We’re no stranger to mascots in all walks of life, and hey, video games are home to some of the most prolific of the lot. We’re talking Sonic. We’re talking Mario. Instantly recognizable faces used to promote some of the biggest games in the world because ostensibly, they appeal to the everyman. However, corporations don’t always get it right. In fact, they may very well even get it horribly wrong sometimes. Check out our list of the creepiest video game mascots that we know of.
The Creepiest Video Game Mascots – Psycho from Borderlands
The instantly-recognizable figure of the common, every day Psycho is synonymous with the marketing that’s been done for pretty much every Borderlands title. Whether you’ve got your Psycho dressed up like the Virgin Mary, or they’re frothing at the mouth with a gun held to their own head, it’s hard to deny the viscerally creepy aura exuded by these enemies in-game, let alone on all the box art. The Psychos seem torn between screaming obscenities at you and, well, generally being very murderous, so it’s no wonder that they made this list.
The Creepiest Video Game Mascots – Pac-Man from Namco
Pac-Man is a video game icon in his own right. However, the horrifying realization that Pac-Man was actually meant to be a representation of being human has been a bit too much for us. If Pac-Man is supposed to encapsulate our mortal experience, then it follows that the game is an allegory for twenty-first-century life. We’re forced into precarity to chase money in confined spaces that we can’t escape from, confronted at every turn by specters and horrors that we can only temporarily pacify, trying to pick up food to live but always endangering ourselves in the process. Anyone else needing to lie down? Just us?
The Creepiest Video Game Mascots – Slime from Dragon Quest
The Slime’s soulless eyes are probably one reason for it to make this list, but it’s the nature of these creatures in general that are the true scare. If you stack enough of them together, they can become a large King Slime, which is a fancy way of naming whatever genetically-enhanced beast forms when you’re cornered by a whole pack of them. Slimes can speak the human language, and honestly, it’s just a matter of time before they rise up against everyone who’s domesticated them in the previous Dragon Quest games.
The Creepiest Video Game Mascots – Gex from Crystal Dynamics
Gex is a slick, smooth-talking gecko. On one hand? Looks pretty cool? On the other hand? Definitely an analog for some kind of terrible cyberpunk villain who works for a corporation and has no moral compass to speak of. Gex is a gecko that’s likely capable of some pretty horrific things, and we wouldn’t be surprised at all if we learned that he also ate kids. I mean, the voice alone? The stuff of nightmares.
The Creepiest Video Game Mascots – Sackboy from Little Big Planet
Do we even have to explain this one? Have you seen this thing? It’s not human, it’s not cotton, it’s barely even sentient. However, it’s constantly spurred on by an overbearing voice in its head that narrates its every thought, even when it has to watch its brothers and sisters go through a literal grinder. That would drive most people mad, let alone this creature that’s apparently supposed to be a child? We’ve all seen Coraline. We know what buttons for eyes is code for, and it’s nothing good.
The Creepiest Video Game Mascots – Dragaux from Ring Fit Adventure
Alright. The internet is pretty divided on whether it’s thirsty for Dragaux or terrified. We’re in Camp Terrified, because we’ve been here with Nintendo mascots before. Someone being the face of a game doesn’t make them above scrutiny. Just look at Luigi and the drama with Gooigi that’s got him on our list of the top 5 creepy cryptids. Don’t let this buff boy distract you with his strapping good looks; we reckon he could suplex a train if he wanted to, and he could definitely suplex a whole galaxy. He’ll do it all with a smile, and honestly, that’s the sign of a true psychopath.
