4 Games Where Players Are The Villains

There are few games that force players into the boots of the bad guys and even fewer that actually do it right. Antihero-centric games are rare, but they've proven time and again that there is always someone who's looking to scratch their villainous itch.

In addition to classics like "Overlord," "Prototype" and the ubiquitous "Grand Theft Auto" franchise, here are four other recently-released games where players are the villains.

"Destroy All Humans!"

This is a classic game like the two older titles mentioned above—the only difference between this and those is that "Destroy All Humans!" recently received remakes for both of its mainline games.

Invade an alternate reality version of the 1960s United States as Crypto, a nondescript grey alien armed with sci-fi tech inspired by retro pulp fiction. Kidnap humans and lay waste to their cities in this timeless third-person action game.

"Carrion"

Released in 2020, this "reverse horror game" is played through the 2D perspective of a sentient, amorphous, chunk of carnivorous meat with the simple goal of eating every other meatbag that moves inside a secret research facility.

"Carrion" can be described as a sidescrolling action platformer with a few puzzles sprinkled between arenas, which is perfect for players who want to do more than just mindlessly munch on security guards and scientists.

"Maneater"

Speaking of munching, "Maneater" is, expectedly, all about eating men. Instead of being a spaghetti monster like in "Carrion," players see the world through the eyes of a newborn shark pup, freshly let loose in the polluted waterways of a metropolitan city.

The game starts out simple at first, but over time, players can mutate their sharks and give them wild traits like electric teeth, bone plate armor and advanced underwater sonar. There's an interesting world to explore, but there's no story here, just eat and grow strong.

"V Rising"

Own the night and bring a holy kingdom down to its knees in this multiplayer action game from the makers of "Battlerite."

"V Rising" features survival-crafting mechanics like resource gathering and base building, but the game's main attraction is the combat. Engage in fast and tactical fights against AI or other players in the same cooldown and skillshot-based isometric combat system that Stunlock Studios is known for.