10 Video Game Heroes That Accidentally Doomed Everyone

Everybody wants to be a hero. You need only look at the success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe to see that a world where noble, selfless, and morally upright individuals hand the forces of evil the ultimate beat-down is one we all wished we lived in.

However, there’s a bit of a rose-tinted glasses thing going on here, because heroes don’t always makes things better.

Sometimes the hero is misinformed, find themselves matched against a villain just a smidge smarter, or is burdened by heart just a little too big, and what seemed to be right the decision suddenly turns out to be wrong, with disastrous consequences. It’s a rude dose of reality and proof that no one is perfect.

As players, being in control of the ‘hero,’ this can leave you feeling a proper fool...or volcanically angry that the numbskull you’re playing as didn’t see the blindingly obvious warning signs blazing at them for the past three hours.

Either way, you won’t quickly forget it. As for the poor saps responsible? Well, they’ve got ‘Nice job breaking it’ permanently inked into their CV, especially these ten, who took the heroic faux pas to a level no one ever wanted it to be at.

Warning: Major spoilers ahead!

Few science fiction stories would have the guts to blow up the Earth. But this is Saints Row IV, a game that opens with a man riding a nuclear missile half way to orbit, only to literally crash land into the Oval Office and become president of the United States. Suffice to say, nothing is sacred.

When the evil Zin empire, lead by suave connoisseur of literature, Zinyak, invades Earth he traps the Saints in a simulation with the stern warning that any attempt at escape will result in the Earth’s destruction. As any self-respecting hero – and player – would do, they call the obvious bluff and get to escaping anyway.

Except... Zinyak wasn’t bluffing, leaving the shocked Saints staring at the horrifying spectre of Earth blown to smithereens, along with every single person not yet abducted by the Zin. Worse, while a loophole does allow the Saints to go back in time and see Earth again, their Earth is permanently fried.

On the plus side, with Zinyak defeated they become rulers of the most advanced intergalactic empire in existence. So, it could be worse? Maybe? Possibly? Probably not.