PlayStation has developed numerous games over the years for fans to enjoy. Each title offers a delightful narrative, a memorable cast, and vibrant worlds for players to get lost in. None of these worlds would be as great without its antagonists, though.
To celebrate PlayStation’s legacy in the gaming industry, we’d like to highlight some of the best antagonists they’ve created over the years. Whether it’s their dark goals, horrid personalities, or the way they’re written, these are some of PlayStation’s best antagonists yet.
As usual, we would love to hear your thoughts about our picks in the comments below.
Hades (Horizon Zero Dawn)
The Horizon series offers a breathtaking, futuristic setting for players to traverse and fight enemies in. Aloy’s a well-rounded protagonist with incredible marksman skills and an interesting backstory. While Hades adopts a minor role in Horizon Forbidden West, it had a dominant presence in Horizon Zero Dawn.
Hades is a rogue AI who wanted to restore the Fallen Plague and unleash it onto Earth to destroy it. Thankfully, Aloy stops the corrupted machine from pulling off its plan. Hades wasn’t always a bad egg. Another rogue AI was responsible for influencing Hades’ dramatic heel turn. That said, Hades lacks human emotions.
Yet, the machine manipulated the Shadow Carja, an antagonistic faction in the game, to do its bidding. With no disregard for the catastrophic events that could’ve occurred if its plans were to proceed, Hades is a heartless entity worthy of being crowned as one of PlayStation’s finest antagonists.
Laurence, The First Vicar (Bloodborne)
Despite being an optional DLC boss in Bloodborne, Laurence, the First Vicar is a challenging boss with an intruiging background. While he’s most remembered for his grandiose boss fight, Laurence has immense depth. He was the founder of the Healing Church and disobeyed Master Wilhem’s orders concerning the blood of the old beings.
Laurence took the blood because he believed it had healing capabilities. He traveled to Yharnam with other scholars to distribute the healing blood to Yharnam’s citizens. To Laurence’s shock, the blood had a terrifying effect on the people he gave it to. The blood transformed Yharnam’s people into terrifying monstrosities.
The blood circulated around the area and eventually reached Laurence, turning him into the first Cleric Beast. It’s a tragic storyline and shows how Laurence’s ignorance got the better of him and led to many innocent civilians’ demise. While Laurence isn’t entirely evil, his fate left fans with a powerful message regarding how being overly ambitious and arrogant can lead to unfortunate outcomes.
Zeus (God of War)
Kratos has fought many powerful entities in the God of War series. Zeus is among the many antagonists who left a rotten impression, though. While he displays grace and kindness at the start of the God of War series, he gradually becomes more twisted, horrendous, and mean-spirited as the series continues. His acts of brutality know no bounds.
Zeus put a beast transformation curse on Kratos’s mother and his lover Callisto. He attacked and almost killed Kratos after seeing his connection to the “Marked Warrior” prophecy. Furthermore, Zeus wiped Sparta out and even used his remaining family members as pawns to fight off Kratos and the Titans. Zeus’s actions in God of War resemble his realistic counterpart’s antics well.
This includes the real incarnations’ negligence for his family’s well-being and using people as pawns to accomplish goals. Although many folks could blame the entity inside Pandora’s box for Zeus’s horrid actions, the character’s shown many despicable traits before his possession that makes him an unsalvageable menace.
Specter (Ape Escape)
Ape Escape is a dormant PlayStation property many fans want to see return for a new entry. The series has unique controls, colorful characters, and a satisfying monkey-capturing gameplay loop. While the game boasts incredible villains with intruiging personalities, Specter showcases why he’s the top ape in charge. He’s an intelligent, cunning, and tactical individual despite his short demeanor.
He’s the leader of all the monkeys you encounter in the game and plans to rule the world. Furthermore, Specter has defeated previous protagonists in the series based on the opening segment you’ll find in Ape Escape 3. Specter’s remembered most for his snarky comments, self-centered attitude, and opinion that primates should rule the planet instead of humans.
After being defeated by Jake in Ape Escape 2, Specter became more sadistic and twisted. This led to his chaotic plan in Ape Escape 3, where he wanted to split the Earth in half. As you expect, Ape Escape 3’s protagonists Kei and Yumi foil Specter’s merciless plan. He’s an antagonist who always finds a way to return wittier and more chaotic than ever.
Clockwerk (Sly Cooper)
Typically the most memorable antagonists are those who have a personal vendetta against the protagonist. Clockwerk is a mechanized owl who holds a grudge against the Cooper clan for being prominent thieves. Not only is his boss fight fun, but Clockwerk’s background makes him feel pleasing to beat. His hatred for these raccoons was so vast that he replaced his mortal body with a machine one.
This allowed Clockwerk to remain alive for thousands of years. After forming a group called the Fiendish Five, Clockwerk and his group stormed Sly’s household and murdered his parents, and stole the Thievius Raccoonus. This contained the Cooper family’s thieving secrets, which angered Sly. Thankfully, Sly and his friends defeat Clockwerk at a volcano sight. Despite triumphing over Clockwerk, he still haunts our heroes today.
