9 Most Sadistic Evil Playthroughs In Gaming
4. Crusader Kings
Another game that scales in evilness to be as twisted as you want it to be, Crusader Kings titles may appear to be noble tales of expanding your house across the known world to grab extra land and establish your legacy but anyone who has played it knows that things get pretty wild pretty quickly. This is true even for those who aren’t intending to use the strategy game as some kind of proving grounds for their destiny as one of time’s greatest power-hungry psychopaths.
The thing with Crusader Kings is that it’s a pretty slippery slope. You’ll start by coyly clicking an option that screws over a neighbouring house or taking advantage of your people’s good will and then all of a sudden you’re plotting to murder your own child because they turned out a bit crap.
Crusader Kings is almost terrifying in the way even the most moral will abandon their values. You’ll often arrive at a point where war is obviously the most useful option, but there are also far more underhanded and insidious actions like paying people off to slyly murder your enemies or engage in some light torture of a vassal until your victim goes insane. Then there’s the old middle ages classics: seducing or impregnating your own family members, gouging out eyes, chopping off peens, torturing prisoners, you get the gist.
The sadism hits another level in Crusader Kings because it’s not just an option, it’s often the best option, as being a ruthless unhinged murderer tends to get you further than if you’re a nice honourable guy. Just look at Eddard Stark.
The most disturbing part of the game is it makes you kind of understand the logic behind history’s nastiest despots. Although maybe not so far as to understand cannibalism and human sacrifice which Crusader Kings also gives the all clear to. The second game does let you spread Satanism as the Antichrist at which point your government type changes to Empire of Terror. And you can throw the Pope off a balcony.
You can also say mean things to people. And hook up with the Pope. They’re not really sadistic but I feel like they need to be said.