Top 10 Biggest Badasses in Video Game History

They walk through gunfire like it's a light drizzle. They stare down gods, monsters, alien swarms, and entire armies without blinking. They don't flinch. They don't hesitate. And when they talk, if they even bother, you shut up and listen.

You're not here for polite heroes or feel-good story arcs. You're here for raw, unapologetic force. The kinds of characters who rip spines out, chain-whip demons in the face, and reload their guns just for the satisfaction of hearing the click. The ones who win not because they're lucky or chosen, but because everyone else is simply too weak to stop them.

This list is your chance to throw some respect at the most dangerous, confident, unbreakable legends to ever hold a controller. Vote for the characters that made you want to punch through a wall, deliver one-liners to your bathroom mirror, or restart a boss fight just to watch them strut in again.

The Top Ten

Kratos (God of War)

Kratos is a fictional character and the main protagonist and antihero of the God of War video game series. He is a Spartan warrior who becomes the Greek god of war and seeks vengeance against Ares and later the Olympian gods after being deceived into killing his own family. In later entries in the series... read more

Okay, the reason why the Ghost of Sparta and the new God of War, Kratos, is the number one biggest badass in video gaming history is because he is often forced into adventures in attempts to avert disaster or change his fate. Kratos is usually portrayed as being oblivious to all else in the execution of these adventures, often engaging in morally ambiguous activities and performing acts of extreme violence.
Kratos is most commonly described by reviewers as a "sympathetic antihero." Who is more ruthless? More savage? More merciless? No one. Kratos is the ultimate badass!

This dude kills literal gods in an unparalleled fit of rage. Duke Nukem may have the best one-liners, and Master Chief may have a load of steroids and power armor, but Kratos killed the gods of war and death and the goddess of wisdom and strength, among countless other gods and demigods, and did so with a few bladed weapons and his own fury.
Master Chief (Halo)

Master Chief Petty Officer John-117, better known as Master Chief, is a SPARTAN-II commando serving the United Nations Space Command. He is the main protagonist of the Halo video game series. Master Chief is featured prominently in both the original trilogy and the Reclaimer Saga.

Master Chief can flip an Elephant, which is the biggest vehicle that you can drive in Halo. How much does an Elephant weigh? Two hundred and five tonnes. Because it is spelled tonne, that makes each tonne 2,204 pounds. Multiply 205 by 2,204, and you get a jaw-dropping 451,280 pounds. He can flip that over with his bare hands. That puts his level of strength nearly on par with Kratos's strength.
I don't know what Kratos's biggest feat of strength is, but I'm sure it isn't too much more than the Chief's. Also, he destroyed a group of brutal religious fanatics twice, killed literal gods (yes, the Flood were known as the Precursors before the Forerunners essentially killed them, and the Precursors were gods), murdered quite a few Forerunners, and survived re-entry from orbit.
He may not be more badass than Kratos, but he certainly trumps everyone else.
Duke Nukem (Duke Nukem)

He can kill countless aliens and still have time to step into a strip club.
He can be in loads of bad or critically slammed games and still remain one of the greatest badasses of all time.
Every man wants to be him, every woman wants to bed him.
He's the King.
What more need I say?

And to think the voice actor for Duke once voiced Big the Cat. "The more you know."
Solid Snake (Metal Gear)

Solid Snake is a fictional character and one of the main protagonists in the Metal Gear video game series created by Hideo Kojima. He is a legendary soldier cloned from Big Boss's DNA and is tasked with infiltrating enemy facilities and destroying Metal Gear weapons to prevent global warfare. The character... read more

I can tell he should be number one on this list. I didn't even start playing Metal Gear Solid V (or any Metal Gear game for that matter) until today.

Solid should be top 3, honestly. He would destroy most of the people on this list.

Solid Snake is the best. End of discussion.
Vito Scaletta (Mafia II)

Vito Scaletta is the main protagonist of Mafia II, the second installment in the Mafia video game series developed by 2K Czech and published by 2K Games. Set in the fictional city of Empire Bay during the 1940s and 1950s, the game follows Vito's rise through the ranks of organized crime. He also appears... read more

Vito should be #1. He has beaten the crap out of so many people with his bare hands. He has taken down armies of Mafia men who are armed to the teeth with Tommy guns, with a single pistol, all while looking good in a three-piece suit. He took down Brian O'Neill, who was three times his size, by using O'Neill's own knife against him.
If Master Chief weren't genetically enhanced and didn't have armor on, Vito would win in a fight, with or without guns. Vito would also beat Captain Price and Duke Steroids Nukem.

