Top 20 Worst Heroes In Video Games

“Heavy Rain” (2010)

As the hero of a story centered on a gritty murder mystery, one would expect a character like Ethan Mars to be at the top of his game. Most protagonists have some level of agency in their own lives and are smart enough to keep track of things. Ethan manages to lose his kid in a not-too-busy mall, thus resulting in his son’s death. On top of that, he somehow manages to set his supposed grief aside to sleep with Madison. Is he really that traumatized or was he just looking for an excuse to divorce Grace?

“Lost Odyssey” (2008)

Now, we understand why Kaim is kind of a mess of emotions. He’s someone who has [somehow] become totally desensitized to conflict and death. Does this explanation make him a good hero? Not at all. Just because you have an explanation for why a character is such an edgelord, it does not make them anymore compelling. His design, on the other hand, is just plain dumb. My dude, are you wearing a suit of leather armor that’s a few sizes too small for you? How do you expect any of this to protect you?

“Knack” series (2014-17)

Sure, Knack may have his fans. A whole generation of young gamers grew up playing the series on PS4 and developed an attachment to the humanoid bundle of relics, but that does not make his existence any less appalling. For starters, the game tries to sell us on the alleged fact that “Knack can do anything”, and yet all we see him do is punch, kick, block, dodge, jump - you know all the basic video game hero stuff. Sure, he can alter his size, too, but that isn’t enough to impress anyone. Plus, who else talks in hokey, generic action movie dialogue like that?

“[Prototype]” (2009)

Unlike with Knack, we can understand why some folks might gravitate towards Alex Mercer. The guy is an outcast with few to no allies in the world, labeled a freak and a menace by society. Some of us who went through rough times in high school get that. But…that was high school. At some point, the angst gets annoying and comes off more obnoxious than the attitudes of the other heroes on this list. That said, Alex is very much a product of his time. The powers are cool, yes, but even so, he has become a relic from another era of gaming.

“Wario Land” series (1994-2008) & “WarioWare” series (2003-21)

Hold your horses before you go storming Castle Mojo!! We are not saying Wario is bad the same way we’ve said some of these other heroes are bad. Wario is bad in the sense of his overall character; “bad” as in “evil, a crook, a bully to everyone and everything”. Our famously infamous anti-Mario has spent decades going after only what appeals to him - money and fame. Regardless if you’re playing the “Wario Land” or “WarioWare” games, the garlic-muncher could care less about anyone, including the folks who help make his crummy game studio a semi-success. With that amount of greed and rudeness, isn’t it fair to call him an awful hero?

“Life is Strange: Before the Storm” (2017)

Chloe was already frustrating to deal with in the first “Life is Strange” on account of how she seemed to always be within death’s reach. But before she was getting stuck on railroad tracks and being an angsty teenager, she was arguably a worse character. Throughout “Before the Storm”, Chloe’s only personality trait seems to be anger and rebellion. And when she isn’t obsessing over Rachel Amber, she’s excusing her bad behavior under the phrase “my attitude is what makes me special”. Uh huh, sure. We’ll remember that next time you’re in the face of danger.

“PaRappa the Rapper” series (1996-2001)

It’s okay to like PaRappa. We aren’t saying the game is bad or the character is problematic. However, you gotta see where the hip-hop hero is going about his problems in the wrong ways. When it comes to winning over his crush, Sunny Funny, PaRappa never does it with the intention of genuinely impressing her. He’s mostly doing it because he sees the arrogant Joe Chin do something similar. At some point, you gotta wonder when his gestures towards Sunny are done out of love and passion for her or spite and pettiness towards Joe Chin. Look, man, we don’t like Joe Chin either, but you gotta set your priorities.

“Shovel Knight: King of Cards” (2019)

Shovel Knight served as a beacon of hope in restoring the land. Plague Knight sought after the ultimate potion and finding his true love. Spectre Knight went on a path of vengeance and melancholy. King Knight? The boy wants cards, and he wants them all! Compared to the other knights, though, King Knight is just outright disrespectful to everyone around him. We get it - being spoiled and pampered and thinking he’s above everyone is his schtick. It’s what makes him funny. But like Wario, it’s what makes it so much more satisfying to watch him get his comeuppance.

“Lester the Unlikely” (1994)

Imagine the most heroic, most noble, most courageous hero to ever exist in the history of storytelling. Now, take away all those traits and put their opposites into said hero. You get Lester the Unlikely. Lester is one of those heroes that will actively fight against the player, running away from even the smallest of enemies to go cower in a corner. Sure, his demeanor might make you chuckle a few times, but if you’re wanting to speedrun or simply beat the game, prepare for maximum frustration.

“Watch_Dogs” (2014)

We’ll admit that Aiden Pearce might have been placed too high on our original Top 10 list. We understand that some didn’t find Aiden as terrible as we did. Even so, Aiden’s only claim to fame is in his total lack of empathy. He’ll hack almost anyone he doesn’t like and lay waste to dozens just to prove a point and stop all these corrupt corporations. Marcus at least had some fun with his somewhat criminal ways thanks to his quips and personality. Aiden, though? Heaven forbid we have any joy in our chaos.

