10 Terrifying Video Game Bosses You Felt Bad For
Sometimes even the scariest of foes can make us feel bad.
Video games have the ability to create some of the entertainment world's most sinister and scary bad guys. From the Pac-Man Ghosts to World of Warcraft's Deathwing to the Alien from Isolation, games have the ability to creep out, intimidate or shock even the hardest of gamer from time to time.
However games can also mess with our perceptions and present things in a far more grey light. A strong backstory, for example, can prove to be an invaluable tool, and add to the punch they deliver in game, throwing a few extra layers of depth to foes as we uncover everything.
Every so often, our digging even manages to change our opinions on these once terrifying antagonists.
Whether it's a selfless or understandable motive, a tragic or tear-jerking backstory or just a justification or world view that we simply can't argue against, it's not too uncommon to stumble across a baddie who we begin to identify with, or feel bad for when the time comes to bring them down.
10. Miraak - Skyrim
The self-proclaimed very first Dragonborn, Miraak is the legendary chief antagonist of Skyrim's Dragonborn DLC acting as the exiled ruler of Solstheim. He was a former Dragon Priest but became known as The Traitor when he turned his back on his Dragon overlords and became a Dovahkiin.
Vahlok the Jailer put a stop to his dragon-killing antics, however, right before he could kill Miraak for good, the Daedric prince of knowledge Hermaeus Mora offered The Traitor a place to hide out.
From his plane of Oblivion, Miraak proves himself to be a real jerk to any Skyrim player with the DLC. He is cocky, arrogant, hires assassins to take players out and will steal away the souls of any dragons they kill. On top of that, he can also shout better than the Dragonborn, with his shouts containing four words rather than the usual three.
However, by the end of the DLC, we begin to understand that Miraak is just a simple prisoner of Mora, trapped in his plane of Oblivion rather than residing in it and being manipulated throughout.
There's a sense of relief for Miraak when he is eventually put down, almost as if he's become at peace with the idea of it after centuries of hiding away.