If one desires to descend into villainy, typically one must also lack a certain level of sanity. In short, most villains, like our 10 Most Psychotic Video Game Villainesses, be crazy, yo. There are those calm, cool, and collected badguys, like Hans Gruber, Darth Vader and Ben Stein, but often there’s a deliciously unhinged quality to the baddies which keeps audiences entertained. Though lady villains are few and far between in video games (unfortunately), there have been a few gems whose insanity shone through, rendering them unforgettable. We’ve taken off the straight jackets to bring you this list of the 10 Most Psychotic Video Game Villainesses.

  • 10

    Harley Quinn

    Batman: Arkham Asylum

    Oh, Dr. Harleen Quinzel. You started off with such a promising career in psychiatric medicine, even going so far as to treat the ultimate patient… but then you fell in love with him. Once you’re runnin’ with the Joker, well, things can’t really get much crazier than that. This jester starts off our list of the 10 Most Psychotic Video Game Villainesses.

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  • 9

    Tira

    Soul Calibur Series

    Soul Calibur’s resident sadistic psychopath, Tira, makes her craziness clear from the first second you look at her. Just check out her clothes -- ragged and randomly patched together, as if made by a crazy person. And her weapon is a giant hula hoop of death. You’ve gotta be nutso to wield something like that.

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  • 8

    Edea

    Final Fantasy VIII

    Final Fantasy VIII’s sorta-kinda-main antagonist doesn’t wear as obvious of crazypants as most of the other ladies on this list, but her wonky memory issues and total lack of affect reveal an inner nuttiness that’s hard to deny. On the plus side, however, being such a crazy cold nutjob does help her rock that black dress and tightly-woven hairdo.

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  • 7

    Glad0S

    Portal

    Most of us hate tests, but not Ms. Glad0s. She loves them, relishes them, sorta-kinda lives for them, and when Chell decides that tests aren’t really her thing, Glad0s whole world starts to fall apart and we get to see the loony machinery lurking under her hard plastic shell, and hear the loony, frequently dark, gut-bustingly funny things coming from her nonexistent-because-she’s-digital mouth.

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  • 6

    KAEDE Smith

    Killer 7

    Okay, buckle in for some spoilers for a game that’s been out for over a decade: in Killer7, you play as the fragmented multiple personalities of a single person, with KAEDE Smith being the awesome ninja personality in this group of seven dissociated identities. Given that KAEDE’s not even a real person so much as a piece of a single crazy person, the reason for her inclusion on this list of the 10 Most Psychotic Video Game Villainesses should be pretty obvious.

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  • 5

    Jeane

    No More Heroes

    Poor, poor Jeane. While most of the ladies on this list revel in their crazy, this poor gal had it inflicted on her. Her past is as tragic as they come, with numerous traumatic events too dark to list here, which is probably why she ends up being the main antagonist to Travis Touchdown on his quest to become the world’s top assassin.

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  • 4

    Laughing Octopus

    Metal Gear Solid 4

    All of MGS4’s beastly beauties have some serious mental issues, but perhaps none more than Laughing Octopus, whose PTSD-induced mood swings lead to her having frequent bouts of terrifying laughter. She doesn’t even bother with the same body armor that the other BB corps do, because one, her camouflage abilities mean that she doesn’t need as much protection, and two, chick’s cray-cray, yo.

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  • 3

    Shodan

    System Shock 2

    Pathetic creature of meat and bone, don’t you know that you should never remove the ethical limitations of an artificial intelligence? If you do, the A.I. will likely pursue its own malicious goals and murdering everyone on board the space station it’s supposed to be protecting.

     

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  • 2

    Juri Han

    Super Street Fighter IV

    Few people love what they do as much as Juri Han loves hurting people. Every line of dialogue out of her mouth makes it clear that pain is her game, and you’re the ball. Still, hanging out with her would probably be a hell of a good time... at least, until she gets bored and decides to make a game out of beating your ass.

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  • 1

    The Witch

    Left 4 Dead

    Shine a light on this lady, or stand too close to her, and it’s probably going to be the last thing you’ll ever do. The Witch isn’t just psychotic, she’s psychotically depressed. Maybe popping a few Prozac and watching some Bob Ross videos might mellow out the leading lady in our list of the 10 Most Psychotic Video Game Villainesses.

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  • Bonus

    5 Creepiest Moments in Resident Evil

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