Games where you are the apocalypse

Fighting against insurmountable odds against a world-ending threat that could bring apocalypse to finally save the day is the main story for many games. There's a natural charm to playing a hero that draws people in, and games take advantage of that.

Some games, however, flip the script. Instead of saving the world from something, you are the thing that the world needs to save. In some cases, the truth is out in the open, and the game invites you to revel in the chaos and dance in the ashes. In other instances, the fact that you were the game's ultimate villain is hidden until the last second, when the developers pull the rug out from under you in a surprise twist.

fury

Harbinger of death

Stranger is the mysterious hero furyWhose only goal is to escape from prison finds himself cutting down everyone who stands in his way to secure his freedom. When the stranger finally escapes from prison, he discovers that he is bringing death and decay to the land through his existence. Standing only on the ground, all life around him withers and dies, implying that his presence is corrupting the free world. The stranger flees to orbit to find answers, where he finds The Star, an AI-controlled mothership that tells him he's originally a creation of the ship, a vanguard to see if the planet is amenable to assimilation.

The stranger is then presented with two options. He can either agree to help The Star absorb the free world, fulfill his original purpose and bring about total apocalypse, or fight against The Star and turn against his own race. Star warns him, however, that going with the latter option will not change the nature of his corrupt existence and that even if Star is destroyed, more attackers will come.

Alden Ring

Lord of Chaos

The fate of the land in between lies in the hands of those tainted with the knowledge of many things Alden Ring. They can help maintain the current order of things, break cycles entirely in favor of others, or burn entire worlds to ashes.

in Alden RingThe lord of the end of frenzied flames becomes the lord of tainted chaos, a greater desire to engulf the world in fire and brimstone to destroy not only everything but everything else as well. Likewise, the blessing of the end of despair also brings about a kind of apocalypse, although it is a slow death rather than an immediate doom. To this end, the Alden Ring Fell becomes infected with the curse, leaving all creatures in the land subject to it, with no escape, even in death.

Plague Inc.

Design the perfect apocalypse

from the beginning of Plague Inc.There's no ambiguity about what the game wants you to do: end the world. Players assume the role of a sentient plague, learning how it needs to grow and what mutations will help stop human efforts to stop it in its tracks. If managed correctly, plague can escalate from a minor influenza-level disease to an extinction-level event in months. The goal is to help the plague grow while ensuring it is not neutralized by the world's medical professionals and vaccines.

The best part? The nature of the apocalypse is in your hands. To begin with, there are bog-standard evolutionary paths for bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites to follow. But the real fun begins with special plagues like the Necroa virus that can turn humans into zombies, the Neurax worm that can turn the infected into mind-controlled slaves, Apes sapiences (inspired by Planet of the Apes) and the Shadow Plague that can bring on vampires.

Destroy all people!

Slapstick human extinction

Destroy all people! is an open-world action adventure game where players assume the role of an alien named Crypto (Cryptosporidium-137) whose goal is to collect special alien DNA originating from human brains in 1950s America in order to save their species from extinction. Krypto uses everything from alien guns and his psychic abilities to UFOs mounted with a death ray that can level entire districts and destroy any and all humans he encounters.

From the player's point of view, Destroy all people! Unchecked is a fun game full of violence, slapstick comedy, and funny alien jokes all in good fun. For people on crypto's warpath, however, it's the end of the world.

Prototypes 1 and 2

Biological weapons of mass destruction

in Prototype 1Alex Mercer falls firmly into the anti-hero category. He is ruthless, violent, and doesn't seem to care much about his existence and the loss of human life in his quest for truth, but cannot be called “evil” in the strictest sense. Between an army trying to wipe Manhattan off the map and super mutants terrorizing the city, Mercer seems to be making a bad situation better. At the end of the game, Mercer also saves the city from a virus outbreak that spells its doom, saving the lives of the people inside.

Move forward quickly Prototype 2And Mercer is no longer an anti-hero player, but a real villain disillusioned by the cruelty of humanity. Betrayed by his lover, he begins to think that all humans are worthless and worth consuming as biomass to create a unified whole that ends all suffering.

infamous

Absolute power corrupts absolutely

at the end of infamousPlayers learn that Kessler, the antagonist, was actually Cole from an alternate future who went back in time to stop the Beast, his nemesis and an extremely powerful conduit that killed his wife and children in the alternate timeline. Kessler's goal was to prepare the current Cole for the future, by having him slay the Beast in his stead. Depending on what kind of Karma players accumulate during their playthrough, there are two possible endings infamous.

In a good ending, Cole decides to heed Kessler's (future Cole) warning to him, takes on the mantle of Empire City's hero and prepares to face the beast. In the bad ending, Cole becomes arrogant, believing himself to be the strongest, mocking Kessler for being afraid of the beast. Empire City falls into ruin as a result of Cole's actions, turning from a thriving metropolis into a wasteland without law or order, where the strong rule and the weak are their slaves.

Specific Ops: Line

What was it all for?

Specific Ops: LineThe protagonist, Martin Walker, is one of the best examples of a hero being a villain. Believing that he alone understands what is going on in Dubai, he throws white phosphorus at a company of soldiers, killing them to the last man, guns down “rebels” and “insurgents” who he believes are working for the enemy, and helps destroy the city's last water supply, leading everyone in Dubai to a slow death.

At the end of the game, it is revealed that Walker was suffering from some serious delusions that made him think he was talking to Konrad, justifying the atrocities he committed, when in reality, Konrad was long dead. Because of the CIA's involvement, he thought the 33rd Battalion had turned traitor, when it was actually the CIA on a secret mission to kill everyone in Dubai to prevent news of American intervention in the region from getting out. Only at the end Specific Ops: Line Does Walker truly realize the extent of his mistakes? But until then, the only option left with him is that he can face them or hide his head in the sand and shift the blame to someone else, like he has always done.

Shadow of the Colossus

A deal with the devil

in Shadow of the ColossusPlayers take on the role of Wander, an ancient sword-wielding warrior who wants to revive a sacrificed girl named Mono. On his quest, Wander meets Dormin, a mysterious entity that promises to bring Mono back to life if he completes a task for it: kill sixteen colossi roaming the ancient lands. Dormin warns Wander, however, that he will have to pay a heavy price to see the girl fully resurrected, but Wander agrees to complete the task anyway.

Only, Dormin doesn't reveal the whole truth. When the players finally manage to kill all sixteen colossi and return to Dormin to revive Mono, they discover that the colossi exist for a reason. In fact, these creatures were living seals meant to imprison Dormin in a shrine of worship. By killing them, Wander had unwittingly released this mysterious being from its prison. Although Dormin is finally sealed again by another NPC, the fact remains that all of Wander's efforts up to this point may have been in the service of an entity that would have brought apocalypse if it had been allowed to run free.