Top 10 Games That Make You Feel Bad for Being Evil
#10: “Mass Effect” series (2007-)
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One of the major draws of the “Mass Effect” series is your ability to make choices that effect how the characters and story play out. While most people will play as themselves (like making the choices you as a person would make), it is entirely possible to do a renegade playthrough, which sees you being the most racist, disgusting, and vile person in the entire galaxy. Relationships will sour, everyone will hate your guts, and people will die. However, a small piece of you will die in the process as well, and you will absolutely hate yourself for some of the choices you will be forced to make. So, you know, have fun.
#9: “Crusader Kings II” (2012)
In this game, you control a Medieval dynasty, and like the real dynasties of old, you decide your fate and success through relationships, marriages, alliances, and assassinations. It’s basically a mix of real-life history and “Game of Thrones,” and at times, it can be just as devastating. You can pull off a ton of evil things in this game, like assassinating your own children, murdering or betraying wives, forcing people into unhealthy marriages, or raising your child into becoming a murderous psychopath. Really, the possibility of evil is limitless, and you will feel a tinge of guilt and remorse with every beheading.
#8: “Black & White 2” (2005)
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With a name like that, it should be pretty darn obvious that you’ll be making a few moral choices. And, like most games of its type, you can be an angelic saint, a neutral people-pleaser, or the complete incarnation of Satan himself. In this game, you play as a God invoked from a civilization, and like any God, you have to make some tough choices regarding your followers. In an evil playthrough, you will control your followers through fear and intimidation, complete with large armies and torture. It may sound badass and fun, but once time comes to maliciously rule, you’ll find that it is anything but.
#7: “Infamous Second Son” (2014)
In “Second Son,” your character, Delsin Rowe, acquires supernatural powers which grants him the ability to control various environmental factors like smoke, concrete, video, and neon. It also comes with a karma system, and if you choose to use your powers for evil, you will definitely pay for it in pieces of your soul. You will kill and vaporize innocent people. Citizens will sorrowfully confront you regarding their dead family members. You will violently murder someone within earshot of their own daughter. In short, you will be a supernatural terrorist, and you will feel absolutely awful about it.
#6: “Command & Conquer: Red Alert” (1996)
“Red Alert” takes place in an alternative history, where World War II is fought between Allies and the Tesla-powered Soviet Union. However, unlike most war-based video games, you control both sides. The first signs of evil come in the first five seconds of the Soviet campaign, when Stalin and a few subordinates are discussing using Sarin gas on citizen test subjects. You are then ordered to destroy this village, which was once full of happy and innocent people. While the graphics are primitive, the implications of razing an entire village is definitely going to mess with your conscience. Unless you’re a complete psychopath.
#5: “Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic” (2003)
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Who knew that a “Star Wars” game could be so damn powerful and morally repugnant? Throughout this game, you share the same conundrum that Luke faced in the original trilogy: remain good and defeat the forces of evil, or succumb to the dark side and become the new Dark Lord. And let us tell you, taking the dark path is devastating. In it, you can use force persuasion to convince others to murder long-time friends, and many of your choices will make you feel like a full-blown psychopath. While a dark side run may be fun, it is soul-crushing.
#4: “Fallout 3” (2008)
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In the “Fallout” series, you can choose your own path, making alliances and enemies with whom you choose. Taking an evil approach can be harrowing, but you can be so ridiculously evil that it turns cartoonish. However, there’s one action in particular which will make you feel like a complete monster: you have the option to completely nuke Megaton. If you do, you not only set off a freaking nuke, but you destroy one of the only remaining outposts of civilization and kill countless innocent people, including children, in the process. If you don’t feel bad about doing that, then we don’t know what to tell you.
#3: “Spec Ops: The Line” (2012)
“Spec Ops: The Line” may look like your average shooter, but hot damn does its story leave an impression on you. While you may not feel evil during the playthrough, you certainly do evil things, whether they were intentional or not. And it is brutal. Throughout the story, you will decimate innocent civilians, including a mother and child, with white phosphorous gas. You massacre hundreds of soldiers acting in self defense. You will destroy a city’s water source and doom them all to death. And your character will slowly descend into madness due to the atrocities he has committed. When the story is complete, you will feel walloped, and you will feel disgusted.
#2: “Undertale” (2015)
In this game, you play as a child who comes across a world full of monsters, and you have the choice to either run from them, befriend them, or, in this case, confront them. However, doing so will make you feel like a complete monster yourself. A genocidal run is sure to bring the tears, especially (spoiler alert) during the battle with Sans, when he simply gives up and collapses from exhaustion. You will feel irredeemable after turning these complex and sympathetic monsters to dust, and we challenge anyone to get through a no mercy run without feeling the deep pangs of regret.
#1: “BioShock” (2007)
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When “BioShock” released in 2007, it was immediately praised for its setting, gameplay, and story, which consisted of a major moral decision: harvest or free the Little Sisters. These Little Sisters are genetically-mutated children, and harvesting them grants you a large amount of ADAM, which acts as currency in the game. However, in doing so, you will have to live with the decision that you just violently and knowingly killed a young child for your own ends, despite the more peaceful option being on the table. Sure, you may now be more powerful, but was it worth murdering a child?
