Video game protagonists who can become the monster

Important takeaways

• Protagonists can turn into monsters, showing an internal struggle.
• Transformation can be a powerful game mechanic that affects the story.
• Games like
  Project Altered Beast
  show off different monster transformations.

Some protagonists walk the fine line between heroic savior and barbaric monster. It's one of the more interesting ways to convey an internal conflict—just make it external. Watch the protagonist's model transform before the player's eyes as they embrace their darker nature.

Not only is this an effective way to convey a character's karma-based dilemmas, but it also serves as an enjoyable and engaging game mechanic. This can take the form of a meter that gradually fills over time, allowing the player to unleash a powerful final transformation, similar to that seen in Dragon Ball Z. In other cases, there are specific story segments where the main character is under the influence of an evil and powerful force. Anyway, it's a trope found in various games, but it's still incredibly fun. Let's take a look at some of the best moments there games, their heroes have become monsters.

10 Luke Custer

Altered Beast

A long forgotten PlayStation 2 remake of a Sega classic, Altered Beast implies a more militarized view of the protagonist. Luke Custer is a Genome-Cyborg who has been genetically modified to use specific microchips to transform into various beasts that he has defeated throughout history.

From Werewolves and Weretigers to a gravity-manipulating alien, there isn't much the player can't become. Transformations are the core of the game mechanics Altered Beast. Still, they take valuable energy, which can only be absorbed from surrounding creatures before the transformations start draining the protagonist's health quickly. Altered Beast is worth a play for those seeking more monster-centric experiences. It has an acceptable story and a surprisingly great soundtrack.

9 Alex Mercer

Prototype

They call him a murderer, a monster, a terrorist – he is all of these things. When a zombie outbreak ravages New York, an amnesiac Alex Mercer wakes up in a hospital bed with newfound strength, speed, and an ability to absorb and completely manipulate biomass. Through this, Alex can transform his arms into various weapons to suit his needs, consume people to gain their memories and assume their form and unleash devastating tendrils.

Alex Mercer is potentially one of the most powerful protagonists in gaming. His ability to relentlessly consume and control biomass is incredibly potent and also allows him to encase his entire body in a hardened exoskeleton, enhancing his durability and increasing his already colossal capacity for ultimate destruction. That said, all that power seems to affect his sanity, the effects of which are evident in Prototypes second post.

8 The prince

Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones

After being infected by the Sands of Time, the prince's iInternal struggles are embodied by a force known as The Dark Prince. This kind and brutal alter-ego embodies the Prince's wrath, and specific gameplay segments put the Dark Prince in the player's hands and show them just how devastatingly powerful he really is.

While swinging around a spiked chain and having incredibly boosted abilities sounds great, they come at a cost – specifically, the Dark Prince constantly drains the Prince's life force and requires him to consume sand to survive. It's a well-crafted power trip that showcases the greed and pride of The Dark Prince, which slowly consumes the protagonist.

7 Emily Kaldwin

Dishonored 2

Dishonored 2, the second entry i Arkane Studio's magical assassin franchise introduces deuteragonist Emily Kaldwin. After being granted The Mark of the Outsider, she gains a variety of mystical powers. One allows her to transform into a living shadow that can creep across the ground unnoticed, turning its limbs into sharp weapons for deadly takedowns.

This form also allows Emily to move through small passages, similar to her father Corvo's ability to possess rats, and any enemies near a Shadow Walking player will comment a sense of oncoming fear, or a certain chill ” in the air. It dramatically represents underlying anger bubbling to the surface of the newly usurped Emily Kaldwin.

6 Dante

Devil May Cry

Being a half-demon son of the mighty Sparda, Dante eventually gaining the ability to harness the full power of his demonic heritage through the aptly named Devil Trigger. This meter slowly fills while he fights and, when activated, transforms Dante into a powerful demon.

It usually acts as a massive boost to the character's abilities, but these forms can enhance various stances and Devil Arms in many ways. IN Devil May Cry's latest installment, Dante also unlocks the ability to use the Sin Devil Trigger (SDT), which transforms him into a towering devil capable of summoning black holes and easily overwhelming hordes of demonic figures.

5 The Dragonborn

The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim

Depending on the player's choice, through either The Companion questline or Skyrim'sDawnguard expansion, the player can choose to transform into a ferocious werewolf, or the magically sinister vampire lord. These transformations are very different and are ace up the sleeve for everyone Dragonborn roaming Tamriel.

Each form has its own skill tree and accompanying strengths and weaknesses. Vampire Lords, for example, have unlimited transformations and can wield incredibly powerful magic, but players suffer the drawbacks of the Sanguine ailments. Werewolves excel more in durability and fight tooth and nail, but naturally come with more restrictive transformations – which can be leveraged through The Ring of Hircine and unlockable perks.

4 Link

The Legend Of Zelda: Twilight Princess

When exposed to the powers of the Twilight Realm in Dusk Princess, Links the heroic legacy takes a back seat as he transforms into a large and dangerous wolf. This form robs Link of all his human abilities and forces him to wrestle with his primal instincts.

Through this form, Link can communicate with animals, track scents and dig through various barriers in the world. It is a more direct display of the balance between light and dark within the hero as he reveals the windy story of Twilight Princess, and eventually learns to harness the ability to transform at will.

3 The hunter

Blood borne

Ride through the gothic and nightmarish world of Yharnam, there The hunter battling Eldritch horrors inspired by folklore sounds like a challenging task, and it is. FromSoftware games aren't known for being the easiest experiences for newcomers, but they provide all the tools needed to give these players the upper hand.

Blood borne the capital is plagued by a disease that has turned most of its inhabitants into rabid monsters. Through specific runes, the hunter can also embrace this change – and certain cursed weapons allow them to give in entirely to their animal nature, transform into various monsters, and gain several new abilities. While their effectiveness depends somewhat on the player's build, they're still a lot of fun to experiment with and experience what it's like to be a monster.

2 The dark drift

Baldur's Gate 3

Throughout Baldur's Gate 3's many twists and turns, little can mimic moral differences as well Dark Urge's origin. Whether they embrace or completely reject their sinister instincts, there's no denying their human-killing nature.

Eventually, Dark Urge is tasked with killing Isabella in the Last Light Inn while also killing all the residents. If the player follows through, they are gifted with the power to take their most hideous form: The Slayer, a powerful behemoth whose hideous appearance and many spiky appendages make their purpose obvious. It's an ability that can only be used once per day, but can be devastating when timed correctly. This form completely replaces the player's health bar and provides many grizzly and powerful skills to tear Bhaal's enemies apart.

1 Torque

The suffering

The suffering franchise is an underrated gem in the horror genre. It features brutal battles, an oppressive prison island setting, and an exciting plot centered around the main character, Torque. He is a man sentenced to death for the murder of his own family, a crime he surprisingly does not seem to fully remember.

As the game progresses, Torque is rightfully conflicted, torn between his desire to be a good person and the unforgivable crime he is guilty of. Throughout the story, there are brief mentions of Torque shutting down and going into a berserk-like state – all of him bubbling to the surface in the form of the game's insanity bar. When full, it allows Torque to completely lose himself in his inner demons and transform into the towering being, with the blade of a machete as an arm. It's a complete game changer and quickly turns the tide of battle in this often punishing survival horror. Interestingly, when torque transforms into the creature, those around him do not perceive any change in his form at all. Is it all in his head?