“The World Ends With You” (2007)

Unlike most of the heroes on this list, Neku is absolutely a hero we can say has an awesome design! Might be too cliche in the Square Enix fashion line, but for what it is, it’s kind of sick! So, why are we calling Neku a terrible hero? Well, he’s not exactly likable early on in the game. For no reason whatsoever, he acts incredibly hostile towards other characters like our darling Shiki. Like, bro, what crawled up your pants and died? Credit where it's due, he does get more likable as the game progresses, but man, his intro almost made us put the game down.

“Assassin’s Creed” series (2007-)

Some might argue that Connor is the worst of the “Assassin’s Creed” protagonists. Although, we’d argue that Desmond Miles is far, far worse. That isn’t to say Nolan North didn’t do a good job in his performance; we have yet to see a bad act from him! But Desmond as a character is exceptionally weak. His cynicism often crosses the line that paints him to be more of a jackass, making it hard for anyone to tolerate him, let alone like him. We’re glad his ancestors, Altair and Ezio, were able to turn his attitude around, but damn, dude. It was REALLY hard to like Desmond.

“Fortnite” (2017)

Over the last several years that “Fortnite” has been around, we’ve seen an extensive selection of character cosmetics debut, many of which have become fan favorite characters like Bushranger and Mancake. So, we gotta wonder why Jonesy was chosen to be the central character to the Battle Royale mode’s story. There is absolutely nothing interesting about this character! Not visually, not narratively, not even in personality. He is such a blank canvas that he comes off more like an excuse to explain why Superman is using uzis against Master Chief while fishing near the Daily Bugle. Really? This guy is the leader of the pack?

“DmC: Devil May Cry” (2013)

We understand that the 2013 reboot for “Devil May Cry” is not an awful game. It still retains much of what we like about the rest of the franchise, that fast-paced, energetic combat. What killed it for us was just how stupid Dante looked the entire time. Goodbye, leather pants and edgelord attire, and hello, jeans and white tank top! Honestly, he looked like a “Twilight” character getting his own video game spin-off, and the sheer disrespect towards the OG Dante made us all the more enraged. Thank god we were able to get a REAL “Devil May Cry” game in 2019, complete with moppy white hair.

“Mighty No. 9” (2016)

Beck, just… What’s going on with Beck here, huh? This robot is a total visual mess, plain and simple. Given that he was supposed to be a spiritual successor to Mega Man, one would expect a design that’s equally simplistic yet recognizable. Alas, he’s been overdesigned. As a character, he’s much worse. There are plenty of times where he comes off as a goody two-shoes in the worst ways possible, and he’s constantly teetering between being determined and being nervous about his goals. It’s always a guessing game with Beck, and it adds to the reason why so many resent “Mighty No. 9” in general.

“Ride to Hell: Retribution” (2013)

Yeah, remember “Ride to Hell: Retribution”? What a mess of a game! As if the technical problems couldn’t make the experience even more miserable, Jake manages to bring things down further by being the most unbearable character in the game. Tell us, what other characters are such bad shots that they can’t take down dudes with a single bullet? How many characters get down and dirty with love interests while still keeping their jeans on? We’re starting to think there’s a reason why so many rival gangs are after Jake and his family.

“Ninjabread Man” (2007)

Ninjas are supposed to be cool, stealthy assassins with an arsenal of tools to help them take down their prey. Though a gingerbread ninja man is an awesome idea, it crumbles faster than a cookie dunked in milk. Ninjabread Man is completely incompetent when it comes to combat, using only basic sword strikes and giving the enemy ample time to counterattack. Adding to his mundane design, he possesses no powers or tools that a ninja would normally carry. No smoke bombs, no hard candy shurikens, nothing. Just his dainty sword and abysmal fighting skills.

“Drake of the 99 Dragons” (2003)

Speaking of abysmal fighting skills, let’s dredge up the corpse known as “Drake of the 99 Dragons”. Our titular protagonist is a genuinely unlikable one throughout the entire adventure. Shirtless with black pants and dual-wielding guns? How incredibly captivating!! ...Not. Drake absolutely refuses to use anything that isn’t a gun, giving him no defense outside of ranged attacks. And this all goes without mentioning some of the absolutely stupid things he’ll utter throughout the game. Who would have guessed that they thought Drake was an enthralling enough hero to potentially launch a comic book line and TV series?

“Sonic the Hedgehog” series (1991-)

This damn cat has been the bane of our existence since his debut in the first “Sonic Adventure”! Now, in our original list, we slapped him right at the top spot. A bit hasty on our end, we’ll admit, especially when compared to our new top pick. Thankfully, Big hasn’t been cropping up as often over the years, making his bumbling existence a little less infuriating. Still, all those fishing levels from back in the day have traumatized us and made us resent a portion of a Dreamcast classic. We don’t mind him today, but back then, he made himself public enemy number one!

“Bubsy” series (1993-2019)

In our original list, Bubsy had only received the silver medal for worst video game hero. What changed our mind? Well, the stupid feline thought he could make a comeback in the modern age with some new games. Nope! Even in the late 2010’s, Bubsy proved to be just as insufferable as he was in the 90’s with his senseless chatter, pun-riddled quips, and general uselessness. Bubsy proved to the world that he is someone who cannot be saved, not by prettier graphics, not by focused artstyle, nothing. Rest in pieces, Bubsy, and may we never see you again for as long as we live.