Redeemable Villains? 10 Video Game Antagonists With Justifiable Cause

Antagonists play a crucial role in storytelling, and understanding their motivations can beautifully conclude a narrative. This holds true across all media, and video games are no exception. A sympathetic villain adds emotional depth and complexity to a game. As you approach the final boss fight, you might find yourself pausing to consider the villain’s monologue, gleaning crucial information and absorbing their backstory.

But what if they reveal they defrauded an oil company to fund their mother’s cancer treatment? Would that change your perspective? Many antagonists offer valid reasons for their actions. It prompts us to ponder what we might do in the same circumstances.

Thomas Mutton (Catherine)

Catherine uniquely blends narrative and puzzle elements, exploring themes of romance, sexuality, relationships, and death. Men are plagued by nightmares, trapped on an endless staircase, desperately climbing to survive the night. Those who fall die mysteriously in their sleep. The culprit is Thomas “Boss” Mutton, owner of the Stray Sheep bar, who acts on behalf of a higher power, selecting men from his bar to face the Great Trials each night.

Boss reveals he targets men in their late 20s and 30s with relationship problems. He aims to counteract the declining birth rate in Japan by weeding out weak-willed, non-committal men who he believes waste the time of young women desiring families. These men either survive the nightmare and learn to value their relationships or perish, freeing the women to find fulfilling partnerships. While his methods are extreme, his targets are often flawed individuals, making his actions somewhat understandable.^[1]

N (Xenoblade Chronicles 3)

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 features numerous antagonists, with the mysterious “N” being the most intriguing. He mirrors the player character Noah, but his motives remain hidden through several encounters. Noah and Mio, inseparable protagonists, confront N and discover he has a partner mirroring Mio, known as “M.”

N and M are alternate versions of Noah and Mio from another reality. To safeguard their endless time together, they must prevent any changes in this reality. Noah and Mio threaten this, trapping N and M in an endless loop of hunting them down. Ultimately defeated by the pair with M’s help, Noah admits he might have chosen eternity with his love, too.^[2]

Morris (Stardew Valley)

Stardew Valley starts with your character inheriting their grandfather’s farm in a small town. Your goal is to revitalize the farm and the town. The opening of a JojaMart, managed by Morris, upsets many locals. The main storyline involves working with forest creatures to restore prosperity and drive Morris out of town.

Alternatively, you can join JojaMart, enjoying its conveniences. This choice reveals that many townspeople’s fears were unfounded, as the town remains largely unchanged.^[3]

Alma (F.E.A.R.)

What level of trauma can a child endure? F.E.A.R. is a first-person shooter horror game where you confront the consequences of horrific experiments on Alma Wade. She was studied, exploited for her psychic powers, and forced into breeding programs.

Is it surprising that her psychic powers would turn against those who harmed her? It’s hard not to feel sympathy, even as you fear her gaze. While she’s the antagonist, the true villains are the Armacham Technology Corporation for their atrocities that transformed Alma into the terrifying entity she became.^[4]

Fireflies (The Last of Us)

The Last of Us portrays Joel adopting young Ellie in a zombie-infested world. Their relationship deepens, making the audience protective. When Ellie is kidnapped by the Fireflies, Joel fights to save her, killing many Fireflies, including their leader. He saves Ellie from experimentation, revealing she’s immune to the zombie virus. The Fireflies intended to use her to create a cure to save humanity.

Joel decides her life is more important. This raises the question: Are the needs of the many more important than the needs of the few? This utilitarian principle is debatable.^[5]

Josh (Until Dawn)

What could go wrong with a prank during a secluded cabin stay? In Until Dawn, the game opens with friends tormenting twins Beth and Hannah, leading to their accidental deaths. Josh, their brother, invites the group back the following year for a memorial party.

The group is terrorized by a “serial killer,” who is revealed to be Josh, seeking revenge for his sisters’ deaths. He’s deeply disturbed by the tragedy and blames the group, though his actions are limited to scaring them out of anger.^[6]

Comstock (Bioshock Infinite)

Comstock, the antagonist in Bioshock Infinite, is Booker’s counterpart from a parallel universe, formed when Booker avoids repentance for his crimes. Comstock’s actions are largely inexcusable, but one stands out: Unable to have children, he takes Booker’s daughter Anna from another dimension, renaming her Elizabeth.

Booker recognizes Elizabeth as Anna due to a severed finger. Comstock’s desire for a daughter is understandable, perhaps justifying his actions by seeing Anna as technically his.^[7]

The Queen (OFF)

OFF, a surreal indie game, features “The Batter,” who uses his baseball bat to “cleanse” zones. As the narrative unfolds, The Queen, the penultimate boss, tries to reason with you, revealing The Batter’s foul intentions. You realize you’ve blindly committed a murderous rampage, and The Queen is protecting everyone from your path.^[8]

Skull Kid (Majora’s Mask)

The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask is a dark Zelda game where Link fights against a three-day time loop to prevent Skull Kid from destroying the world with the moon. Skull Kid uses Majora’s Mask, which corrupts him.

In Ocarina of Time, Skull Kids are revealed to be unhappy because they lack faces, living lonely lives. It makes sense he’s drawn to Majora’s Mask, which offers him a face and power, a tempting offer for someone so lonely.^[9]

Hades (Hades)

Hades is the antagonist of Hades. You play as Zagreus, his son, who rebels against his father’s rules and attempts to escape the Underworld. After repeated battles, Zagreus discovers his father was hiding his mother, Persephone, fearing the Olympians. Despite being distant, Hades loves his family and his misguided methods become understandable. The game concludes with the family reconciling.^[10]

These video game antagonists reveal the complexities of morality. Their motives, driven by love, revenge, or survival, invite us to consider our own potential responses in similar situations.

Which antagonist’s motives resonated with you the most? Leave your comments below and share your thoughts!