Games Where The Main Character Isn’t The Hero

Video games often put us in the shoes of noble heroes, warriors, and selfless goody-two-shoes saviors. Sometimes, though, the spotlight shines on characters who don’t exactly wear a hero’s cape but rather blur the line between justice and cruelty, between survival and destruction. Their stories might not inspire cheer and applause, but they still hit because they dare to ask uncomfortable questions.

Whether through brutal choices, selfish motivations, or outright villainy, here are 8 games where the main characters show that being the protagonist doesn’t necessarily mean being the good guy.

Spec Ops: The Line

War Crimes In The Sand

What starts off as a straightforward military shooter slowly unravels into something deeply unsettling. In Spec Ops: The Line, Captain Martin Walker sets out to rescue civilians in Dubai, but every decision he makes leads to atrocities that make players question whether they’re playing a savior or a butcher. The infamous white phosphorous sequence remains one of the most haunting and gut-wrenching examples of how far he falls.

The game plays with the player’s expectation, presenting Walker as a traditional war hero before dismantling that persona piece by piece. By the end, it’s hard to tell whether he was actually trying to save people or simply indulging his own ego. Few games question the morality of both their protagonist and the players controlling them in the way Spec Ops: The Line does.

The Last of Us Part 2

Revenge Is A Poisoned Blade

Four years after the events of the first game, Ellie is no longer the wide-eyed kid she once was. Years of trauma and Joel’s tragic death drive her to hunt down his killer, Abby, a quest that consumes her with rage. The result is a perpetual cycle of violence as the player is forced to watch the consequences unfold from both Ellie’s and Abby’s perspectives.

Instead of delivering catharsis as one would expect from a revenge story, The Last of Us Part 2 replaces it with exhaustion and regret. Ellie’s choices leave her isolated, broken, and by the end, it’s hard to see her as a heroine in any sense. Naughty Dog flips the script by making the main character’s downfall the centerpiece of the narrative.

Disco Elysium

A Deranged Dysfunctional Detective

Few games make you a loser right from the get-go; Disco Elysium is one of them. Harry Du Bois wakes up in a messy hotel room, hungover and with no memory, and is handed a murder case to solve. Barely able to keep himself together, it’s up to the player whether they choose to spiral him even further into self-destruction.

The game thrives on Harry’s flaws. He’s corrupt, pitiful, unintentionally hilarious at times, but never a role model. Even if players steer him toward redemption instead of ruin, he never feels like a shining example of justice. Disco Elysium presents a great example of what makes a true anti-hero protagonist.

Overlord

Evil Has Minions Too

For a far less morally gray twist, Overlord flips the RPG power fantasy on its head. Instead of leading noble knights and defending the weak against gremlins, players instead command those very same gremlins to stomp through villages, steal treasure, and brutally maim anyone who resists.

There’s no ambiguity here. The Overlord is a villain straight up, and the joy comes from how unbashedly the game embraces it. Sending a group of imps to loot sheep feels absurd, hilarious, and empowering all at the same time. It’s a rare game where the lack of heroism is the whole point, making for a darkly comic twist on strategy and action.

Manhunt

Blood Stains On Every Corner

Forced into a series of snuff films by a sadistic director, Manhunt sees players take control of James Earl Cash, whose survival depends on executing violent murders with improvised weapons all on film. Any sense of heroism disappears the very instant you strangle your first victim with a plastic bag.

The game’s grimy presentation only adds to the atmosphere. Levels feel less like meticulously designed challenges and more like stages cobbled together for a grotesque show. Cash isn’t here to save anyone; he’s a perpetrator of cruelty, and the player is complicit. Manhunt is a game that’s ugly by design, and that makes it all the harder to forget even long after it’s turned off.

Prototype

A Walking Plague

Putting the fun in funeral, Alex Mercer wakes up with no memories and a body that can shapeshift into all sorts of weapons capable of ripping people, tanks, and helicopters apart. On the surface, he seems like a tortured man searching for answers, but in reality, he’s the very source of the viral outbreak that threatens New York.

Prototype’s gameplay perfectly leans into the main character’s lack of humanity. Mercer can consume anyone, stealing their look, memories, and skills without a hint of remorse. The freedom to wreak havoc without care for friend or foe is enthralling, but the realization that you’re playing as the catastrophe itself and not as the hero fighting against it hits just as hard.

Kane & Lynch: Dead Men

Criminal Minds At Work

Kane & Lynch: Dead Men follows the story of two men who could be called antiheroes at best, but in reality are just heartless criminals trying to survive. Kane is a disgraced mercenary, and Lynch is an unstable psychopath. Their story isn’t about redemption, but about desperation as they go through betrayal, greed, and violence.

The partnership is volatile too, with both men clashing constantly, but this dynamic is exactly what keeps the story compelling. Neither of them is likable, but that’s the whole point. The game peels away the bright and cheery coating of action heroes and leaves players with two broken men stumbling from one bloody job to the next.

The Rules Of Nature Demand Bloodshed

Dismantling everything that was built up since 2001, Raiden’s role in Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance becomes that of an apathetic mass murderer. His transformation into a cybernetic ninja is paired with a philosophy that cuts away any shred of justice or morality. He knows he’s killing to push agendas, not to save the world, and he’s fine with it.

The game fully revels in this darker angle with its over-the-top combat. Raiden slices away his enemies into millions of pieces while coming face to face with villains who are reflections of his own choices, yet he gets to keep the moral high ground simply by slicing their legs off. When the Jack the Ripper persona makes itself known, players quickly realize they’re not playing a noble cyber-ninja, but a terrifying and efficient weapon for whom heroism holds no meaning.