The 10 WORST Character Assassinations in Video Games

10 Worst Character Assassinations in Video Games

Welcome to MojoPlays, and today, we’re looking over the times across gaming where a character, in some form or another, radically deviated from their established personality in a jarring way.

Jill Valentine “Resident Evil 5” (2009)

She’s the beastly operative who took on the likes of Nemesis and Wesker. One of STAR’s best who survived the Spencer Mansion. Nobody messes with Jill Sandwich. At least until RE5, where through the power of science, Jill was brainwashed into becoming Wesker’s henchwoman. Yep, all because of that weird device attached to her chest, Jill went from one of the faces of the franchise to a blonde in a skin-tight bodysuit who can now pull off matrix moves. The saddest part? Her character hasn’t recovered from the misstep. The closest we got was getting to relive her glory days in the Resident Evil 3 remake.

Penelope “Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time” (2013)

Outside of the ridiculous load times, the biggest rug pull this fourth mainline entry threw our way was what they did to Penelope. Sure, she wasn’t main character material, but throughout Sly 3 she became a fun and valuable member of the gang, not only offering tech support, but even striking up a potentially romantic relationship with Bentley. So, all’s well that ends well? Apparently not, since one game later, Penelope is easily looped into betraying the team and becoming a career criminal, purely motivated by money. Which seems so…unnecessary. RIP Bentley’s love life.

Master Chief “Halo 5: Guardians” (2015)

The Chief being gung-ho about recovering Cortana and not letting anyone get in his way? That’s pretty on brand for the Spartan. No notes needed. The problems start to arise when Locke enters the picture - the deuteragonist who spends most of the game hunting the Chief down on account of him going AWOL. Something he nearly accomplishes, since Halo 5 drastically reduces Master Chief’s combat prowess. Watching him trade fisticuffs with Locke is painful to watch. The marketing didn’t help either, since all the way leading up to the game’s release, they painted the Chief as gone to the dark side and a threat to humanity. Jeez, Guardians really dropped the ball with this one.

Joel “The Last of Us Part II” (2020)

Whether you think Joel’s decision to murder the Fireflies to save Ellie’s life, and as a consequence potentially destroy humanity’s hopes for a cure, were justified or not, such bloodthirsty actions felt very much true to his character. A bitter man who refused to let the world take away another daughter. We knew there would be consequences in the sequel and we couldn’t wait to experience them…at least until Joel was killed off in the opening hours, caught completely unaware. Joel not surviving Part 2 felt like an inevitability, but the way it was handled had an air of cheapness about it, especially when the rest of his and Ellie’s development are told through flashbacks.

Viconia DeVir “Baldur’s Gate 3” (2023)

We know, we know, and we agree – Baldur’s Gate 3 is a masterpiece whose writing and characters raised the bar for the entire industry. That hasn’t changed one iota. There are, however, a few diehard fans of the original Baldur’s Gate games out there who might feel a little miffed about the portrayal of a certain Drow. For those who don’t know, Viconia DeVir was a companion and possible romance back in Baldur’s Gate 1 and 2. Her unwillingness to kill innocents in the name of her former goddess gave her some nuance, so for her to become a heartless Mother Superior willing to kill Shadowheart, the girl she both kidnapped and raised, out of pure spite felt like a step backwards.

Frank West“Dead Rising 4” (2016)

Fans who had been praying for another instalment in this zombie-killing saga, as well as the return of its original protagonist, were given one hell of a rude awakening when Dead Rising 4 turned out to be a fat lump of coal. A radical change in appearance is one thing, but what really got everyone’s goat was that Frank’s personality got a transplant. Gone was the endearingly, hardboiled reporter taking on the ridiculousness of an undead insurgence. Now, he’s just some obnoxious, jaded wannabe tough guy. There’s a reason long-term fans started calling him Hank East.

Yuna“Final Fantasy X-2” (2003)

There’s so much to love about Yuna in Final Fantasy X. She’s burdened by enormous responsibility, constantly sacrifices her own happiness and safety for the sake of her people, and somehow finds a way to hold onto hope, even in the midst of her doomed romance with Tidus. So, after all that, what direction does her life take? She becomes a pop star. A. Pop. Star. Look, Yuna deserves all the joy in the world after what she’s been through, but to go from a high summoner to stadium-seller like she’s Spira’s version of Taylor Swift just feels jarring on every conceivable level.

Alex Mercer“Prototype 2” (2012)

Granted, this walking bio-weapons wasn’t exactly the deepest of characters. He was an amnesiac driven edgelord chasing down a government conspiracy and taking out anyone who got in his way. He was ruthless, but in his quiet moments seemed like a decent sort. Definitely not the kind of guy who would trigger a man-made plague in an effort to destroy and remake humanity. Alas, that’s the direction they went with in the sequel. After the first game ended with the wacky twist of Mercer being evil all along, Prototype 2 turned him into a boring, bland bad guy without a shred of intrigue. That’s Prototype 2 in a nutshell.

Dante“DmC: Devil May Cry” (2013)

Time has certainly afforded this reinvention of the classic Devil May Cry story the chance to build a cult following, mainly due to its combat, weapon choice and the willingness to try something different. That being said, everyone stands in agreement that this new take on Dante…didn’t work. At all. Instead of a cocky, pizza loving badass who hides any pain with jokes and effortless charm, Ninja Theory’s version of Dante comes across as whiney, try-hard and lacking the fun associated with his namesake. More cringe than cool. We applaud them for taking a risk, but there wasn’t a hope in hell this guy was going to overshadow the original Son of Sparda.

Samus Aran“Metroid: Other M” (2010)

She’s one of the most recognisable and beloved characters under the Nintendo banner, not to mention one of the first examples of a leading female character in gaming. Sure, she’s never been one for words, but when roaming the galaxy taking down alien pirates, a hyper beam speaks louder. Other M wanted to dive deeper, explore the woman beneath the armor and bring a tad more characterisation to Samus. On paper, it’s not a bad idea. In execution, holy mother brain was it a disaster. Other M seemed to confuse vulnerability for submissiveness. Samus not only gets bossed around, but left shaking in her boots whenever she encounters an enemy. Hey guy, Samus may be something of a blank canvas in terms of emotionality, but if there’s one thing that’s been absolute since her inception - she strikes fear into the hearts of her enemies, not the other way around!

Which video game character do you think was done the dirtiest? Let us know in the comments!