Games where you realize too late that you are the villain

Games are such a wonderful medium, allowing you to see the heroes, the villains, and everything in between — with your hands on the steering wheel, guiding the action. There's no shortage of games that allow you to play as a villain from the start, or games that allow players to make “bad” choices, but occasionally, you get a game that pulls a little trick on its own players: the hero-to-villain surprise.

In each of the following games, the character is presented from the start as a force for good or otherwise on the neutral side, only for the truth to fall on the players' heads. Whether it's by choice or completely unintentionally, here are five games where it's revealed that you were the bad guy all along.

This article will include major spoilers for: Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean, Heavy Rain, Mouthwashing, Shadow of the Colossus, and Nier Replicant.

Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean – Kalas

Revenge is a powerful motivator

This Gamecube RPG, which had a remastered Shadow dropped on Steam, was developed by Monolith Soft, the latter's team. The Xenosaga and Xenoblade Chronicles series, and follows the protagonist Kalas as he travels the world to avenge the murders of his grandfather and younger brother. While perspective Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean Under the watchful eye of Kalas' guardian spirit (and all dialog choices the player makes are from the spirit), the player has complete control over Kalas' movements and actions throughout the game.

After meeting a woman named Xelha, Kallus unwittingly unleashes an “End Magnus” that can be used to unleash the evil god Malpercio along with the other four End Magnus. The party travels the world to prevent the release of these creatures, but is rebuffed at every turn, making Malpercio's resurrection even more likely.

However, it wasn't a coincidence that enemies seemed to be one step ahead each turn. It turns out that Kalas was working for them the whole time, helping them find and capture every Ending Magnus along the way. Eventually, Kalas absorbs End Magnus's power and becomes possessed by Malpercio.

Thankfully, there is a happy twist to this story. Callas comes to regret his betrayal and finds a way to win back Malpercio. The player, now in control of Xelha, finally reunites with Kalas and frees him from his slavery to the evil god. After which, they work together to defeat Malpercio and restore the world.

Heavy Rain – Scott Shelby

Perpetuating the cycle of violence will not heal you

throughout heavy rainThe player takes control of four different playable characters, all of whom appear to be on the hunt for the Origami Killer, a serial killer who targets children during the rainy season. One of the four playable characters is a private investigator named Scott Shelby, who meets with the families of previous victims and collects evidence from each that may lead to the whereabouts of the Origami Killer.

However, near the end of the game, it is revealed that Scott was not looking for the Origami Killer, but that he was actually the killer. Changed by the experience of losing his brother to parental neglect, Scott kidnaps children to find a father willing to sacrifice himself for his child. Scott Shelby's actions throughout the game are then re-referenced, as he was not collecting evidence for investigative purposes, but rather to dispose of it and ensure his escape.

The twist may seem a bit cheap to players, however, eg heavy rain We are given the internal monologues of the playable cast throughout the game, and Shelby's internal voice never mentions or hints at her real reason for gathering evidence. Many endings, including whether Scott gets away with his crimes, are determined by the player's actions and which characters arrive to help Shawn escape.

Mouthwash – Jimmy

Avoiding responsibility to the end

A story told through a non-linear, fractured timeline mouth wash Five crew members follow: Jimmy, Captain Curly, Anya, Daisuke and Swansea. The crew is stranded after their captain intentionally crashes the ship they are working on. Each small narrative vignette reveals more about the events leading up to the accident and its aftermath. Our hero, Jimmy, tries to take the role of captain, leading everyone to survive.

However, the whole mess was Jimmy's fault in the first place. Not only is Jimmy the one who crashes the ship, but he also commits some other serious transgressions throughout the game that cost the lives of the crew. As the game progresses, Jimmy descends into insanity trying to “fix” the mistakes he's made, Jimmy literally cannibalizes Captain Curly and puts Curly in a cryo pod to keep him alive.

It's a harrowing account of the lengths some people go to avoid accountability, and one that's sure to stick with players who make it all the way.

Shadow of the Colossus – The Wanderer

The road is paved with good intentions

the story of Shadow of the Colossus Follows a young man named Wander who tries to revive a young woman named Mono, begging Dormin for help in bringing her back. Dormin promises to revive Mono if Wander kills 16 giant beasts scattered around the world.

As Wander tracks down and defeats each colossi, a burst of shadow essence pierces his body, causing him to faint and reawaken in the temple. After each successful kill, Wander's skin turns pale, and his hair turns black. Each new colossus is accompanied by its own theme music, which starts out heroic and exciting, but changes to a more mournful tone when the colossus is finally struck. Every battle ends in misery.

The journey itself is beautiful and terrifying, in a way. These large, majestic figures once littered the land, minding their own business, but now the forbidden lands are empty. After defeating the last colossi, the truth is revealed: the colossi were actually fragments of Dormin's soul. While destroying the Guardians, Wander has inadvertently released the greater evil of Dormin.

Although it is clear that something was wrong from the beginning, the final transformation into Dormin's vessel is a shock. The entire journey to save Mono is an act by a greater evil to free himself. As the effort seems to have been for naught, Mono remains lifeless on the slab and is sucked into the portal to shut Wander down. However, in the closing moments of the game, Mono finally wakes up, the injured Agro returns, and Mono finds a small horned baby in the pool where Wander was locked away. Maybe there's still hope for Wander?

NieR replicant – Nier

Saving one soul dooms countless others

NieR Replica Begins as standard fantasy fare: a young man explores a post-apocalyptic world to find a cure for his sister's terminal illness. Along the way, he kills hundreds of “Shadows” (monstrous, shadowy creatures that appear to be nothing more than mindless bait) on Devola and Popola's orders. However, a terrible truth is revealed to us in the process: the shadows were human.

As part of Project Gestalt, humanity's souls were separated from their physical bodies. This was necessary because a disease threatened to end the existence of humanity. So man was devised to separate his soul from his mortal body and then place it in the created body of the replicants. However, the replicants developed their own souls, rejecting this merger and forcing humans to live without bodies.

If the needless destruction of these human souls wasn't enough, it's also revealed that the Shadow Master is the only thing keeping the shadows from going insane, and is actually a gestalt of the boy from the prologue, with our main character's replicant body meant to house him. By defeating the Shadow Lord, Nier destroys all of humanity and the extended replicants.

The real tragedy of NieR Replica It's that there are no good answers or neat solutions, and everything about the game is a little messy. If Neer had allowed the Shadow Lord and other Gestalts to inhabit replicant bodies, the replicator souls that had evolved would have been removed. And while stopping the antagonists allows the replicants to retain their free will, it is the genocide of all humanity, and ultimately destroys the replicants as well.