Doctors in fiction and doctors in real life have completely different reputations. In the real world, most individuals with doctorates are working tirelessly to aid people in some fashion, whether through medicine or technological advancements. Whereas, in video games, doctors tend to be a little more unconventional. Most of them are power-hungry scientists that strive for world domination or surgeons who want to do evil procedures.
Of course, not every gaming doctor is like that, as several are somewhat level-headed. But a nice doctor is still a rare thing to see in the virtual world. Regardless of their behavior, doctors can make for fascinating characters. The following are the best examples.
10 Dr. Chakwas - Mass Effect Series
Mass Effect's Dr. Chakwas is the atypical gaming doctor as she's not concocting mad experiments or doing wild surgeries. Instead, she runs the Normandy's med bay and tends to the crew's health issues.
From that description, she doesn't sound like an entertaining character. However, conversations with her are always compelling, whether she's getting drunk on Ice Brandy or reminiscing about the old days. Plus, she's one of the few people in the series who sees everything Shepard goes through and therefore understands the protagonist more than most.
9 Dr. Nefarious - Ratchet & Clank Series
From the name alone, you can guess that this doctor is a villain. But he's not just any old antagonist - he's one of the main villains in the Ratchet and Clank games. For much of the series, the mad scientist is a humanoid robot. He used to be organic, but now he hates anyone who is.
So much so that most of his grand schemes revolve around killing organic beings or turning them into robots. As you'd expect, he's not the most conventional person (or robot) in the world. Yet, he's very intelligent, which is why he can create all sorts of mechanical monsters and manipulate people around him.
8 Dr. Mario - Dr. Mario Series
In the Nintendo canon, it's hard to tell if Dr. Mario is supposed to be a separate character from the Italian plumber or just a different persona. If they're the same, then the medical expertise of Dr. Mario should be brought into question as most doctors don't moonlight as plumbers.
Regardless of his qualifications, the medical version of the iconic protagonist has appeared in several games at this point. And during them, he gets rid of viruses by distributing pills. He doesn't seem to do much other medical work, but he doesn't need to, as the capsules tend to be enough to save the Mushroom Kingdom.
7 Dr. Birkin - Resident Evil series
Generally, scientists are bad news in the Resident Evil series. After all, many of them have had their hand in creating evil and deadly viruses. Dr. Birkin's work has arguably been the most problematic. The man had a hand in the T-Virus and the G-Virus, both of which caused plenty of pain, suffering, and death.
At least, he somewhat pays for it when he's gunned down by his former employers. In response, he injects himself with the G-Virus. It's a move that turns him into a giant, gruesome monster that the game's protagonists have to fight. So, even in death, this man causes problems.
6 Dr. Cortex - Crash Bandicoot Series
Dr. Cortex's goals throughout the Crash Bandicoot series are simple as all he wants is world domination. Unfortunately for him, his plans keep getting foiled by the titular bandicoot. To matters worse, Crash's increased intelligence is because of Cortex.
The scientist made the bandicoot smarter using the Evolvo-Ray and was then going to use the Cortex Vortex to make the animal obey him. The second part of the plan went wrong, though. Now he has to endure years of getting outsmarted by a cheeky hero that he created.
5 Dr. Wily - Mega Man Series
Dr. Wily is a genius scientist, particularly in the area of robotics. Of course, he uses his gift for evil throughout the Mega Man series, particularly in the early games. A rivalry with Mega Man's father (or creator) sent Wily down a dark path. And now, all he wants to do is use his robot army to take over the world.
So, he continually makes all sorts of mechanical beings with a litany of different powers. Fortunately for the world but unfortunately for him, Mega Man gets the best of his creations every time. Wily is resilient, though, as he never stays down for long as he always comes back with another plan and a new set of robots.
4 Dr. Zed - Borderlands Series
Technically, by the time the protagonists meet Dr. Zed in the Borderlands games, he has already lost his medical license. Yet, he counts as a doctor because he still practices medicine. That would usually be a concern, but he lives on Pandora, where an unlicensed doctor is the least of anyone's problems.
He's a bit of a controversial figure due to his questionable healing methods and tendency to create dangerous abominations. However, he's not really a bad guy. He does want to help people, and he's a nice man to be around. He's just a little out of control, which is what makes him such an entertaining character.
3 Dr. Crane - Batman Arkham Series
While Dr. Crane (AKA Scarecrow) didn't originate in gaming, the character has made a big impact in the Arkham series. And like every other version of the villain, the video game adaptation has some odd interests.
He's obsessed with human fear. The antagonist loves nothing more than terrifying his victims by forcing them to face the things that scare them the most - and not so they can conquer them. He does so by infecting them with powerful, mind-altering toxins. During the Arkham titles, even Batman falls victim to him at times, which leads to some of the scariest moments ever seen outside the horror genre.
2 The Medic - Team Fortress 2
While he's technically a medic, Ludwig from Team Fortress 2 has some experience as a doctor. However, he's not the sort of physician you'd want to visit, as he lost his medical license when he stole his patient's skeleton. That story alone tells you everything you need to know about this guy's moral compass.
As Team Fortress 2 is a PvP multiplayer game, though, his evil tendencies aren't shown too much, but his effectiveness is clear. The guy can heal all of his teammates and even grant them temporary invincibility with his overcharge power. Yet, it's not all about healing with this supposed medical professional as he kills people, too.
1 Dr. Eggman - Sonic The Hedgehog Series
Dr. Eggman (or Robotnik) is arguably the most famous doctor in video game history. The large man is the main antagonist of the entire Sonic series, so by this point, he's been in a litany of games. His primary goal has remained the same, though. He wants to take over the world. And with his incredible intellect, you'd think that would be easy.
But a little blue hedgehog called Sonic and his friends keep foiling Eggman's plans. He can never get one over on the famous protagonist no matter how many robot minions or wild contraptions he builds.