Skip to main content
GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+ The Games, Movies, TV & Comics You Love
flag of UK
UK
flag of US
US
flag of Canada
Canada
flag of Australia
Australia
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • Games
    • Game Insights
      • Games News
      • Games Features
      • Games Reviews
      • Games Guides
      • The Big Preview
      • On The Radar
      • Future Games Show
    • Genres
      • Action Games
      • RPGs
      • Action RPGs
      • Adventure Games
      • Third Person Shooters
      • FPS Games
    • Platforms
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X
      • PC
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Nintendo Switch 2
      • Tabletop Gaming
    • Franchises
      • Grand Theft Auto
      • Pokemon
      • Assassin's Creed
      • Monster Hunter
      • Fortnite
      • Cyberpunk
      • Red Dead
      • The Elder Scrolls
      • The Sims
  • Entertainment
    • TV Shows
      • TV News
      • TV Reviews
      • Anime Shows
      • Sci-Fi Shows
      • Superhero Shows
      • Animated Shows
      • Marvel TV Shows
      • Star Wars TV Shows
      • DC TV Shows
    • Movies
      • Movie News
      • Movie Reviews
      • Superhero Movies
      • Action Movies
      • Sci-Fi Movies
      • Anime Movies
      • Horror Movies
      • Marvel Movies
      • DC Movies
    • Streaming
      • Apple TV Plus
      • Disney Plus
      • Netflix
      • HBO
      • Amazon Prime Video
      • Hulu
    • Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • DC Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Lego
    • Dungeons and Dragons
    • Merch
  • Hardware
    • Insights
      • Hardware News
      • Hardware Reviews
      • Hardware Features
    • Computing
      • Desktop PCs
      • Laptops
      • Handhelds
    • Peripherals
      • Headsets & Headphones
      • TVs & Monitors
      • Gaming Mice
      • Gaming Keyboards
      • Gaming Chairs
      • Speakers & Audio
    • Accessories & Tech
      • Gaming Controllers
      • Tech
      • SSDs & Hard Drives
      • VR
      • Accessories
      • Retro
  • Deals
    • Game Deals
    • Tech Deals
    • TV Deals
    • Buying Guides
  • Video
    • Newsletters
    • Total Film
    • Retro Gamer
    • Newsarama
Total Film
  • home
  • Games
    • View Games
      • Games News
      • Games Features
      • Games Reviews
      • Games Guides
      • The Big Preview
      • On The Radar
      • Future Games Show
      • Action Games
      • RPGs
      • Action RPGs
      • Adventure Games
      • Third Person Shooters
      • FPS Games
    • Platforms
      • View Platforms
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X
      • PC
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Nintendo Switch 2
      • Tabletop Gaming
      • Grand Theft Auto
      • Pokemon
      • Assassin's Creed
      • Monster Hunter
      • Fortnite
      • Cyberpunk
      • Red Dead
      • The Elder Scrolls
      • The Sims
  • Entertainment
    • View Entertainment
    • TV Shows
      • View TV Shows
      • TV News
      • TV Reviews
      • Anime Shows
      • Sci-Fi Shows
      • Superhero Shows
      • Animated Shows
      • Marvel TV Shows
      • Star Wars TV Shows
      • DC TV Shows
    • Movies
      • View Movies
      • Movie News
      • Movie Reviews
      • Superhero Movies
      • Action Movies
      • Sci-Fi Movies
      • Anime Movies
      • Horror Movies
      • Marvel Movies
      • DC Movies
    • Streaming
      • View Streaming
      • Apple TV Plus
      • Disney Plus
      • Netflix
      • HBO
      • Amazon Prime Video
      • Hulu
    • Comics
      • View Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • DC Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Lego
    • Dungeons and Dragons
    • Merch
  • Hardware
    • View Hardware
      • Hardware News
      • Hardware Reviews
      • Hardware Features
      • Desktop PCs
      • Laptops
      • Handhelds
    • Peripherals
      • View Peripherals
      • Headsets & Headphones
      • TVs & Monitors
      • Gaming Mice
      • Gaming Keyboards
      • Gaming Chairs
      • Speakers & Audio
      • Gaming Controllers
      • Tech
      • SSDs & Hard Drives
      • VR
      • Accessories
      • Retro
  • Deals
    • View Deals
    • Game Deals
    • Tech Deals
    • TV Deals
    • Buying Guides
  • Video
    • Newsletters
    • Total Film
    • Retro Gamer
    • Newsarama
Total Film
Gaming Magazines
Gaming Magazines
Why subscribe?
  • Subscribe from just £3
  • Takes you closer to the games, movies and TV you love
  • Try a single issue or save on a subscription
  • Issues delivered straight to your door or device
From$12
Subscribe now
Trending
  • Dying Light: The Beast
  • Borderlands 4 review
  • Battlefield 6
  • New Games for 2025
Don't miss these
Resident Evil Village
Games The 25 best video game villains you just love to hate
Mass Effect 2 - Garrus
Adventure Games The 25 best video game stories to play right now
Super Mario A Super Mario lore specialist issues an important correction: "Mario does not 'die and go to hell' - he is sent there directly while still alive"
Best horror games - Resident Evil 7: Biohazard screenshot of Ethan shooting a mutamycete monster
Horror Games The 25 best horror games to play right now
Mario Kart World
Donkey Kong Somewhere in Nintendo's recycling bin is the god of all Goombas, gifted the giant hands of a Super Mario Odyssey boss during experiments for the Switch 2's Donkey Kong Bananza
Resident Evil Requiem
Resident Evil Resident Evil Requiem monsters will throw furniture at you, which isn't even scary, it's rude
Heather is attacked by a spindly monster in Silent Hill 3, with the Horror Special GamesRadar+ badge
Horror Games After 25 years, here's the 15 best Japanese horror games, from Silent Hill to Haunting Ground, that still terrify me
Donkey Kong punches a rock enemy in the face in Donkey Kong Bananza with a large purple glowing area in the background
Donkey Kong My Donkey Kong Bananza playthrough is being haunted by the remains of numerous iconic enemies and allies from classics like Donkey Kong Country
Nier Replicant remaster
Action RPGs Nier creator Yoko Taro reckons "there’s less 'weird people'" making games nowadays although he's not sure if it's "something that's happening to the world as a whole"
The best survival horror games: a screenshot from Resident Evil 7.
Survival Horror Games The 10 best survival horror games to test your endurance skills
Death Stranding 2
Action Games Not even Dollman's constant "guilt-tripping" and the pressure of social media was enough to stop this Death Stranding 2 player from spending an hour hauling a worryingly large pile of dead bodies "for science"
Snake in Super Smash Bros Ultimate
Metal Gear Metal Gear Solid veteran David Hayter says Snake is responsible for the strangest line he's had to read, all because of a farting Super Smash Bros fighter
Silent Hill 2 Remake screenshot of James Sunderland examining his face in the mirror
Silent Hill The 10 best Silent Hill games of all time
Animal Crossing: New Horizon update 2.0 features
Games Can you guess the iconic game from just one screenshot?
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Games Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 made me cry after 30 minutes and convinced me to finally revisit the best sad games in my Steam library
  1. Games
  2. Action

