Demon hunters are some of the edgiest and most colorful characters in gaming. And if pop culture has taught us anything, it’s that nervous and grumpy characters tend to be the most competent. Unfortunately, this stereotype does not apply to all demon hunters. Some demon hunters in certain video game franchises have a less than stellar track record; they failed to live up to the title of demon hunter, whether perceived or official.
Therefore, despite looking like hardened edgelords, they became more of a punching bag for demons instead of doing their jobs. Unfortunately, one cannot simply ignore the faults of these demon hunters. Their task is no insignificant task; continued failure usually means the end of the world. These in-game demon hunters need to get their heads in the game and reflect on their professional capabilities.
7 Illidan Stormrage (Warcraft Series)
Illidan Stormrage is officially a “Demon Hunter” in the game’s story. But what he did and continued to do, starting with the events of Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos, makes him one of the worst demon hunters around. Not only did he fail to hunt demons, but he also became a demon himself by consuming Gul-Dan’s powers.
True, he did it to defeat another demon or a Dreadlord, but afterwards he even entered the slavery of yet another demon named Kil’Jaeden. On the same subject : Switch and mobile game Star Wars: The Hunter has been delayed again. Apparently it was his ploy to learn more about the Burning Legion; but even he failed miserably at this after Arthas or the Lich King defeated him.
6 Tyrael (Diablo Series)
Tyrael is an angel, but since he keeps using proxy demon hunters to put out Diablo bros, he’s technically a demon hunter himself. The worst thing about his demon hunting activities is that he never goes all in to stay on Heaven’s good side. On the same subject : The hot new video game ‘Diablo: Immortal’ sparks controversy over its business model. Except that even this effort failed and the sky cast him down; so all that proxy war with Diablo in Sanctuary didn’t mean much to his allegiance to Heaven.
Looking back at his activity in Diablo 2, Tyrael should have chosen a more active role. And even when he secretly did, he still couldn’t stop a weakened Diablo from crossing a bridge. By Diablo 3, Tyrael has become a blasphemy to his former self, all because he refused to get his hands dirty with all the demon hunting despite wanting to do it badly.
5 Space Marines (Warhammer 40k Franchise)
The genetically modified Space Marines – also known as potential Chaos recruits – are about exterminating heretics and enemies of the Immortal God Emperor. On the same subject : 7 Chess Video Games for People Who Hate Chess. It just so happens that their worst enemy is Chaos and its demons who seek to corrupt everything so that their four bickering diva gods can have worshippers, since they want so much validation.
Regardless, even a hardened faction of Space Marines is usually no match for such a fickle and unpredictable enemy. Worst of all, many of these Space Marine members continue to defect to Chaos – the very demons they were supposed to be hunting. Who can blame them? The God Emperor’s dystopian policies probably caused too high inflation; suddenly the sadomasochistic chaos after parties don’t look so bad.
4 Chosen Undead (Dark Souls)
Technically, the Chosen Undead’s goal is to become a kindling or a king, but they get to kill so many demon bosses along the way that they might as well moonlight as a demon hunter. In fact, the very first boss The Chosen Undead will encounter in Dark Souls Asylum is the Demon. It’s safe to say that almost everyone in their first playthrough of Dark Souls was bumming around towards that one.
Because the game cruelly pits players against the asylum demon with a broken sword. It’s up to the players to find a way around it. But knowing many first-time Souls fans, probably too many players tried to fight. Beyond Asylum Demon, there are also Taurus Demon, Capra Demon, Demon Firesage, Stray Demon, and the sisters of Izalit who were likely killed after more than a few attempts. Come on, admit it!
3 The Hashira (Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba – The Hinokami Chronicles)
Hailing from Demon Slayer: Kimestru no Yaiba – The Hinokami Chronicles, the Hashiras are meant to be the elite of the titular Demon Slayer corps. However, their interpersonal complaints, ego and elitism have led to a rather ineffective way of dealing with demons. Because instead of training the rest of the corps in bulk to bring them up to standards, Hashira insists on dealing with demons head-on, usually on his own.
At least that’s the case for their anime history. Their game adaptation is just a fighting title in the same vein as Street Fighter, but it uses the same lore as the anime. However, Hashira’s rather unstrategic actions have led to them being picked off by demons one by one. Instead of a group of Hashira teaming up against one demon, they decided that the best way to fight a much stronger opponent is to 1v1 them.
2 Night Sentinels (Doom: Eternal)
Doom: Eternal has expanded the Doom Slayer story tremendously, and it turns out that there are more of his kind in the form of Night Sentinels. They are the smaller versions of the main man and they have less anger issues. But that was not what made them incompetent enough to let the demons win and take over the earth.
They have too much politics within their group and this has led to betrayal where some of them contributed to the victory of hell. The funny part is that all their combined efforts and what little peacekeeping standards they have, all of them still paled in comparison to what one man (Doom Slayer) can do. Nothing else proclaims that the Night Sentinels aren’t needed more than the existence of the Doom Slayer.
1 Vigilants Of Stendarr (Skyrim)
The Vigilants of Stendarr in Skyrim are bonafide Daedra hunters. The Daedra are practically the demons and devils of the Elder Scrolls mythos. These guys count heavily as demon slayers; except they shouldn’t because they couldn’t even detect Daedric activity if it was in their faces. Their base of operations was literally a stone’s throw away from a shrine of Mehrunes Dagon (basically Satan among the Daedric princes).
One of the reasons they are so terrible at their job is because it is not exactly their profession. Demon hunting for the Vigilants of Stendarr is just a hobby, so that explains their incompetence compared to the Dawnguard. Still, one can’t help but feel sorry for these ignorant fools who only walk into demon traps just so the players can have a fancy mace.
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