A game where you realize too late that you are the villain.

Games are a great medium to see the perspectives of heroes, villains, and everything in between. All while putting your hands on the steering wheel and guiding the action. There's no shortage of games that allow you to play as the villain from the start, or that allow players to make “evil” choices. However, sometimes there are games that pull some tricks on the players. It's a surprising reveal from hero to villain.

In each of the following games, the characters are presented from the beginning as either a force for good or a neutral party, but then the truth comes crashing down on the player's head. Whether by choice or completely unintentional, here are five games that reveal you were the bad guy all along.

This article contains 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 Sea – Kalas

Revenge is a powerful motivating factor

This GameCube RPG, which also had a remaster of Shadowdrop on Steam, was developed by game development team Monolith Soft. Xenosaga and Xenoblade Chronicles The series' protagonist, Callas, travels the world seeking revenge for the murders of his grandfather and younger brother. From the perspective of Baten Kaitos Eternal Wings and the Lost Sea Through the eyes of Kalas' Guardian Spirit (and all dialogue choices the player makes come from the Spirit), the player has full control over Kalas' movements and actions throughout the game.

After meeting a woman named Xelha, Kalas accidentally releases the “End Magnus” which, when combined with the other four End Magnus, can be used to seal away the evil god Malpercio. The party travels the world to prevent the release of these beings, but are rebuffed each time, making Malpercio's resurrection more and more likely.

But it was no coincidence that the enemies seemed to be one step ahead at every turn. Kalas is revealed to have been working for them the entire time, helping them find and capture each End Magnus along the way. Eventually, Kalas absorbs the power of End Magnus and becomes possessed by Malpercio.

Thankfully, there are some happy turns in this story. Callas regrets his betrayal and seeks a way to punish Malpercio. The player, now controlling Xelha, eventually reunites with Kalas and frees him from the evil god's bondage. They then work together to defeat Malpercio and restore the world.

Heavy Rain – Scott Shelby

There is no cure by continuing the vicious cycle of violence.

all the time heavy rainIn , players will take control of four playable characters, all of whom appear to be searching for the Origami Killer, a serial killer who targets children while it's raining. One of the four playable characters is a private investigator named Scott Shelby, who meets the families of previous victims and gathers evidence from each that could lead to the whereabouts of the Origami Killer.

However, by the end of the game it is revealed that Scott was not looking for the Origami Killer, but is actually the killer. Transformed by the loss of his older brother to parental neglect, Scott kidnaps children in hopes of finding a father willing to sacrifice himself for them. Scott Shelby's actions throughout the game are re-contextualized, not to collect evidence for investigative purposes, but to process it and secure an escape.

However, this twist may feel a little cheap to players. heavy rain Throughout the game, it features internal monologues from the playable cast, with Shelby's internal voice never mentioning or implying the actual reason for gathering evidence. Multiple endings, including whether Scott commits the crime, are determined by the player's actions and which characters arrive to help Shaun escape.

Mouthwash – Jimmy

Avoiding responsibility until the end

The story is told through a non-linear and fractured timeline. mouthwash It follows five crew members: Jimmy, Captain Curly, Anya, Daisuke, and Swansea. The crew was left stranded after their captain deliberately crashed the ship they were working on. Each mini-story vignette reveals more about the events that led to the crash and the resulting fallout. Our protagonist Jimmy takes on the role of captain and attempts to lead everyone to survival.

But this whole mess was Jimmy's fault in the first place. Not only is Jimmy the one who crashed the ship, but he also commits other serious violations throughout the game that cost his crew their lives. As the game progresses, Jimmy descends further and further into madness in an attempt to “correct” the mistakes he has made, and eventually Jimmy literally eats Captain Curly and gives up, keeping Curly alive by putting him in a cryopod.

It's a harrowing account of the lengths some people will go to to avoid responsibility, and one that will surely catch any player who can make it to the end.

Shadow of the Colossus – Wandering

The road is paved with good intentions

story shadow of the colossus It is the story of a young man named Wander, who is trying to revive a young woman named Mono, and pleads with Dormin to bring her back. Dormin promises to resurrect Mono if Wander kills sixteen giant beasts scattered across the kingdom.

As Wander tracks down and defeats each Colossus, his dark essence pierces his body, knocking him unconscious and reawakening in the temple. With each successful kill, Wander's skin becomes paler and his hair becomes darker. Each new Colossus is accompanied by its own unique theme music. The music begins heroically and excitingly, but takes on a more mournful tone when the Colossus is finally defeated. Every fight ends in some sadness.

In some ways, the journey itself is beautiful and unforgettable. These gigantic and majestic figures once littered the lands as they went about their business, but now the Forbidden Lands lie empty. After defeating the last Colossus, the truth is revealed. The Colossus was actually a fragment of Dormin's soul. In destroying the Guardians, Wander unknowingly unleashed the great evil of Dormin.

It was clear something was wrong from the beginning, but the final transformation into Dormin's vessel was shocking. The entire journey to save Mono was a mission designed by a great evil to free itself. The effort feels in vain as Mono is left lifeless on the slab and Wander is sucked into the portal to be sealed. However, in the game's closing moments, Mono finally wakes up as the injured Agro returns, and Mono discovers a small horned child in the pool where Wander was sealed. Is there still hope for Wander?

NieR Replicant — Nier

Protecting one soul leads to the destruction of countless others.

NieR Replicant It starts off as a normal fantasy. A young man explores a post-apocalyptic world to find a cure for his sister's terminal illness. Along the way, he slaughters hundreds of “Shades” (monstrous shadow creatures that are nothing more than meaningless fodder) at Devola and Popola's request. However, the terrible truth revealed to us in the process is that the shadow was a human being.

As part of Project Gestalt, humanity's souls were separated from their bodies. This was necessary because the disease threatened to end human existence. So humans were designed to separate their souls from their mortal bodies and then place them into the manufactured bodies of clones. However, replicants developed their own souls to reject this merger and force humans to live without bodies.

If this merciless destruction of human souls isn't enough, it's also revealed that the Shadowlord is the only one keeping the shade from going crazy and is actually a gestalt of the boy from the prologue, with the protagonist being the clone body that will house him. By defeating the Shadowlord, Nier destroys all of humanity and, by extension, replicants.

the true tragedy of NieR Replicant There are no good answers or neat solutions, everything in the game is just a little messy. If Nier had allowed the Shadowlord and other Gestalts to inhabit replicant bodies, the replicant souls that developed would have been eliminated. And while stopping the antagonists would allow the replicants to retain their free will, it would amount to genocide of all humanity and ultimately destroy the replicants as well.