Most video games feature an antagonist of some kind, either bent on world domination or just looking to get in the way of the player. Since a large portion of games are also based around action and combat, most of these villains don't get luxury of making it to the end of their games.
Some games take a slightly different approach however. Whether they encourage non violent actions in the game or offer their antagonists a chance at redemption, not all of their villains have to meet their fate at the hands of the player. These games show that there are other ways to wrap up a story.
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided (2016)
Player choice has always been a big part of the Deus Ex franchise, encouraging players to experiment with different play styles to figure out how they want to approach the game's combat, as well as making decisions that will impact the story as it progresses. Mankind Divided takes this to the next level by giving players the option to play through the entire game by killing every enemy, or none of them at all.
Even the game's bosses can be dealt with non-lethally, including final boss Marchenko. Players can tackle the final confrontation in numerous ways, and ultimately can decide whether to off Marchenko permanently or subdue him for the authorities.
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2 (2010)
The Force Unleashed games let players live out a power fantasy in the Star Wars universe, dishing out punishment with incredible Force powers. Both games offered a choice at the end that would determine whether or not players would receive the good or bad endings, but the second game takes it even further.
The player finally gets a chance to settle the score with their old master and tormentor Darth Vader at the end of the game. After a lengthy duel with Vader, the player can decide whether to kill Vader for what he has done or take him prisoner for questioning.
Fable 3 (2010)
The true final antagonist of Fable 3 is the enigmatic Crawler, but for most of the first part of the game, it appears that the villain is the kingdom's tyrannical ruler Logan. Logan has ruled with an iron fist and has caused untold suffering for his people, so most players were likely ready to cast him off the throne as violently as possible.
When the time comes though, it is revealed that Logan only did what he thought he had to in order to protect his kingdom from an incoming threat. The player then takes over his rule and must make many 0f the same difficult decisions, including what to do with the former king. Players can choose to have Logan executed or spare his life in hopes that he can atone for his crimes.
Mass Effect 3 (2012)
Mass Effect 3's controversial ending may have garnered a lot of criticism in the years since its release, but it does offer players multiple options on how to deal with the game's big bads. Firstly, in the final confrontation with the villainous Illusive Man, players have the option of talking him down and making him see the error of his ways.
In one of the hardest choices of the Mass Effect trilogy, players choose how to finish off the world-ending Reapers. Players can choose to destroy them and all synthetic life in the galaxy, take control of them and risk another galactic crisis, or end the war by ing biological and synthetic life together.
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (2004)
The true final boss of Metal Gear Solid 3 is tragically killed by the player at the end of the game in a heroic sacrifice during one of gaming's most heart-breaking cutscenes. Sadly for everyone who has played the game, there is no way to avoid taking the final shot.
It is one of the game's other well-known bosses that has become legendary for the way that players can avoid taking his life. When fighting the boss The End, an incredibly old sniper, players can actually let time itself do the dirty work. While fighting The End is usually a tough showdown, if players wait long enough before finishing him off, The End will die of old age on the battlefield, and they can skip the fight entirely.
Infamous 2 (2011)
The good versus evil morality system has been one of the key components of every Infamous game, letting players choose whether to pursue heroism or villainy at many key points through the games.
The choices all come to a head at the conclusion of the second game when Cole must decide whether to destroy the Beast, the all-powerful antagonist, sacrificing himself and many others in the process, or forces with him to rebuild humanity from the ashes.
Fallout (1997)
The first two Fallout games have some of the widest variety of player choices in gaming, letting players interact with the apocalypse however they so choose. The games can kill nearly everyone that they meet, no one at all, or anywhere in between. The final boss of the game can be handled in any of these ways as well.
Upon finding the evil supercomputer The Master, players can attack it with any of Fallout's devastating weapons, stealthily activate a self-destruct that will kill it, or simply talk to it. If the player has a high enough skill and has made the correct choices, they can actually prove to The Master that its plan for world domination would never work, and The Master will let them go free before destroying its own vault.
Call of Juarez: Gunslinger (2013)
Most of Call of Juarez: Gunslinger is an arcadey romp that lets players live out their inner cowboy against some of the Old West's biggest outlaws. In the final chapters, however, it reveals a surprising amount of depth. Throughout the game, protagonist Silas Greaves has pursued the man who murdered his brothers years ago, shooting down hundreds of men in the process.
Now an old man, Greaves questions if he has become something much worse in his quest for revenge. When he finally finds the man he is after, who has turned his back on crime and leads a quiet life, they can choose to either forgive him and set Greaves on a path of redemption, or give in to vengeance and gun him down.
Dishonored (2012)
The Dishonored series is another franchise that offers a variety of options for players to approach combat, from slaughtering everything in sight to ing through the entire game without ever even making their presence known.
All enemies, including bosses, can be dealt with non-lethally or very lethally. Each boss has a unique option of how to get them out of the picture without taking their life, including the final bosses of the game. Depending on player choices, the bosses can either take their own lives, be killed by an unknown NPC, or be sent to prison. There are multiple endings as well, encouraging players to play the game twice.
Undertale (2015)
Cult-favorite Undertale has one of the most famous examples of violent versus non-violent runs in any game. The game can be played multiple ways, either through a genocide run where players kill everything they come across, a pacifist run without any bloodshed at all, or a neutral run somewhere in between. The gameplay and tone will shift wildly depending on which run the player chooses.
The game allows players to figure out the nuances of each ending for themselves, but heavily encourages a pacifist playthrough for anyone who has played before. Every enemy in the game can be killed or spared, even the final boss. Players must choose carefully, a pacifist run will unlock the touching good ending, while a genocide run will lead to long-lasting consequences.
