8 Surprising Video Game Villain Turns You Never Saw Coming

2. Shaun - Fallout 4

Fallout 4 Son
Bethesda

Whether or not you thought Fallout 4 was a bit of a disappointment in comparison to the other games in the series, it did succeed in creating a rather peculiar relationship between the player and the main antagonist. The whole first half of the game is about finding your son, Shaun, who was snatched from your murdered wife's arms while in the safety of the vault.

You immediately set off after the men who took him, with sightings of a little boy leading you throughout the Boston wasteland. Along the way you learn of the Institute, run by the "Father", a villainous organisation creating synthetic humans. However, it's then revealed that, somehow, the Father is your son, who's now far older than you because you were put back in cryo sleep after he was stolen.

It's a great twist, not only because the way it fools you into thinking the child you're following (actually a synth version of the older Shaun, in reality) is real, but also because of the dynamic that's created between you and your older son for the rest of the game.

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Josh has over 11 years of experience as a published writer, having worked nine of those years as a full-time content producer at WhatCulture. In that period he has created hundreds of articles, videos and podcast episodes for multiple WhatCulture channels, specialising in gaming, horror and film & TV. He now primarily works as a senior content producer and presenter on WhatCulture Gaming where he co-hosts the WhatCulture Gaming Podcast, a top 3 UK most listened to gaming podcast that he co-created in 2018. Over the years he has reviewed several high-profile gaming releases, covered industry events with on-site reporting, opined on breaking news, and even kicked off his interviewing career by chatting to childhood hero, Tommy Wiseau.