Mei – Overwatch
While the robotic Bastion may be the OG of Overwatch player’s hate, Mei has certainly cultivated her own anger fueled reputation. This defense class hero can form ice walls, create an impregnatable ice block that heals a fair amount of her health, and can freeze opponents rendering them useless for a few seconds. This makes her a wonderful utility character that has seen both casual and highly competitive play.
It’s her powerful kit that annoys many players, as she is a video game character that can just stall teams fighting for an objective. Her walls can block off areas or stop ultimates like D.Va’s Self Destruct from wiping a team. While her ability to self-heal gives her incredible sustainability, making Mei difficult to put down for good. However, it’s her ultimate that really causes hate as she can freeze the entire team if it’s placed correctly, which will surely lose the battle for any group trying to defend or attack. She’ll help wipe your entire team, and do it with a cheerful smile.
Handsome Jack – Borderlands 2
The charismatic villain and leader of the Hyperion Corporation, Handsome Jack is one of the first characters your Vault Hunter will meet. Instantly the megalomaniac berates the player with insults, jokes, and attempts to bully users at every chance he gets. Not only does think of you, your friends, and anyone associated you with lesser, but Jack sees himself as the savior of Pandora.
Unlike a lot of villains, Jack is always in constant communication with the player, reminding you that it’d be easier to just go get eaten by some wildlife than fight him. There are a number of twists and turns his story takes, but nothing is more satisfying than putting a shotgun round through his chest to finally shut him up.
Patches – Dark Souls Series
Oh Patches, the thorn in the side of any Dark Souls player who has dared to actually trust someone in a game that tries to remove all semblance of hope. For the uninitiated, Patches is an NPC that almost always promises the player some sort of riches only to stab you in the back and try to kill you. If you live and find Patches again he will grovel for his life where it then becomes the player’s choice to show mercy or slay the scoundrel.
In a game series that is trying to kill you in terrifying and horrific ways, Patches first represented a glimmer of hope. He appeared to be someone on our side and for a fleeting few minutes it would appear as if everything was going to be okay. Then he tries to kill you, destroying any trust we’ll ever have with an NPC in this franchise. Yet, a Dark Souls game wouldn’t feel right without Patches and he even made a surprise appearance in Bloodborne as a spider monster that, surprise, tried to off the player by forcing them into a toxic river. You’re the worst Patches.
The Cryptarch – Destiny
There may be no other figure in Destiny that is both loved and hated by the community. Obtaining loot in Destiny is one of the biggest driving forces for any player, however in order to gain your shiny new gear, players need to visit The Cryptarch. He will then decode your loot engrams into gear of that specific rarity and sometimes will even reward players with exotic gear that is incredibly hard to obtain.
However, since he is the gatekeeper for all your fancy weapons, players will lay all of the blame at his feet for giving them duplicates or lower level gear. He was so notorious for giving low-level gear that Bungie actually had to adjust the entire loot system in order to make it fairer for players. Even to this day you can hear the cries of Guardians that are given their 100th Red Death pulse rifle.
Waluigi – Super Mario Series
There are a lot of weird characters in the Super Mario world, however, Waluigi stands out as oddest thanks to his lanky design and odd mannerism. First appearing in Mario Tennis for the N64, Waluigi has made a name for himself as the character has shown up in a variety of different spin-off titles such as Mario Kart and Mario Party. Yet, this character is normally a poor choice across the board for many of the titles he is in and many complain that he is just cheap evil knock off of Luigi.
However, there is an odd following that’s sprung up that adore Waluigi and have effectively turned the character into a living meme. Polygon famously posted a joke video that was a solid 40 minutes of just showcasing funny pictures of the villain set to slow, romantic music. Wahhhhhhhhh!
Ashley Graham – Resident Evil 4
The Resident Evil games are known for allowing players to endure terrors with a partner that’s either A.I. or human controlled. While most players opt for just having the computer run their partner, that character is usually at least trained in some form of combat and is able to fight if need be.
Enter Ashley Graham, the President of the United State’s daughter and a permanent thorn in the player’s side for the majority of Resident Evil 4. Unlike the protagonist Leon Kennedy, all Ashley can do is either die or get captured by the infected citizens. She has effectively no way of fighting back and is a source of many headaches. Seriously, would it be so hard to teach her how to at least use a knife?
The Grim Reaper – Sims Series
Outside of trapping your Sims in a pool or creating housing situations that would make horror fans blush with envy, most players don’t actively seek to kill their Sims. Given how you can grow attached to your digital avatars, seeing them carted off by death himself isn’t exactly a welcoming sight. The only way to stop him is by having another Sim beg for the dead person’s life which has around a 50% chance of working. This offers a glimmer of a hope to players that usually ends with that idea being dashed away as their Sims carted off to the afterlife.
In the Sims 4, you can actually seduce the Grim Reaper (ew) or just completely deny him by having a Sim create a voodoo doll to ward him off. There is no doubt that this mysterious figure is responsible for the loss of many poor Sims. There are a lot of video game characters that we love to hate, however, the worst offenders are those that give us a glimmer of hope before dashing it away. This is why we have trust issues.
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