7 most messed up families in gaming

Features
By Ashley Reed published 29 August 2014

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

The family that dismays together, stays together...or not

The family that dismays together, stays together...or not

You dont choose your family, as they say: theyre simply a gift to you. However, some of us end up with stranger genetic relations than others, which can lead to the creation of some quirky, silly, or downright bizarre clans. Thats not necessarily a bad thing: weird families can be tons of fun. Its just that around the time family members start dueling to the death, or sacrificing each other to Cthulian gods, or randomly turn out to be clones of each other, you have to wonder how healthy a household you have.

Those examples didnt come from nowhere: theyre all domestic issues pulled straight from some of your favorite games, where family is important and also dangerously insane. Just how dysfunctional are these seven messed up gaming families? Read on to find out, and count how many involve murderous doubles.

Page 1 of 9
Page 1 of 9
The Kenways (Assassins Creed)

The Kenways (Assassins Creed)

Arrr there be SPOILERS in these waters! Well somebody has daddy issues. By which I mean this entire family. When Edward Kenway was disowned by his father Bernard, after an unfortunate house-burning incident, his goal was to start a new life and do right by the family he one day hoped to have. Unfortunately he ended up very dead about halfway through, leaving his daughter Jenny and son Haytham at the mercy of his Templar killers with the deep desire to avenge him, but little idea how to do it. Haytham in particular joined up with the Templars to exact his revenge, believing his father was killed by the Assassins, and the truth was a wee bit of a mindscrew.

