10 Evil Video Game Villains You Couldn't Wait To Kill

4. Sal Marcano - Mafia III

As Lincoln Clay, you spent the opening hours of Mafia III building up something of a repertoire with crime boss Sal Marcano, to the point where Clay's downtrodden family begins to thrive thanks to his work with the shady gangster.

Of course, this being a Mafia game, there's always a betrayal lurking around the corner, and Sal snuffs out Lincoln and his entire family in one of the game's most effective - and disturbing - scenes. Scored to the Stones' Paint It Black, the moment Sal begins his betrayal is unrelentingly brutal, and watching this villain you've actually grown to trust utterly and remorselessly tear down everything you've worked towards is genuinely shocking.

Unfortunately, your rivalry with him never really hits the emotional peak of this introductory onslaught of evil, but every time the title returns to him after one of his rackets is put out of business, it feels like a satisfying step towards true justice.

The final showdown with him is enjoyably subversive too, lacking a flashy final fight and opting to pit Lincoln against Sal in a battle of wits, with the latter laying his soul bare before the player plunges a knife into his chest. It doesn't quite make up for what he did though, and the worst part is how empty you feel after you finally get your own back.