9 Times Video Games Tricked You Into Becoming The Villain

1. Dark Souls

Now, there's no one right or wrong answer to Dark Souls' ambiguous plot, but one prevailing theory about the Chosen Undead's final act posits that the supposed 'good' ending is actually the evil outcome.

All the way through the game, your task is to reignite the First Flame and continue the dying Age of Fire. It seems justified; everyone tells you this is your destiny, and the alternative is the Age of Dark, which just sounds pretty sinister, doesn't it?

However, it's argued that this 'destiny' is total manipulation to get someone like you to perpetuate a dying age that only benefits the old Gods who can claw onto their positions of power for a little while longer. The fact that so many other undead subjects are supposedly also the 'chosen one', that Anor Londo's light is a lie, and that Gwynevere is an illusion all apparently serves to manipulate you into not questioning your goal.

The smoking gun, though, is that the Age of Dark is rumoured to go by another name: the Age of Man. Obviously, you being human, that's probably the age you should be wanting to bring about. Instead, you're fooled into believing that continuing a dying era - which can only happen after subjecting yourself to eternal torture, no less - is the right thing to do for the world, when in reality it benefits virtually nobody.

Jim Sterling summed this theory up very eloquently in a recent video, so check that out for a deeper dive.