Dormin (Shadow of the Colossus)
Dormin is a manipulative spirit with enormous strength. He was the ruler of the Forbidden Lands but got sealed away by a shaman named Lord Emon due to the country establishing new religious principles. Emon sealed Dormin’s essence inside sixteen colossal beasts called Colossi. However, the game’s protagonist, Wander unintentionally frees Dormin by slaying the sixteen Colossi.
Dormin provides Wander with valuable advice that helps him traverse this terrifying world. He never tells Wander what will happen when he slays the final Colossi, leaving the player to speculate what Wander will do once he discovers the truth. While Dormin receives his just desserts for being a corrupt individual, he stands by his word and resurrects Mono, Wander’s lover.
Unfortunately, the final scene is bittersweet and will leave players’ feeling bitter, upset, and possibly infuriated. What starts off as a man’s quest to see his dead lover again turns into a heartbreaking tale of eternal despair.
Nadine Ross (Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End)
Nadine Ross is one of PlayStation’s best female antagonists today. Not only is she a skilled treasure hunter, but she had the strength necessary to fight Nathan and Sam Drake. She’s also a mercenary who took over Shoreline after her father’s death and had a prior run-in with Victor Sullivan, one of Nathan’s dearest allies.
Nadine’s been through many wars in the past that helped her to become skilled at militaristic combat. Unlike Zeus, Nadine cares for her underlings and expects the same kindness in return. Nadine’s known for being highly intelligent and knows when it’s the best time to strike her enemies. After Rafe, a former employer, and ally, turns on Nadine and tempts Sam to kill her, Nadine starts to distrust Rafe.
Nadine assumes a protagonist role alongside Chole Frazer in the game, Uncharted: The Lost Legacy. While she has redeemed herself, her antagonist roots should not go undiscovered.
The Origami Killer (Heavy Rain)
Scott Shelby or The Origami Killer, is the main antagonist for the 2010 interactive horror game, Heavy Rain. He’s a former U.S. Marine and police officer turned serial killer and private detective. He kidnaps children to see how far parents will go to retrieve them. He’s highly manipulative, intelligent, and strong. The build-up to the reveal is satisfying as Heavy Rain excels at developing tension.
The fact people can give Scott his just desserts, in the end, is the cherry on top. No matter if he wanted to prove a point, no one adores folks who’d put a child’s life in danger. Unfortunately, there is a chance Scott can walk away from his crimes freely. If the Heavy Rain characters’ Lauren, Ethan, or Norman were to perish or fail to stop Scott, you’d receive a clip of him walking down a crowded sidewalk.
He’d slowly blend into the crowd and vanish. From hiding the evidence of his Origami Killer identity to stalking and murdering people, Scott’s one of the most realistic antagonists you’d find in a video game. This is what makes him such a delightful antagonist to punish and fear as he represents the creeps you’d find in real life.
Sephiroth (Final Fantasy VII)
Sephiroth, the one-winged angel from Final Fantasy VII, is often regarded as the greatest video game villain of all time. He made his debut in the original 1997 release of Final Fantasy VII for the first PlayStation system. He’s assumed several antagonist roles in multiple Square Enix projects, including the beloved Disney-themed JRPG, Kingdom Hearts.
Before becoming an insane devilish individual, Sephiroth was overconfident, introverted, loyal, and brave. Sepiroth can form genuine bonds with people if their ideologies align, too. Genesis and Angeal were his closest companions, even though Sephiroth knew they were weaker than himself. However, the consistent betrayals, deaths, and inhuman experimentation Sephiroth experienced wore him out.
After learning about his origins as Shinra’s best monster, Sephiroth turns to the dark side and becomes more ruthless and less remorseful as a result. He shows zero empathy for the crimes he commits, including the murder of someone dear to Cloud and his fans’ hearts. Thankfully, Cloud and his allies put this one-winged menace to sleep.
David (The Last of Us)
Fans couldn’t wait to see David suffer in The Last of Us. He’s on par with Scott Shelby regarding antagonists who feel realistic, terrifying, and irredeemable. David’s the leader of a cannibalistic group of survivors and shows concern for everyone in his pack. He develops some concern for Ellie after seeing her hunt critters in the wild alone.
He fooled Ellie with his manipulative and kind gestures. He abuses Ellie several times and at one point attempts to get intimate with Ellie. While David wanted to offer Ellie a new home, she saw through his ruse and wasn’t pleased with his group’s cannibalistic beliefs. The two would engage in a brutal bout in an old restaurant, and thankfully, Ellie comes out on top by stabbing David to death.
The whole chapter is an eye-opener for the players and Ellies’ character. Her experience with David and his men had a substantial impact on Ellie’s feelings toward the world. If not for this battle, Ellie wouldn’t be the determined and strong female protagonist we know her as today. While his role was minuscule, his influence on Ellie was not.
So, there we have it, our pick for the best PlayStation antagonists of all time!
What do you think of our picks? Do you agree? Are there any notable omissions? Let us know in the comments below!