and do if you just wanted to cause mayhem, not invest in hard-hitting dilemmas. No judgment—someone has to be a tyrannical psycho.
10. Undertale
It’s not called the Genocide Route for nothing. Undertale doesn’t hold any punches, allowing you to wipe out every monster and turn once-idyllic towns into abandoned lands. The entire world changes, too, presenting creepier music and messed-up dialogue.
11. GTA V
GTA doesn’t really come with a morality system—if it did, we all would fail. It does, however, let you take control of Trevor, the balding firecracker who’s basically the embodiment of the franchise. It’s not like we could help it. He gets into trouble even when we don’t control him!
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12. Rollercoaster Tycoon
This probably wasn’t what you had in mind jumping into this list, but how could we ignore it? You can literally name your coasters whatever you want and have unfinished tracks shoot unsuspecting patrons into the sun. Lest we forget Mr. Bones’ Wild Ride.
13. Black and White
This aptly named game put everyone in the driver’s seat. It was just you and another god, each in a mad dash to control the world. Yeah, turns out when you call someone a deity, that power goes to their head. Off the top of our heads, you can starve the villagers, sacrifice people, and hurl fireballs at innocent farmers.
14. The Sims
It’s hard to call your Sim a good person when they’re a rude kleptomaniac who laughs maniacally. In The Sims 4, you can even give them a so-called evil trait, which allows them to discuss dastardly plans and even throw a fit when talking to nice people. Who are you kidding, though? You were going to remove the pool ladder anyway.
włodi from London, UK on Wikimedia
15. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Life would be so much simpler if we had black-and-white decisions between good and evil. But some games hone in on the stuff in between, the stuff that makes us question our own morality. Yes, you can make obvious evil choices, but even when you don’t, you’ll probably still feel that way.
16. Bully
Despite its name, Bully allowed you to turn it around and become a gentleman. Then again, you never had to. While you can do some morally questionable things, to be honest, it all depends on who you side with. Trust us, those nerds aren’t as “innocent” as they look; they probably have our vote for the actual evil characters.
włodi from London, UK on Wikimedia
17. Postal 2
Postal 2 never pretended to be anything but chaotic. It was considered a highly controversial game, especially when you relieved yourself on certain things—like people. Given its inherent violence, it remains banned in countries like Germany, but for those who can still play it, there's no shortage of evil acts.
18. The Wolf Among Us
You know, this Telltale game is actually a hidden treasure. Though we all sobbed our way through The Walking Dead, The Wolf Among Us has just as many cool elements and interesting storytelling as their other classics. It’s also the only game that lets you rip a guy’s arm off before taunting him with it, so…
19. Frostpunk
Look, humanity’s on the line, and that doesn’t leave much wiggle room for “nice guy” choices. It’s about the greater good, which inevitably leads to evil choices that keep you up at night. Yeah, it’s cold outside, but that’s nothing compared to the frigidity of our hearts.
20. Vampyr
It’s not easy to live a moral life as a thirsty vampire. Lucky for you, morality isn’t on the table. (Well, it is, but there’s no fun in that.) Forget about the Carlisle Cullen route and instead take advantage of every patient you have, stalking the streets of London like a real nightmarish cryptid.