The Kenways' fathering faux pas hit their peak with Haytham and his illegitimate son Connor, who simultaneously hate each other and desperately want to connect. With either on a different side of the Templar-Assassin war, father and son try to convince each other to see reason, but when that fails the claws come out. Man, these guys are terrible at father-son bonding time.

Page 2 of 9
Page 2 of 9
The Mishima clan (Tekken)

The Mishima clan (Tekken)

Take the Kenways, add some magic devil genes and overt blood thirst, and you have the deeply-in-need-of-therapy Mishima family. Four generations of extremely powerful martial artists, the Mishimas are plagued by an unfortunate desire to murder the hell out of each other at any given moment. Exacting horrible revenge against their closest kin has become a family tradition, like opening Christmas presents but way more homicidal.

All of this hate stems from Heihachi, who shoots merciless brutality up and down the family tree. After locking his father away under the family compound and leaving him for dead, he pitches his ten-year-old son Kazuya off a cliff to test his strength, then adopts another son to make the first one jealous. He then fathers an illegitimate son that he immediately forgets, and trains his grandson Jin for a while before trying to kill him too. That ends with all of his sons pretty pissed off and gunning for his head, plus a nasty battle between Kazuya and Jin and nevermind, I dont know if therapys gonna help much here.

Page 3 of 9
Page 3 of 9
Dantes family (Devil May Cry)

Dantes family (Devil May Cry)

Dante and Vergil take sibling rivalry a little too far. Sons of the long gone demon knight Sparda, each of the little half-imps aligns himself with a different part of their heritage: Dante prefers the human world, and Vergil the demon realm. That leads to some disagreements between the two, which they choose to express via violent confrontations. And yet they still have a bizarrely expressed affection for each other, with Dante trying to save Vergil from falling off a cliff after specifically saying he was going to kill the guy. Don't forget that Devil May Cry is actually named after the fact that Dante cries over losing the brother he was going to kill anyway.

That, however, is just the tip of the crazy demon iceberg with this family. I could go on about the incredible parental issues these two seem to have, living in their father's shadow and struggling to defeat the representation of him projected onto the final boss, or the fact that Dante both finds Trish attractive and thinks she looks like his mom (err), but I might fill up the internet.

Page 4 of 9
Page 4 of 9
The Wades (F.E.A.R.)

The Wades (F.E.A.R.)

Holy mother of you, I guess. Also everyone around you. Surprise! That's the family tree explanation the Point Man gets in F.E.A.R., when he's sent on a mission to take out a telepathic rogue agent and learns that not only is the guy his brother, but they are both the sons of Alma, the psychic demon child that follows him throughout the game. And I'm not even at the weird part yet.

Basically this family unit is as messed up as each of its individual members. There's Harlan Wade, who was much fonder of science than he was of his daughter Alma and used her as a comatose telepath incubator. There's the Point Man and Paxton Fettel, enemies and brothers born from Alma while she was being experimented on. Then there's Alma herself, who immediately murders her father after escaping confinement, mind-melds with one of her children to turn him into a homicidal killer, and can't decide if she wants to kill or hug the other one. As Paxton puts it, "We are a... complicated family. Wouldn't you agree?" Yes. 1000 times yes.

Page 5 of 9
Page 5 of 9
The Snake family (Metal Gear)

The Snake family (Metal Gear)

I wonder how often Solid, Liquid, and Solidus Snake hear that they look just like their dad? Or would, if they all werent so busy trying to kill each other. In the sort of twist that is so over-the-top it could only come from the mind of Kojima, all three Snakes are clones of Big Boss, made against his will as part of a government plot to create a perfect super soldier based on his DNA. Because the American government is kooky like that.

The strangest part about this family isnt even that Solid Snake and Liquid Snake are twin clones engineered from different aspects of Big Boss DNA (because GENETICS!) or that Solidus was tossed in there somewhere to create a pure clone. It isnt even that theyre in a constant life-or-death struggle, because apparently thats just a thing clones do. Really, its that Big Boss and his lover EVA (and surrogate mother of his clones) basically end up with a nuclear family all of their own, just in the freaking weirdest way possible. Mind blown.

