Where You're the Apocalypse Games

Fighting against overwhelming odds against an end-of-the-world threat that could cause the apocalypse and ultimately save the day is the main story of many games. Role-playing is naturally an attraction that draws people in, and games take advantage of that.

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

Furry

A harbinger of death

The stranger is the mysterious protagonist Furrywhose only goal is to escape the prison he finds himself in to secure his freedom by cutting down anyone who stands in his way. When the Stranger finally escapes from prison, he discovers that his mere existence is bringing death and decay to the land. Simply by standing on the ground, all life around him withers and dies, suggesting that his very presence is corrupting the Free World. Stranger escapes into orbit to seek answers, where he finds the Star, an AI-controlled mothership that tells him he was originally a creation of the ship itself, a vanguard to determine if the planet was worthy of assimilation.

The foreigner then has two options. He can either agree to help the Star assimilate the Free World, thus fulfilling his original purpose and bring about a complete apocalypse, or he can fight against the Star and go against his own race. However, Star warns him that switching to the latter will not change the nature of his corrupting existence, and that more attackers will come even if Star perishes.

Elden Ring

Lord of Chaos

The fate of the land between is largely in the hands of those tainted by tradition Elden Ring. They can help maintain the current order of things, break the cycle in favor of something completely different, or burn the entire world to ashes.

IN Elden RingAt the end of Lord of the Fenzied Flame, The Tarnished becomes the Lord of Chaos, drowning the world in fire and brimstone to destroy not only the Greater Will, but everything else. Likewise, the end of Blessing of Despair brings a certain apocalypse, albeit a slow death rather than an immediate cataclysm. In this conclusion, Elden Ring becomes infected with the Fell Curse, leaving all beings in the Lands between without escape, even after death.

Plague Inc.

Design the perfect apocalypse

From the very beginning Plague Inc.there's no ambiguity about what the game wants you to do: end the world. Players take on the role of a sentient plague that can decide how it needs to grow and which mutations will help it bypass human efforts to stop it in its tracks. If handled properly, plague can go from a mild flu-level illness to an extinction-level event in a matter of 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 entirely in your hands. For starters, there are standard evolutionary paths that plague can follow, such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites. But the real fun starts with special infections like the Necroa Virus, which can turn people into zombies, the Neurax Worm, which can turn the infected into mind-controlled slaves, the Monkey Flu, which can give apes reason (inspired by Planet of the Apes), and the Shadow Plague, which can cause a vampire apocalypse.

Destroy all people!

Slapstick Human Extinction

Destroy all people! is an open-world action-adventure where players take on the guise of an alien named Crypto (Cryptosporidium-137) who aims to harvest the brainstems of humans in 1950s America and collect special alien DNA that can save his species from extinction. Crypto uses everything from alien weapons and his psychic abilities to UFOs mounted with Death Rays that can level entire neighborhoods and wreak havoc on all humans they come across.

From the player's point of view, Destroy all people! is a fun game full of rampant violence, slapstick comedy and raunchy alien jokes that are good fun. However, for people caught on the Krypt's warpath, it's pretty much the end of the world.

Prototype 1 and 2

A biological weapon of mass destruction

IN Prototype 1Alex Mercer falls firmly into the anti-hero category. He's ruthless, violent, and doesn't seem to care much about the loss of human life in his quest for survival and truth, but he can't be called “evil” in the strictest sense of the word. Between an army trying to wipe Manhattan off the map and super mutants terrorizing the city with abandon, Mercer looks like he's made the best of a bad situation. At the end of the game, Mercer even saves the city from a viral outbreak that would spell its doom, saving the lives of the people inside.

Fast forward to Prototype 2and Mercer is no longer the anti-hero the players knew, but a true villain disillusioned with the cruelty of humanity. Betrayed by his lover, he begins to think that all humans are worthless and deserve to be consumed as biomass to create a unified whole that would end all suffering.

INFAMOUS

Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely

At the end INFAMOUSPlayers learn that Kessler, the antagonist, was actually Cole from an alternate future who traveled back in time to stop the Beast, his nemesis and an extremely powerful Conduit who killed his wife and children in the alternate timeline. Kessler's goal was to prepare present-day Cole for the future, to have him kill the Beast for him. There are two possible endings depending on what type of karma players have accumulated during their playthrough INFAMOUS.

With a happy ending, Cole decides to heed the warning given to him by Kessler (the future Cole), takes up the mantle of the hero of Empire City and prepares to face the Beast. In the bad ending, Cole becomes arrogant, believing he is the strongest, and taunts Kessler for being afraid of the Beast. As a result of Cole's actions, Empire City falls into ruin and from a prosperous metropolis becomes a wasteland without laws and government, where the strong rule and the weak are their slaves.

Spec Ops: The Line

What was it all for?

Spec Ops: The LineThe main character, Martin Walker, is one of the best examples of the main character being the villain throughout. Believing that he alone understands what is really going on in Dubai, he unleashes White Phosphorus on a company of soldiers and kills them to the last man, shooting “rebels” and “insurgents” who he believes are working for the enemy, and helps destroy the city's last water supply, condemning everyone in Dubai to a slow death.

At the end of the game, it is revealed that Walker was suffering from severe hallucinations that caused him to think he was talking to Konrad, justifying the atrocities he committed when in reality Konrad had been dead for a long time. Because of the CIA's involvement, he believed that the 33rd Battalion had become traitors, when it was really the CIA who were there on a secret mission to kill everyone in Dubai to prevent news of American intervention in the region from leaking. Until the very end Spec Ops: The Line indeed, Walker realizes the extent of his mistakes. But until then, the only option left for him is to stand up to them, or once again bury his head in the sand and blame it on someone else, as he always did.

Shadow of the Colossus

A deal with the devil

IN Shadow of the Colossusplayers take on the role of Wander, a warrior wielding an ancient sword who wants to revive a sacrificed girl named Mono. On his quest, Wander encounters Dormin, a mysterious entity who promises that he can bring Mono back to life if he completes a task for her: kill the sixteen colossi that roam the Ancient Lands. Dormin warns Wander that he will have to pay a high price to see the girl fully resurrected, but Wander agrees to complete the task anyway.

But Dormin doesn't reveal the whole truth. When the players finally manage to kill all sixteen colossi and return to Dormin to resurrect Mon, they discover that the colossi existed for a reason. In reality, these beings were living seals meant to trap Dormin in the shrine of worship. By killing them, Wander unknowingly released this mysterious being from its prison. Even though Dormin is resealed by another NPC at the end, the fact remains that all of Wander's efforts leading up to this moment could very well have served an entity that would cause the apocalypse if allowed to break free.