Looking for some last-minute Halloween costume inspiration? With the spookiest time of the year just around the corner, now is the perfect time to pay homage to the best gaming villains, whether that’s an irritating cartoon or an evil dragon.
With searches for ‘adult joker costume’ increasing by 300% in the past 12 months, and Brits being expected to spend more than the £474m on costumes, decorations and treats than they did in 2019, it’s clear many of us are eager to make up for last year’s lack of Halloween parties.
Using data from Linkfluence, Ebuyer has revealed which gaming villains are generating the most conversations online, as well as those that are experiencing the most negative and positive sentiment.
| Gaming villain | Game | Positive sentiment % | Negative sentiment % | Number of conversations |
| Joker | Batman | 14 | 11.8 | 5,292,529 |
| Bowser | Super Mario Bros | 14.5 | 12.7 | 1,194,048 |
| Scarecrow | Batman | 13.7 | 648,497 | 5.97 |
| Sephiroth | Final Fantasy | 17.7 | 16.6 | 615,285 |
| Akuma | Street Fighter | 9.07 | 9.62 | 326,415 |
| Dracula | Castelvania | 13.2 | 7.45 | 210,474 |
| GlaDOS | Portal | 12.5 | 11.7 | 151,246 |
| Dr. Robotnik | Sonic the Hedgehog | 14.2 | 10.7 | 105,860 |
| Dormin | Shadow of the Colossus | 11.1 | 3.72 | 104,950 |
| Pyramid head | Silent Hill 2 | 11.7 | 23.9 | 89,561 |
| Shodan | System Shock 2 | 10.6 | 7.35 | 35,310 |
| Blue Shell | Mario Kart | 11.4 | 17.1 | 34,277 |
| Alduin | The Elder Scrolls | 8.2 | 20.8 | 32,365 |
| Albert Wesker | Resident Evil | 14.1 | 7.6 | 29,561 |
| Handsome Jack | Borderlands | 39.9 | 6.87 | 29,540 |
| Shao Kahn | Mortal Kombat | 8.1 | 13.5 | 26,875 |
| Andrew Ryan | Bioshock | 14 | 6.88 | 15,031 |
| The Illusive Man | Mass Effect 3 | 6.25 | 15.9 | 12,279 |
| Mr Resetti | Animal Crossing | 23.3 | 14.4 | 11,205 |
The most talked-about gaming villains
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the infamous Joker is the most talked about gaming villain, racking up almost 5.3 million conversations in the last 12 months.
Meanwhile, Mario’s long-term rival, Bowser, is the second most talked about villain, generating 1.2 million conversations. In third place comes the fear inducing Scarecrow, another enemy of Batman, generating almost 650,000 negative conversations in the past year.
The gaming villains that annoy us the most
The faceless and voiceless Pyramid Head from the Silent Hill series reveals to be the most hated gaming antagonist with 24% of all conversations being of a negative sentiment.
With an aim to destroy everything in his path, Alduin from The Elder Scrolls franchise earns his spot as the second most hated gaming villain with 21% of conversations about him being negative.
Whilst not exactly a character, the blue shell from Mario Kart is a controversial feature that tops the list as one of the most hated villains with just over 17% of all conversations being negative.
The gaming villains we love the most
Handsome Jack from the Borderlands series is by far the best loved villain with a surprising 40% of all conversations being of a positive sentiment.
Meanwhile, the irritating but loveable Mr. Resetti from Animal Crossing is the second most loved villain, generating just over 23% positive conversations.
Finally, Sephiroth from the Final Fantasy series is the third best loved villain with almost 18% of all conversations about this mysterious character being of a positive sentiment.
Commenting on the research, Andy Roberts, E-Commerce Director of Ebuyer, says
“Whilst gamers all have their favourite in-game heroes to play as, it’s often the villains that are the most memorable and engaging characters.
“If you’re looking for Halloween costume inspiration, then look no further than our round up of the most talked about, loved and hated gaming antagonists!”
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