Revenge is an easy motive to understand: someone has wronged you, and you seek to wrong them in return. As easy as it is to understand, it’s also multifaceted, with some of the best works exploring the morals of those who seek to take revenge, rather than just the revenge itself. There are also ruminations on whether the revenge was worth it or even the possibility of forgiveness and redemption.
Then again, sometimes, it’s just about the satisfaction of blowing stuff up to make sure that your nemesis gets their karma. Whether you’re after an examination of the human condition or just some cold satisfaction, here are some great games about revenge.
7 Mercenaries 2
Not only is Mercenaries 2 about revenge, but it’s also so about revenge that it even has a catchy jingle about how much revenge you’re going to get. As the title might suggest, you’re a mercenary, one of three available, who works for the main bad guy until surprise, surprise he double-crosses you.
Regardless of which mercenary you are, he refuses to pay you for your service, and fails to kill you in the most embarrassing way (for you). As you escape with a bullet in your ass for your trouble, you vow vengeance GTA-style across an open world to get your revenge by dismantling his operations. Being the butt of all the NPCs’ jokes will help that urge to kill along nicely too.
6 Bulletstorm
Bulletstorm is not a game about subtlety. It hits you with everything it’s about thematically pretty much as soon as it gets going. It’s about explosions, mind-blowing and body-dispersing kills, foul language, and of course, revenge.
The game pretty much starts with our protagonist drunk-driving his spaceship into his former CO Sarrano's craft in a half-cocked attempt at getting him back for all the atrocities he had Greyson and his crewmate and best friend Ishi commit.
Despite its balls-to-the-wall presentation, the game still manages to squeeze in a conundrum about the costs of payback, most notable with an injured Ishi’s plight and the need to get off the deathworld Styigia - both things they need Sarrano's help for. Still, Sarrano is so cartoonishly evil that it’s understandable why everyone wants him dead so badly.
5 Dishonored
Dishonored’s tagline is “Revenge Solves Everything,” which sums it up nicely. You are Corvo Attano, a hyper-competent servant of the Empress who comes home just in time to see her get murdered and take the blame for it.
Of course, when you’re freed right before your execution, you take the chance to get some sweet revenge on everyone who was part of the conspiracy. A notable thing about Dishonored is that lethal violence is optional, but vengeance is not. Forgiveness is not on the table and even if you never kill anyone, you’ll still subject the head conspirators to fates worse than death.
4 The Last Of Us Part 2
Perhaps one of the most divisive entries in this list, The Last of Us Part 2 is a deep exploration of revenge that sees both sides for their humanity, exploring what revenge is, what it does to those seeking it, and how vicious of a cycle it becomes.
The game gets you immediately invested in Ellie’s quest for vengeance by killing off one of the most beloved characters in gaming, only to then switch you to the viewpoint of the killer, revealing that she has her own somewhat reasonable justification to seek vengeance against him. By the end, you’ll likely be left with mixed feelings, but love it or hate it, the narrative is undeniably compelling.
3 God Of War Trilogy
If you only know Kratos as an excellent father figure and a displaced Greek in Norse territory, you might be surprised to find that he’s actually a bloodthirsty murderer who’s responsible for multiple deicides – fratricide, sororicide, and of course, patricide – all in the service of revenge. No wonder he gives off such tired vibes by the time God of War (PS5) starts.
The original God of War trilogy starts when the Spartan warrior is in the service of Ares, until he not only tricked Kratos into killing his own family, but also permanently marking him with their ashes. Though his target was originally only Ares, his divine body count swiftly builds as he cuts a bloody swath across Greece and Olympus in the original games.
By the end, what he does in the name of vengeance is so brutal and indiscriminate that he looks more like a villain than a hero - something he realizes as well in the finale.
2 Shenmue Series
One day in 1986 Yokosuka, Japan, Ryo Hazuki witnessed the murder of his father at the hands of Lan Di. After this traumatic incident, Ryo’s quest to find Lan Di and make him answer for his crimes begins.
A cult classic, Shenmue is a surprisingly chill take on the revenge genre. Yes, everything Ryo does is ultimately in the service of finding Lan Di and enacting some payback, but the route isn’t exactly direct. Alongside looking for clues and tracking the mysterious man down, Ryo does all sorts of odd jobs to get stronger or make a quick buck. This includes part-time work, training with various eccentric characters, fetch quests, and the occasional forklift race.
1 Sifu
Despite its relatively minimalist storytelling, Sifu is very clearly a revenge tale. A martial arts roguelike that requires almost as much skill and dedication as actual kung-fu, Sifu rewards your mastery of its mechanics with some of the most satisfying martial arts gameplay in all of gaming.
And of course, you also get bloody vengeance against bosses who not only wronged the protagonist, but you personally as well, as they likely have smashed your head into the pavement multiple times already. Of course, with enough mastery of the game, mercy is on the table as well, which sends an interesting message about how much more strength forgiveness requires over getting simple revenge.