Villains in video games are generally there to be slaughtered. They’re obstacles in your way that you must overcome to reach the end of the game. However, you don’t put an end to them all.Some never taste defeat, while others only lose by their own hand. You may weaken them first or put them in a difficult predicament. In the end, though, they finish themselves off.

There are a few reasons why they do this. Some don’t want to give the hero the satisfaction of beating them, others try to take the protagonist down with them in one last desperate move, and a few just make a simple but very costly mistake. Whatever the reason, the following villains all defeated themselves.

Leon on his bike looking to the right in Dead Rising 2.

At the start of Dead Rising 2, Leon is shown to be a rival to protagonist Chuck Greene, as they are both contestants on the Terror is Reality show. This is a game show where they use their motorbikes with chainsaws attached to wipe out as many zombies as possible. After those zombies break free and cause an outbreak, Leon loses his mind a little bit.

This leads to a battle between him and Chuck, which the latter wins. Leon survives the battle, but his bike is leaking gasoline. Unbothered by this, he gets back on his bike and does some donuts. In the process, the chainsaw on the bike scratches on the floor, causing sparks and setting the gasoline alight. Leon then burns to death.

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Nathan Drake deals with several unsavory people in Uncharted 3, including the pirate known as Rameses. The pair has a few encounters. The last ones occur on Rameses' stolen cruise ship. In an effort to escape the villain, Drake blows a hole in the vessel before trying to escape.

Before he can leave, he runs into Rameses again, who is wounded due to the protagonist shooting him earlier. Instead of returning the favor, Rameses shoots through the glass window of the already partially sunken ship to let even more water in. He does this to try to kill both him and Nate. However, being the incredibly resilient hero he is, Drake escapes, while Rameses drowns.

Close up of Rameses from Uncharted 3.

To be a Fallout protagonist, you need to be strong, as you come up against all sorts of strange and dangerous creatures. For example, the main character from the first game faces off against the Master, who is some sort of human, mutant, and computer hybrid. He is also the leader of the group Unity, and desires to unify the wasteland by turning everyone into mutants.

The idea is that this would stop conflict, as everyone would be the same. This could lead to a better and more peaceful society. Yet, the protagonist can point out a major flaw in his plan: mutants are sterile, meaning this civilization couldn’t last long term. If the hero has proof of this, the Master gets sad and blows himself and his entire base up.

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Saren is one of the main antagonists of the original Mass Effect game. However, he is more of a pawn, doing the bidding of a synthetic being known as Sovereign. Sovereign is from a species known as the Reapers, who exterminate entire civilisations.

They also have the ability to affect people’s minds, which seems to be what they’re doing with Saren, as he isn’t an evildoer at heart. When the protagonist Commander Shepard comes face-to-face with Saren, they can convince the villain that Sovereign is influencing them. If Shepard is convincing enough, Saren shoots himself in the head.

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Vamp is a strange villain from the Metal Gear Solid series. He looks and acts like a vampire, and due to the nanomachines in his body, he is virtually immortal. In the fourth game, however, Solid Snake injects him with something that represses his nanomachines, making him essentially mortal again.

Then, in a sword fight with Raiden, Vamp is severely wounded. Yet, his naomachines begin to kick in again, keeping him alive. At this point, he is in incredible pain and wants to die, so he grabs another nanomachine repressor and injects himself with it. As a result, he succumbs to his injuries and dies.

Saren Arterius holding a gun in Mass Effect.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

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Widely regarded as one of the best games ever made, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild sets Link his toughest challenge yet. With free exploration of a huge open world and a story you can complete in your own order, it is a must-play for the Nintendo Switch.

Master Kohga is the powerful leader of the Yiga Clan. He has all the makings of a great warrior, except he isn’t the smartest or most serious fighter around. This is shown at the end of his battle against Link.

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Kohga goes for a special technique that he learned from his father’s mother’s father. That move involves spawning a huge spiky ball. It seems his father’s mother’s father didn’t warn him that the ball may roll, as it rolls towards him, knocking him down a deep pit. He’s then not seen for the rest of the game.

Borderlands 2

Borderlands 2 picks up where the original game left off. Double-crossed by Handsome Jack, the Vault Hunters must seek revenge and liberate Pandora from Hyperion.

Professor Nakayama isn’t the most physically imposing villain you will ever see in a video game. Instead, he’san antagonist who is dangerous because of his intellect. However, when the Vault Hunters get past all of his wonderfully designed and dangerous creations, the scientist has to go toe-to-toe with them.

Vamp looking down at Raiden in Metal Gear Solid 4.

Despite his slim frame and seemingly little combat experience, the Professor doesn’t seem scared. He has a gun attached to his shoulder and is ready to fight. Unfortunately for him, though, he then immediately falls down the stairs and dies before the battle can begin.

Batman Arkham City

Batman: Arkham City builds upon the intense, atmospheric foundation of Batman: Arkham Asylum, sending players flying through the expansive Arkham City - five times larger than the game world in Batman: Arkham Asylum - the new maximum security “home” for all of Gotham City’s thugs, gangsters and insane criminal masterminds. Featuring an incredible Rogues Gallery of Gotham City’s most dangerous criminals including Catwoman, The Joker, The Riddler, Two-Face, Harley Quinn, The Penguin, Mr. Freeze and many others, the game allows players to genuinely experience what it feels like to be The Dark Knight delivering justice on the streets of Gotham City.Batman: Arkham City - Game of the Year Edition includes the following DLC:Catwoman Pack, Nightwing Bundle Pack, Robin Bundle Pack, Harley Quinn’s Revenge, Challenge Map Pack, and Arkham City Skins Pack

Both Batman and The Joker are infected with a fatal disease during Arkham City. They aren’t the only ones, as Joker’s contaminated blood has also been sent to hospitals around Gotham, so Batman and Mr. Freeze have to conjure up a cure to save everyone.

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Near the end of the game, Batman takes his part of the cure but debates whether he should give some to Joker. After all, the clown does nothing but cause murder and destruction. However, it isn’t an easy decision for the hero, as he has a rule not to kill. In the end, the choice is made for him, as Joker suddenly stabs him in the shoulder, forcing him to drop the cure, destroying it in the process. It is a silly move from the villain, who is distraught at the loss of the cure and blames Batman. Yet, it is definitely the Joker’s fault, and he succumbs to the disease moments later.

Master Kohga with a giant spiky ball in The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild.