There's nothing more satisfying in gaming than to beat down a truly evil character after they've been tormenting the player for the entirety of their experience. Beating these villains into a pulp makes for a truly satisfying experience, with certain games being lauded for the conflict that arises and how it ends up being one of the most compelling parts of the entire game.
However, there are times when some titles pull a fast one on players and don't let them experience the catharsis that would come from fighting some of the evilest characters in the game. For the most part, these moments aren't all that bad...although some players would've loved to vent out their frustrations against the following diabolical characters in their respective video games.
10 John Konrad – Spec Ops: The Line
John Konrad is one of the more unique inclusions on this list. It's not that Walker won't fight him, but the reality is that Walker can't fight John no matter how hard he tries.
This is because John Konrad is nothing more than a figment of Walker's imagination, dying well before the player gets to interact with him face-to-face. It's a chilling revelation and one of the major reasons why Spec Ops: The Line is such a masterpiece.
9 Illusive Man – Mass Effect
The Illusive Man is one of the most fascinating characters in the Mass Effect series by a country mile. The smooth voice of Martin Sheen betrays the ruthlessness with which the Illusive Man and Cerberus carry out their actions in a bid to ensure humanity's survival over all other species.
At the end of Mass Effect 3, players don't really get to enjoy a battle with him. Rather, it's more of a tense exchange that can potentially end with the death of both the Illusive Man and Captain Anderson.
8 Chara – Undertale
Chara is easily one of the evilest characters in gaming history. She messes around with the player's mind itself and takes on her identity if the player goes down the genocide route, revealing herself at the very end of the game's chilling ending.
Even if players decide to go for a Pacifist Run later on, Chara still remains in the world and appears near the ending in a sinister manner. Her aim is to destroy the world on a scale never seen before and actively seeks out this goal by trying to manipulate the player as well.
7 Pagan Min – Far Cry 4
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It's a shame that Pagan Min didn't have the screentime he deserved in Far Cry 4. He was an infectious presence every single time he came on screen, and fans couldn't wait to see how their final confrontation would turn out.
However, the player never gets to fight Pagan Min in an all-out boss fight. Instead, he can either be spared or killed at two points near the game's ending with little to no fanfare, making Far Cry 4's ending feel pretty undercooked indeed.
6 Dormin – Shadow Of The Colossus
Shadow of the Colossus is a hauntingly beautiful game that slowly makes players realize that they're the villains in this story. The Colossi who were just living their lives are brutally taken out by Wander, with a sinister voice guiding him.
Dormin is the malicious entity that manipulates Wander into hunting down the Colossi who are keeping him chained in this sacred realm. When he appears at the end, players end up controlling him instead of fighting him, since he possesses Wander's body. Thankfully, the protagonist's pursuers manage to seal this evil before it escaped into the world.
5 Tom Nook – Animal Crossing
It's a shame that Animal Crossing doesn't have a feature where players can just punch the living daylights out of certain characters. If this was implemented, then most people would love socking Tom Nook square on the jaw over and over again.
This greedy character binds the character in a contract of servitude over and over again, with his demands becoming more and more egregious over time. It's easy to see why so many people hate this character in Animal Crossing, even though he fulfills an important part of the gameplay — giving players an end goal to achieve.
4 Andrew Ryan – BioShock
The founder of Rapture seems like a character that players will be engaging with over the course of the entire game. However, midway through the experience, players encounter Andrew Ryan in the flesh and figure out the true nature of their existence.
The player doesn't fight Ryan but is instead ordered by Ryan to kill him. It's his final act of defiance that reveals how Atlas — later revealed to be Frank Fontaine — manipulated the player into doing his own bidding.
3 AM – I Have No Mouth, And I Must Scream
The Allied Mastercomputer, also known as AM, is one of the most villainous characters ever made. This ruthless AI has seemingly wiped out the entirety of humanity, letting only five people live for the sole purpose of torturing them.
AM is pure evil incarnate, using the bindings of his code to justify the sheer terror he has brought about to all of humankind. It might be a chore to aim for the best ending, but it's worth it just to see AM get his just desserts and for humanity to attain another shot at survival.
2 Alma Wade – F.E.A.R.
To be fair, it's unfair to label Alma as completely evil. Her trauma from being experimented upon as a child led to her escaping her captors and using her psychic powers to wreak absolute havoc.
All players can really do against Alma is run from her and not get unnerved by her mere presence. She might not be a focal villain in the later games, but her presence is still quite strong in these titles regardless.
1 President Shinra – Final Fantasy 7
President Shinra is a greedy and ruthless character who will stop at nothing in his quest for power. The fact that he drops an entire section of the plane onto Midgar just to capture a bunch of terrorists shows just how brutal he really is.
However, before players can take their revenge out on his character, they arrive after their jailbreak to find that the president has been killed by Sephiroth. It's a chilling scene that shows how Shinra isn't the main villain, but just one part of something bigger.