Page 6 of 9
Page 6 of 9
The Masons and company (Silent Hill)

The Masons and company (Silent Hill)

Trouble just seems to find some people, especially if theyre in a Silent Hill game and their last name ends with -ason. The trouble starts with poor Harry Mason, the main character of Silent Hill 1 and loving father to his adoptive daughter, Cheryl. He goes on a frantic search for her when she vanishes into Silent Hill and discovers she is actually half of Alessa Gillespie, who split herself into pieces to escape her mother Dahlias torture. Then Alessa and Cheryl recombine and perish, but not before giving Harry a new baby thats their own reincarnated self. Are you confused yet?

Things just get stranger when Silent Hill 3 rolls around and introduces Heather Mason, who is that reincarnated baby all grown up. During her time in Silent Hill, it becomes apparent shes going to birth a god because this plot isnt already weird enough. That all means that Harry is Cheryls father and therefore also Alessas, and Alessa gives herself to him for safekeeping, and Heather is related to Harry and Cheryl and Dahlia and also god? Excuse me, I think I need to lie down.

Page 7 of 9
Page 7 of 9
Jacks family (BioShock)

Jacks family (BioShock)

Aww, they grow up so fast! Especially when theyre a fellow named Jack, the roughly four-year-old rapidly aging son of multiple mothers and fathers--both adoptive and biological--and the father of his own older sisters. Because nobody plays God like the people of Rapture!

Heres the (hahaha!) short version: gangster Frank Fontaine and scientist Brigid Tenenbaum harvest an egg fertilized by Andrew Ryan from the stripper Jasmine Jolene, and genetically modify it so the child will rapidly age. At the same time, theyre also experimenting on the Little Sisters, which Tenenbaum starts to feel bad about. Over time she begins to regard the Sisters and Jack as her children, while Fontaine calls Jack the closest thing I've ever had to a son. Then when all that shockingly implodes, if the whole thing didnt snap Jacks mind like a tinder twig, he adopts the Little Sisters and raises them as his own daughters. Despite the fact that hes biologically a toddler and the girls are his elder science-abomination siblings. In the end, Tenenbaum says that Jacks reward for not falling apart at the seams is a family, and goddamn, did he ever get one.

Page 8 of 9
Page 8 of 9
Dont even get me started on the DeWitts

Dont even get me started on the DeWitts

Thats my tally of some of the weirdest, most dysfunctional, most messed up families gaming has to offer. Did I missed a crazy clan? Are some of these menages just misunderstood? Which ones would you think would throw the best holiday party? Speak up in the comments below, and be thankful that all your mom/uncle/clone/reincarnated sibling did was burn the turkey.

Want more crazy families? Check out whats going on with Assassins Creed Unitys main fam, or take a peek at the P.T. household if youre looking for something creepy.

Page 9 of 9
Page 9 of 9
CATEGORIES
Android iPad iPhone PC Gaming Wii-u Nintendo PlayStation PS4 Xbox Xbox One Platforms Mobile Gaming
PRODUCTS
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain Tekken 7 Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes FEAR: First Encounter Assault Recon BioShock FEAR Tekken 6 FEAR 2: Project Origin FEAR 3 Assassin's Creed III Silent Hill 3 Tekken Tekken 2 Tekken 3 Silent Hill Tekken 5 Devil May Cry 3 Devil May Cry Metal Gear Solid
Ashley Reed
Ashley Reed

Former Associate Editor at GamesRadar, Ashley is now Lead Writer at Respawn working on Apex Legends. She's a lover of FPS titles, horror games, and stealth games. If you can see her, you're already dead.

See more PC Gaming Features
Read more
Resident Evil Village
The 25 best video game villains you just love to hate
 
 
Mass Effect 2 - Garrus
The 25 best video game stories to play right now
 
 
A Super Mario lore specialist issues an important correction: "Mario does not 'die and go to hell' - he is sent there directly while still alive"
 
 
Best horror games - Resident Evil 7: Biohazard screenshot of Ethan shooting a mutamycete monster
The 25 best horror games to play right now
 
 
Mario Kart World
Somewhere in Nintendo's recycling bin is the god of all Goombas, gifted the giant hands of a Super Mario Odyssey boss during experiments for the Switch 2's Donkey Kong Bananza
 
 
Resident Evil Requiem
Resident Evil Requiem monsters will throw furniture at you, which isn't even scary, it's rude
 
