9 Times Video Games Tricked You Into Becoming The Villain

You're the bad guy. Duh.

by Josh Brown
mortal kombat deception scorpion
NetherRealm

Players having any control in a video game is entirely an illusion. Even in the most open-ended titles that proclaim to champion 'player choice' or RPGs where decisions influence the outcome of the narrative, it's the developers who ultimately control everything

It makes for a strange, unspoken relationship between the people who authored the content and those who are engaging with it, which can be directly manipulated in the name of gut-punch plot twists.

The illusion that the player is in control is maintained in open-world games or understood to be limited in a linear, story-driven experiences like Uncharted, but sometimes developers get creative with this dynamic and use it to pull the wool over our eyes in the name of the narrative.

Iconic games like Bioshock tricked players into thinking heroes were villains and villains were heroes, but there are plenty of examples where releases tricked the you into becoming the bad guy. Insert Billie Eilish joke here.

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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.