There's one thing Link should learn from Vito Scaletta: never bring a knife to a gunfight because it's useless.
Captain John Price (Call of Duty: Modern Warfare)

Captain John Price is a major fictional character in the Call of Duty video game franchise. He appears in every game in both the original Modern Warfare series and its reboot series. In the original trilogy, he is voiced by Billy Murray, while Barry Sloane voices him in the reboot series.

Link would be quickly slaughtered by this rough-as-nails SAS soldier. Carrying a sword is badass if we were in 2012 BC, but we're not in 2012 BC, are we? We're in 2012 AD, so a sword won't cut it against Captain Price's modern arsenal, including one of the finest assault rifles around: the M4A1.

Price is just badass. I mean, he smokes and doesn't care. He shoots a bunch of people and doesn't care. He even commits war crimes and doesn't care. That is the very definition of awesomeness.
Scorpion (Mortal Kombat)
Joe Barbaro (Mafia II)

Joe brings the heat all the time. Unlike other characters, he shoots first and only asks questions after he beats the crap out of people. He gets girls, massacres foes, and became a made man in the Cosa Nostra without a hitch. While Link is doing his stupid sword dance, Joe would just BLAST him with a Tommy gun.
Lara Croft (Tomb Raider)

Lara Croft is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Tomb Raider video game franchise, published by Square Enix Europe. She is an English archaeologist and adventurer known for exploring ancient ruins and fighting enemies to uncover hidden secrets. The character debuted in the 1996 video game... read more

She has always impressed me with her limitless stamina and agility. Although I've not played many of her games, the ones I have are really good. The only thing I don't like is her creepy butler in the third one.

Arguably the most iconic fictional female.
Dante (Devil May Cry)

Dante is a fictional character and the main protagonist of Capcom's Devil May Cry series. He is a demon hunter with supernatural powers who uses a combination of firearms and swords in combat. Dante first appeared in the original Devil May Cry game, released in 2001, and has since appeared in numerous... read more

Now, I'm going to say that the original Dante is better than the new one, and you can hate on me if you want. But he has always been a guy who has fun with his job, which is slaying demons. His sword can slice through anything, his guns are always blazing, and he has fun with it. I mean, come on, he had a class literally called Trickster, so what is not to love?

Dante should be in the top 5 most badass characters in video game history. Fighting five undead skeletons while having three blades stuck in his body and eating a slice of pizza is just one of the many badass things this guy has done over his career.

The Newcomers

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Ty (Ty the Tasmanian Tiger)

There's literally a commercial where it shows Spyro, Crash, and Sonic all in a hospital because Ty kicked their tails!
If that's not badass, then I don't know what is.
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Arthur Morgan (Red Dead Redemption 2)

Arthur Morgan is the central character and main playable protagonist of Red Dead Redemption 2. He is portrayed by Roger Clark. Arthur is a high-ranking member of the Van der Linde gang and plays a critical role in the game's storyline, which is set in a fictionalized version of the late 19th-century... read more

The Contenders

Gordon Freeman (Half-Life)

Dr. Gordon Freeman is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Half-Life video game series. He was created by Gabe Newell and designed by Newell and Marc Laidlaw of Valve Corporation. Freeman is a theoretical physicist who becomes a reluctant hero in a battle against alien forces. He is notable... read more

He is the most powerful nerd ever. He fights zombies and headcrabs with a crowbar. Well, I don't know much else about him, but I'm planning to find out more. Until then, this is all I have to say.

Gordon taught all of us to never underestimate a nerd.
Simon "Ghost" Riley (Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2)
Doomguy (Doom)

Doomguy, also referred to as the Doom Marine and known as the Doom Slayer in newer games, is the protagonist of the Doom video game franchise created by id Software. Introduced as the player character in the original 1993 game, he is known for battling demonic forces from Hell. The character has become... read more

The fact that Doomguy isn't #1 is a sin itself. This guy took down Hell's invading forces on Mars, went to Hell itself to demolish the forces of Hell on their own soil, and then went to Earth and kicked the crap out of Hell's armies after they invaded Earth.
He can run faster than 50 mph, faster than his own rocket launcher fire. He doesn't use power armor, just standard security armor. He can kill demons with his bare hands. He's the only known human to survive the Haste, Berserk, and Quad-Damage energy boosts. He once killed Hell's armies over his pet rabbit.

