Top 10 Video Game Revenge Stories

Just because you kill someone doesn’t mean you’re free from their wrath. Talion is a man who is hellbent on destroying the Black Hand of Sauron. Black Hand, in an attempt to summon the wraith of the Elf Lord, Celebrimbor, sacrificed Talion, his wife, and his son in a ritual. Celebrimbor does appear, but instead of going to Black Hand, he merges with Talion. The rest of the game is the two working together to restore Celebrimbor’s memories so he can become stronger, and Talion using that strength to avenge his family.

If video games have taught us anything, it’s that if someone is presumed dead, they aren’t actually dead. Such is the case with Sarah Kerrigan, who is abandoned to the Zerg by the emperor of the Terran Dominion, Arcturus Mengsk. Instead of being killed, Kerrigan is assimilated, and as the series progresses she becomes the Queen of Blades and is able to control the Zerg. While she’s been wanting revenge since Mengsk left her for dead, it all comes to a close in “Heart of the Swarm,” where she’s the central focus of the game and able to finally get the vengeance she’s been craving... even if it hurts those closest to her.

It’s the night of Jackie Estacado’s 21st birthday and he’s got some pretty big plans: escaping the Mafia’s assassination attempts, having a demonic force inhabit his body, watching his girlfriend die, and committing suicide due to his grief. Worst. Birthday. Ever. Fortunately -- or unfortunately, depending on your viewpoint -- Jackie’s death is only the beginning of his story. By giving into The Darkness, he succeeds in his quest for vengeance. Actually, he does more than succeed, as he not only kills the one responsible for his pain, he takes over the mob.

While it doesn’t have a fancy title like “Revengeance,” there’s no denying our need for some payback after the events of “Ground Zeroes”... no matter how short said events were. On top of the Militaires Sans Frontièresbeing destroyed, Chico and Paz were tortured in truly despicable ways, including Chico being forced to sexually assault Paz, and Paz having bombs surgically put into her body. Even after being in a coma for nine years, Big Boss and Miller were eager to fight for their lost comrades... and we don’t blame them.

Someday, villains will learn to not tell the heroes that they’re the ones who destroyed their lives. Had Lord Regent not told Corvo Attano that he was the one who framed him for the death of the Empress, we probably wouldn’t have our number six pick. To be fair, it was Corvo’s execution day, so Lord Regent was probably feeling extra cocky ... until Corvo broke free. Thus begins his tale of vengeance, a theme that will carry over in the sequel, where the Empress’s daughter -- now an Empress herself -- follows in Corvo’s assassin footsteps in an attempt to regain her lost land when she’s dethroned.

The most distressing thing about Ryo Hazuki’s revenge story isn’t so much the nature of it, but the fact that the story never reaches a conclusion. In the first game, Ryo returns to his family’s dojo just in time to be emotionally scarred as a man named Lan Di threatens to kill Ryo if his father doesn’t reveal the location of something called the dragon mirror. Ryo’s father complies... and is immediately killed afterwards. The second game reveals that Lan Di blames Ryo’s father for his own father’s death, and... that’s it. For now?

Wouldn’t it be great if you could get in all the training you needed via reliving the memories of an assassin? Especially an assassin as charismatic as Ezio Auditore da Firenze? We suppose the drawback would be having to live through Ezio’s tragic backstory. We barely get to be introduced to the man before his father and brothers are killed, leaving Ezio to flee with his mother and sister. Before his death, Ezio’s father tells him where to find his assassin tools, and the rest, as they say, is computer generated history used to fight the Templars.

Why can’t any badass lead character be allowed to settle down with their family? Such is the case for Max Payne, a NYPD detective who just lost his wife and newborn baby to junkies who were high on a brand new drug. As if losing his family weren’t enough, Max’s longtime friend, Alex, is also killed, and Max is framed for it. This adds to the pile of reasons why Max is on such a destructive path of vengeance. How destructive, you ask? Well it says a lot when the lead character actually smiles as he’s arrested for all of his carnage.

When you think of a brutal force of nature, there’s several characters who come to mind, but nothing says enraged quite like Kratos. Tricked into killing his family by Ares, he sets off on a quest so epic that it starts on the PS2 and concludes on the PS3. Kratos not only kills Ares, but he takes his position as the “God of War.” Due to his anger at the gods in general, Kratos runs amok, which evokes the wrath of Zeus, which gets Kratos killed, which makes him even angrier, which means... lots of violence, blood, and those aggressive, Spartan battle cries.

Before we get to our number one pick, let’s let these honorable mentions get some well-deserved vengeance:

“Fable 2” (2008)
“Ninja Gaiden” (1988)
“Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver” (1999)
“Splinter Cell: Conviction “ (2010)
“Transistor” (2014)

John Marston will be granted amnesty if he takes his old gang down. This doesn’t go over so well, and Marston is shot and left for dead. Now he has an even bigger reason to take out his gang, and he does just that, but before he can settle down with his family like he was promised, the government betrays him. Much to our surprise and sheer delight, the story doesn’t end there. Three years later, Marston’s son, Jack, finds the man who led the attack against his father, and proceeds to deliver the sweet revenge that completes our number one spot.

Do you agree with our list? Which gaming vengeance stories make you eager to pick up the controller? For more top tens that won’t stab you in the back, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.