There are many popular, awe-inspiring, and widely recognized video game characters throughout history revered by many gamers for their distinctive traits or memorability. Typically, horns may signify evil, devil-like, animalistic, or inhuman characters, but that isn't always the case, as gaming history shows.
In video games, horned characters encompass various species, moral spectrums, and personality types, from fierce fighters and villains to lovable game heroes and protagonists on the lighter side of the moral compass. Some characters even straddle the gray area between good and evil, battle with their darkness, or are held in high esteem despite their faults and vices.
10 Iron Bull – Dragon Age Inquisition
Iron Bull is one of the optional party members and romance possibilities for the Herald of Andraste in the renowned RPG Dragon Age Inquisition, who identifies with the horned Qunari race. Iron Bull himself features a distinctive pair of horns and an eye patch but is perhaps best known by fans of the beloved franchise for his possible jaw-dropping betrayal and well-loved for his straight-talking personality, despite any hidden agendas.
Iron Bull also features in one of the game's funniest romance scenes where the characters Cassandra, Cullen, and Josephine accidentally witness his passionate encounter with the Herald.
9 Devil Jin – Tekken
Devil Jin is the evil counterpart and devil form of Jin Kazama, one of the most recognizable fighters in the Tekken franchise. Devil Jin first appeared in Tekken 3 cinematics and is a playable character in Tekken 7. In the games, players see Jin struggle to rid himself of the devil gene and attempt to destroy the cursed family blood trait for good which turns him into a devilish creature that is difficult to control.
Devil Jin is a ferocious and skilled character to play, featuring traditional devil-style horns and accompanying wings, and is a favorite character with many fans of the franchise.
8 Nightmare – Soul Calibur
Nightmare is the main villain of the Soul Calibur fighting game franchise and is arguably one of the most recognizable and memorable characters from the series owing to him wielding the oversized Soul Edge blade encrusted with a sinister eyeball, as well as his sinister, corrupted arm. He is a fierce, tank-like fighter who deals heavy damage and typically wears a horned helmet as part of his blue armor.
A firm favorite with many fans, Nightmare is an evil character and the living embodiment of Soul Edge, that is ever hungry for more power.
7 Shao Kahn – Mortal Kombat
Shao Kahn is the main antagonist in Mortal Kombat and the ruler of Outworld who tries to destroy Earthrealm as an epitome of pure evil. He is often seen wearing a skull-like, horned helmet with spiked shoulder pads and a strappy chest piece. He is also well known for his sinister soul-sucking abilities, similar to the evil character Shang Tsung.
Shao Kahn is a playable character in Mortal Kombat 11 where he swings a huge hammer with devastating effect and wears a particularly elongated horned helmet.
6 Hellboy
Hellboy is a renowned character created by Mike Mignola and stands out with his trimmed horns. Although several Hellboy movies have been created since the comics, there have been few video games created of the character, with Hellboy appearing as a playable character in Injustice 2 in 2017 and in Hellboy: The Science of Evil in 2008.
Despite the lack of games, there is a strong Hellboy fan base and sometimes players have tried to create their own versions of the character in popular games like Elden Ring.
5 Diablo
One of the bosses in the ever-popular Diablo franchise and the main boss of Diablo 2, the character Diablo is a horned, demon-like creature with a spiked back and can be a difficult foe to beat with his many resistances to various kinds of attacks.
Fans of the franchise eager for the release of Diablo 4 may be curious to know whether he is likely to make any kind of appearance in the game and what other bosses are likely to appear in the upcoming release.
4 Loki
Loki is the ultimate villain-turned-hero character who became known in the MCU and has since appeared in many of the Marvel games, including Lego Marvel Super Heroes and even Fortnite. As the famed God of Mischief, Loki tends to wear an imposing gold, horned helmet when ready to head into battle and is well known in the movies for funny quips with Thor and many acts of betrayal.
In Disney's Loki TV series, fans got to see a whole series of Loki variants including the infamous Alligator Loki.
3 Spyro
Spyro was first released in the late 90s on PlayStation and all three Spyro games were later remastered for modern consoles in the Spyro: Reignited Trilogy. Fans play as the beloved purple dragon hero with yellow horns who flies and breathes fire as he ventures out to rescue his kin in this 3D platformer.
The character Spyro is instantly recognizable and memorable for many players, as well as fondly adored for his sassy, fiery attitude, but some players may not be aware that he was originally going to be green and named Pete.
2 Bowser – Super Mario
First appearing in Super Mario Bros in 1985, Bowser is the fondly loved franchise's main antagonist and nemesis to Mario and Luigi as the boss of the Koopa clan. Although his most repeated strategy is to kidnap Princess Peach, he's done some other pretty strange things over the years in the games.
He's a large, intimidating character with two horns on his head, a spiked shell, and punky accessories. He's also known to use of flying clown-faced propeller-powered car to attack, like in the end boss battle of 1990's Super Mario World on SNES.
1 Ico
Gamers who grew up in the 90s may well remember the gem of a game called Ico, developed by Japan Studio and Team Ico for PlayStation 2 in 2001. It's a game that explores the adventures of a young, horned boy called Ico, who is shunned from his village and helps rescue the female character Yorda from a castle.
Despite being over 20 years old, Ico is still loved and praised by many today for its groundbreaking game design, and Ico's horns stand out as a memorable feature and iconic image of the game.