20 Smartest Video Game Villains Who Deserved To Win
2. Higgs - Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
Death Stranding's Higgs may be barmier than a box of frogs, but at least when he returned in the sequel he came up with one hell of a smart way to deal with intrepid hero Sam Porter Bridges.
Because Sam can't be permanently killed and simply repatriates every time he "dies," Higgs concocted a creatively twisted solution to bring him under control.
Later in the game, Higgs whips out his special chiral-powered flamethrower guitar and sets Sam alight, causing him to burn to death, revive, and effectively end up trapped in a death-revival cycle for as long as Higgs continues to fire the burst at him.
And considering how effective this strategy was at incapacitating Sam, Higgs basically would've ended up winning were it not for Rainy running interference and neutralising the flames.
Higgs may be a Hall of Fame-tier a**hole, but credit where it's due - after the first game he retreated, licked his wounds, and came up with a wicked smart strategy for taking Sam on.