Best Villains In CD Projekt Red Games

Highlights

• CD Projekt Red’s games feature well-written characters and iconic antagonists that leave a lasting impression on players.
• Adam Smasher in
  Cyberpunk 2077
  strikes fear in players with his sinister first impression, though the final boss battle disappoints.
• Characters like Philippa Eilhart and Jacques De Aldersberg showcase the diabolical nature of CD Projekt Red’s game antagonists.

CD Projekt Red is one of the most beloved developers around. Despite a few stumbles here and there, the company has stood strong as one of the best in the gaming industry, a team who players can rely on for some stellar video games that will capture their attention for hundreds of hours. With an impressive resume of titles like The Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077 under their belt, it’s easy to see why players can’t wait to see what this company has in store for them in the future.

A huge part of what makes CD Projekt Red’s games so special are the many well-written characters featured in these titles, with some of them leaving a lasting impression that sticks with players long after they’re rolled credits. For these games to be as memorable they are, the developer must ensure that their antagonists intimidate players on a consistent basis. Thankfully, there are many great antagonists in CD Projekt Red’s games that have become quite iconic in their own right.

5 Adam Smasher

Makes A Strong Impression In Both The Game And The Anime

• Appears In:Cyberpunk 2077

There’s no denying that Adam Smasher is one of the scariest-looking antagonists in video game history. From the very first line he utters in Cyberpunk 2077, Smasher makes a sinister first impression that is further built upon with a series of tall tales surrounding this legendary merc and how he’s more machine than man at this point. As a result, it’s easy to see why the final boss fight against him strikes fear in the hearts of most players.

Iit’s rather disappointing, then, that this battle isn’t really all that challenging, with his missile rush being the only threat in an otherwise tame boss fight. Sure, Update 2.0 makes him more challenging than ever before, but fans who assumed that this battle would be reminiscent of David’s final stand against this merc in Cyberpunk: Edgerunners will be disappointed by the lack of threat posed by Cyberpunk 2077‘s final boss.

4 Philippa Eilhart

A Diabolical, Power-Hungry Sorceress Who Wants To Achieve Her Plans At All Costs

• Appears In:The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

The second Witcher game presented the Lodge of Sorceresses as an antagonistic group, with its members trying their hardest to manipulate the kingdoms in the North and establish control in the courts. While Sile de Tansarville is pretty villainous in her own right, most people would agree that Philippa Eilhart is the person who is the most diabolical group in her attempts to achieve a sense of control.

For her transgressions, Philippa is sent to the dungeons, tortured, and blinded. However, she ultimately gets her revenge on Radovid if players decide to go ahead with the assassination in “Reasons of State”. The sorceress gest the last laugh as she plunges a blade deep into the heart of the man whom she hated with a passion for what he did to her and the other mages.

3 Jacques De Aldersberg

The Grand Master Of The Order Of The White Rose Who Turns Out To Be Alvin, Geralt’s Ward

The Witcher 1 may be a little rough around the edges, but there’s no denying that the major antagonist of this game is the most interesting character in the title. Jacques de Aldersberg may seem like a cookie-cutter villain, but it’s not until players interact with this character on a personal level that they get a hint of what this man is all about.

All the hints point to the fact that Jacques is actually Alvin, a young boy Geralt encounters throughout the game who seemingly sent himself back to the past and grew up to become the Grand Master of the Order of the White Rose. After rampant fan speculation surrounding this topic, CD Projekt Red added a cheeky note in The Witcher 3 that confirmed this theory once and for all.

2 Saburo Arasaka

A Diabolical Megalomaniac Who Craved Power Even After His Death

• Appears In:Cyberpunk 2077

Most people who play through Cyberpunk 2077 will assume that Saburo Arasaka’s reign of terror ended after he was stabbed and betrayed by his own son. However, when it comes to this power-hungry megalomaniac, even death isn’t enough to stop him from continuing his conquest. If players choose to support Arasaka, they’ll see that an engram of Saburo exists that is about as accurate to his actual personality as most people would expect.

The fact that he’s willing to take over his son’s body to continue serving as the head of Arasaka is truly diabolical, and goes to show just how chilling this character really is. He’s one of the major reasons why Night City continues to be one of the most dystopian cities in this alternate world, as he fills his pockets and attains power at the cost of other, less-fortunate people.

1 Gaunter O’Dimm

The Man Of Glass Is One Of The Most Sinister And Compelling Additions In Hearts Of Stone

• Appears In:The Witcher 3: Hearts of Stone

Most people who assumed Gaunter was a run-of-the-mill merc who just gives Geralt some information at the start of the game will be surprised to see him as the central antagonist in Hearts of Stone. What follows is a chilling introduction to this all-powerful character, almost a demon of sorts, known as the Man of Glass, who manipulates people into doing his bidding by binding them to an inhumane contract.

Until the very end of the expansion’s story, Geralt and Olgierd are essentially pawns in his game, until the Witcher figures out a devious way to beat this man at his own game. Even then, it’s suggestd that O’Dimm was only temporarily taken out, which has some chilling implications indeed.