 
Latest in Action
Hollow Knight Silksong screenshot of Hornet sitting shocked in a chair
Team Cherry accidentally left a mouse cursor on-screen in a Silksong cutscene, earning its very own Game of Thrones coffee cup moment
 
 
Phantom Blade Zero screenshot showing two faceless puppets with swords
"Nowadays there are too many Souls games," says Phantom Blade Zero director, and you probably won't know the difference in this "kung fu action game" until you play it
 
 
Hollow Knight: Silksong Hornet revel art
My favorite moment in Hollow Knight: Silksong recreates a Bloodborne classic, and I know it's not guaranteed because none of my friends have seen it
 
 
A Viking holding two axes and screaming during Assassin's Creed Valhalla.
Assassin's Creed Shadows lead admits Valhalla was a "monster game" even at the start, and became unwieldy with all the DLC piled on: "It was getting more messy"
 
 
GTA 6 Lucia
GTA 6 dubbed "the largest game launch in history" by Rockstar in job listing, surprising absolutely nobody who has been waiting 12 years for the new Grand Theft Auto to release
 
 
Silksong Savage Beastfly
Silksong Savage Beastfly boss fight weaknesses, guide and strategy
 
 
Latest in Features
Mario holds a Shy Guy and jumps above grass in Super Mario Bros 2 - from Retro Gamer 252
Super Mario Bros' legendary jump helped define 40 years of platforming, Donkey Kong Country programmer says: "You had more control... There was risk/reward"
 
 
Man of Tomorrow concept art showing Superman and Lex Luthor teaming up superimposed over a group of heroes from the cover of Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?
Almost 90 years after Superman was first called the Man of Tomorrow, James Gunn is reviving the name for his big sequel
 
 
Pokemon Pokopia screenshot showing Charmander, Bulbasaur, and Squirtle all gathered around a Ditto in human form between two green trees
Pokemon Pokopia: everything we know about the Pokemon game that looks a lot like Animal Crossing
 
 
A taurus-shaped robotic figure with flaming innards, against a dark background with rocks visible
Helsmiths of Hashut review: Fear this new Warhammer Age of Sigmar army, because it's gonna kick ass
 
 
A screenshot of the upcoming Switch 2 game, Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave with a character using a purple energy blast
Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave – Everything we know about the strategy game's Switch 2 debut
 
 
Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale
Downton Abbey helped me through the toughest times, but The Grand Finale feels like the perfect time to wrap things up
 
 
  1. Key art for Lego Voyagers showing the two lego heroes with red and blue brick eyes near a rocket
    1
    Lego Voyagers review: "A carefully crafted, playful, and earnest adventure"
  2. 2
    There's now a real version of the Witcher Gwent card game, and it's just as engrossing as the original
  3. 3
    Borderlands 4 review: "Undeniably an excellent looter shooter, but one that requires a bit of tunnel vision to fully enjoy"
  4. 4
    This enormous exploration board game won't be for everyone, but it's a masterclass in narrative and sandbox gameplay
  5. 5
    Hollow Knight Silksong review: "Worth the wait and then some, this isn't just more Hollow Knight but an evolved, spindly beast all its own – even if it's fiddly at times"
  1. Vera Farmiga as 'Lorraine' in The Conjuring: Last Rites
    1
    The Conjuring: Last Rites review: "Not bold or memorable enough for the Warrens' final chapter"
  2. 2
    Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle review: "Roars past Mugen Train as Demon Slayer's best adventure yet"
  3. 3
    The Long Walk review: "One of the best Stephen King adaptations ever made"
  4. 4
    Frankenstein review: "A classy, if somewhat safe, adaptation"
  5. 5
    Weapons review: "A twisted fairytale that bests Barbarian"
  1. The cast of Gen V season 2
    1
    Gen V season 2 review: "As strong as the first season, if not stronger"
  2. 2
    Wednesday season 2 part 2 review: "Ortega shines, but it's a zombie who steals the entire show"
  3. 3
    Peacemaker season 2 review: "Darker and sadder than the first year, but there's still a lot of fun to be had with the 11th Street Kids."
  4. 4
    Wednesday season 2 part 1 review: "Complex and exciting but weighed down by too many subplots"
  5. 5
    Alien: Earth review: "Arguably the franchise's strongest outing since James Cameron's Aliens"

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...