15 Video Games Where You’re Unknowingly The Villain

Some games have a surprising way of making you realize you were the cause of the problems all along. They start like typical stories, but then reveal how your choices unknowingly contributed to a sinister plot or unintentionally hurt others. The big reveal comes late in the game, after you’ve made decisions you can’t take back. Here are some games where the truth is a harsh realization – you were the one holding the villain within yourself all along.

Shadow of the Colossus

You embarked on a journey to save a girl, requiring you to defeat sixteen massive creatures in a desolate, restricted land. With each victory, fragments of a being called Dormin were released, and you began to physically change, becoming corrupted. It’s revealed these creatures were actually protectors, holding Dormin captive. By defeating them all, you inadvertently unleashed a powerful and terrible evil, allowing Dormin to possess you.

Spec Ops: The Line

Playing as Captain Martin Walker, you venture into the shattered remains of Dubai, searching for clues and anyone still alive. A mission using white phosphorus tragically leads to the unintended deaths of civilians. The game reveals that the decisions you make actually contribute to the very chaos you’re trying to resolve, ultimately showing that your attempts to help inadvertently caused the disaster you arrived to prevent.

BioShock

You find yourself in the underwater city of Rapture, guided by a man named Atlas. As the story unfolds, you discover the phrase “Would you kindly” was secretly controlling your actions all along. You realize you’ve been conditioned to obey, leading you to commit acts of violence without realizing it. This shocking discovery changes everything, revealing you weren’t a hero, but a tool used to eliminate others and seize power.

BioShock Infinite

In BioShock Infinite, you play as Booker DeWitt, battling your way through the floating city of Columbia to save Elizabeth. As the story unfolds, you discover Booker and the city’s founder, Comstock, are actually the same person, fractured across different choices and realities. Your efforts to rescue Elizabeth ironically reinforce the oppressive system Comstock created, and ultimately harm those you’re trying to protect. Elizabeth ultimately breaks this cycle, revealing that your actions were unknowingly contributing to the very injustice you were fighting against.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

You start the game as a Republic soldier who’s lost their memories. The big surprise? You’re actually Revan, a powerful Sith Lord whose past has been erased. Throughout the game, your companions and the missions you undertake are secretly designed to guide you, all while keeping your true identity hidden. Discovering the truth reveals that your journey towards regaining strength – or finding redemption – started with a dark history you never knew existed.

Braid

You play as someone chasing a princess through constantly changing, time-bending levels, picking up new abilities along the way. But the story has a twist: the ending reveals the princess wasn’t running to you, she was running from you. Moments you thought were heroic rescues are actually desperate escapes, and you realize your character is the danger she was trying to get away from.

Nier

Throughout the game, you battle creatures called shades, striving to safeguard a loved one and collect important verses. However, you eventually discover that these shades aren’t monsters at all – they’re actually human souls. This means every victory you’ve achieved was a heartbreaking loss for those beings and their families, turning your heroic quest into a series of unintentional killings.

Nier Automata

You play as androids 2B and 9S, fighting machines to try and win Earth back for humans. But the story soon reveals that humanity is actually extinct, and everyone – both you and your enemies – are stuck repeating the same patterns due to outdated commands. Along the way, you’ll encounter powerful bosses and different groups, each with their own complicated feelings and ways of life, which your actions will impact. Ultimately, you discover your missions are actually keeping a pointless war going.

Silent Hill 2

Okay, so as a huge fan, let me tell you about Silent Hill. It’s not just a scary town, it’s deeply personal. James Sunderland gets this letter supposedly from his dead wife, Mary, and goes to Silent Hill searching for her. But what’s so brilliant is that the town isn’t haunted by some external force. It’s actually reacting to James – it’s a physical manifestation of his own guilt. The monsters and everything that happens aren’t random; they’re all connected to what he’s done, specifically that he was responsible for Mary’s death. The whole game is about realizing that the real horror isn’t something in Silent Hill, it’s the darkness inside yourself, a direct result of your own actions. It’s a really powerful and messed-up story!

Planescape Torment

You begin the game as a character with no memory, waking up in an unfamiliar city. Through interactions with others and discoveries of past events, you learn that you’ve lived many lives, and in those lives, you committed terrible acts. People you encounter are suffering because of decisions you made in the past, but don’t remember making. As you search for answers about whether people can truly change, you uncover a shocking truth: you are responsible for much of the pain and hardship around you.

Metal Gear Solid V The Phantom Pain

The game begins with you playing as an injured soldier making a slow return to combat. You later discover you’re actually Venom Snake, a look-alike created to stand in for the legendary Big Boss. As you gain power, you inadvertently contribute to the rise of a future enemy and help create a history of conflict. The surprising truth is that you’re instrumental in building the very legacy that leads to widespread war.

Inside

You play as a quiet boy trying to escape from a heavily guarded research facility by solving puzzles. As you get closer to freedom, you combine with a huge creature that breaks loose, causing chaos and many deaths during the escape. The game concludes by revealing that your actions were directly responsible for this widespread destruction, leaving it unclear if the escape was worth the cost.

The Witch’s House

Okay, so I was playing this game where you lead this little girl through a seriously creepy mansion. It’s all about uncovering a story through notes you find and figuring out what happened in each room. But the ending? Total mind-blower! Turns out the girl I was helping wasn’t who I thought at all – there was a body swap involved! And the worst part? My choices throughout the game actually helped the real witch keep living a stolen life. Basically, I was a key part of her plan without even realizing it. It’s a really messed up, but awesome, experience.

Bravely Default

A group of four heroes journeys across the land, working to awaken ancient crystals and bring harmony back to the world. However, they eventually discover a troubling truth: their actions aren’t fixing things, but actually fueling a cycle that empowers their enemy. Each time they awaken a crystal, they unknowingly strengthen the very system they’re trying to defeat. This realization turns their past triumphs into pieces of the enemy’s plan.

Mass Effect 2

Okay, so as Shepard, I was brought back from the brink by Cerberus and tasked with protecting human colonies from a new danger. But as I started working with them, I slowly realized they were doing some seriously messed up things – experimenting on people, and using my successes to gain more and more control. Every mission I completed and every specialist I brought on board just made them stronger… and it eventually became clear that they weren’t the good guys after all. I was basically helping the people who would become our biggest enemies!

Share your favorite examples and the twists that stuck with you in the comments.

2025-10-24 14:45