He literally beat Hell by himself. If he fought Kratos, Duke Nukem, or Master Chief, he would win by a mile. Why isn't one of the most badass badasses in the top 10?
Sean Devlin (The Saboteur)

Sean Devlin is way tougher than Kratos. For a start, Kratos doesn't have a submachine gun or pistol.
Also, I doubt Kratos would be able to push the Nazis out of Occupied France single-handedly. All Kratos is is a leotard-wearing, gay pride parade member who's taken too many steroids.

He's blown up tanks, APCs, zeppelins, Kubelwagens, and Nazi motorbikes with sidecars. Sean also assassinated 50 Nazi generals single-handedly along with pushing the Nazi ranks out of France.
Link (The Legend of Zelda)

Link refers to several incarnations of the protagonist in Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda series. Each incarnation of Link is typically destined to protect Hyrule from evil forces, often wielding the Master Sword and bearing the Triforce of Courage. His main goal is usually to rescue Princess Zelda and... read more

Link has demonstrated a lot of prowess throughout the 30-year lifespan of his games. This includes being able to use an ocarina and a countless number of masks, as well as a lot of bows, swords, bombs, and much more that would be really difficult to fit here.
I forgot to mention that he would also be considered a legendary character with prowess far beyond Mario's in combat and strategy. That's why I went as Link once for Halloween. He is just outstanding in the industry and never gets old at all! It's amazing how he can stay relevant and still be a badass for so long.

Try to parry a Gold Lynel in BOTW. More than 100,000 pounds of impact. A single swing from his shield, even the weakest in the game, can send the Lynel flying back immediately. And Link doesn't move an inch when doing this.
John "Soap" MacTavish (Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare)

This guy is just amazing! You are not able to hate him. He is the best, and we want him back! Die, Infinity Ward, you killed him!
Sam Fisher (Splinter Cell)

The greatest secret agent out there and the one with the best monologues.
Cole MacGrath (Infamous)
Leon S. Kennedy (Resident Evil)

Leon Scott Kennedy is a fictional character in Capcom's Resident Evil horror media franchise. He debuted as one of the two playable protagonists of the video game Resident Evil 2. Leon is a U.S. government agent and one of the franchise's most recurring characters.

This man alone started a new era in zombie and alien creature killing. I mean, sure, I could have just as easily picked Chris Redfield, but he had a partner. You know what Leon had? An almost good-for-nothing girl who gets kidnapped regularly and does nothing to fight back, so the only thing she can do is hide. So yeah, Leon for the win.
Mario (Super Mario Bros.)

Mario, originally named Jumpman, is the main character of the Super Mario Bros. franchise and was created by Nintendo of Japan's game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. Mario appears in nearly every game in the series, including many spin-off titles, with a few exceptions such as New Super Luigi U, the Luigi's... read more
Cole Phelps (L.A. Noire)
Isaac Clarke (Dead Space)

Isaac Clarke is the main protagonist of the Dead Space franchise. He is an engineer who was part of the emergency response team aboard the USG Kellion, which was dispatched to investigate the USG Ishimura after contact was lost with its crew. Among the missing was Isaac's girlfriend, Nicole Brennan.... read more

I think he is more badass in Dead Space 1 since he cannot talk. But in Dead Space 2, we see a more human side of him.
Ezio Auditore da Firenze (Assassin's Creed)

Ezio Auditore da Firenze is a fictional character in the video game series Assassin's Creed. He first appeared as a video game protagonist in Assassin's Creed II (2009) and became one of the series' most iconic characters. His story arc spans three main games and numerous appearances in other media within... read more

"Requiescat in pace"! This sentence is a death signature that all AC fans say before killing a major target, even if it's not Ezio who is the main character!
So, for me, this guy deserves the top 3 (with Link and Snake).

Yup. Ezio is a pretty badass guy! He's an assassin, after all!
Max Payne (Max Payne)
William B.J. Blazkowicz (Wolfenstein)

One man army against the Nazis.