Deadliest Alien Parasites, Ranked

One of the greatest examples of nature's cruelty you can find is the existence of parasites. Parasitism is a relationship between two species in which one benefits by harming the other. The one that is being harmed is usually referred to as the host. This is distinct from predation, wherein one species eats another as a food source. A predator will consume what it needs to and then moves on. A parasite will remain tied to its host as long as possible in order to exploit them.

Parasitic organisms can be found in all four biological kingdoms and live in every conceivable biome. They come in many different forms. There are parasitic birds, perhaps most famously the cuckoo, that sneak their eggs into other nests. The Last of Us was inspired by the real-life Cordyceps, a fungus that zombifies insects. Mistletoe survives by stealing nutrients from trees. Anglerfish developed a form of parasitic reproduction where males are permanently fused into the female's body. 

A male anglerfish is permanently infused to a female's body, acting as a parasite by stealing nutrients from anything she eats.
Original photo by Edith A. Widdler

The abundance of parasites has even created its own ecological niche. Several species of fish effectively exploit the existence of parasites by acting as a sort of "cleaning service" that eats them off of other creatures' bodies. 

 

The worst part is it's not even their fault. Parasites don't act maliciously or out of love for causing pain. They do it because natural selection has forced them onto an evolutionary path where they can't survive unless they parasitize. Because parasitism can, unfortunately, be a very effective survival strategy. So if there is alien life somewhere out there in the universe, whether intelligent or not, why shouldn't we expect to see examples of parasitism on other worlds and  in alien ecosystems? 

In honor of spooky season, we're going to dive into the disturbing world of alien parasites. I've collected the grossest, most terrifying parasites I could find from across film, TV, video games, and comics. And we are going to scientifically determine the deadliest parasite science fiction has to offer.

Note: This article was inspired by a piece I previously published on Game Rant. While some of the information from that article was reused, I have rewritten each entry to avoid self-plagiarism (that's apparently a thing) and tried to expand on the original concept, as well as provide updated information when available.

The Imposter- (Among Us)

While Among Us doesn't take itself particularly seriously, it does present a pretty unnerving setup. The cartoon aesthetic, silly cosmetics, and memes might take the edge off your fear, but how would you feel being trapped on a ship with the knowledge that one of the people around you isn't who they claimed to be? 

The Imposter operates by infiltrating spaceships, consuming a crew member, and then assuming their identity. This gives them the ability to blend in, forcing the crew to use deductive reasoning to find them. When played effectively, the imposter can sabotage critical systems and eliminate crew members without drawing suspicion. A particularly crafty imposter can even divert suspicion onto other players, increasing the odds of an innocent person being thrown out the airlock.

Devastating as it is, however, the imposter only works at a small scale, and lacks the spreadability of many parasites. It can eliminate crew members but cannot infect anyone outside of its initial host. This makes it pretty tame in the grand scheme of things.

Fib- (Veggie Tales)

The Fib, also known by the scientific name Fibrilius Minimus, is a parasitic alien that takes a rather unconventional approach to its hosts. Instead of physically infecting them, it feeds off of dishonesty. When it lands in a heavily populated area, Fibrilius Minimus will scout the population in search of an individual who is in some sort of trouble, usually someone who has made a mistake or performed an immoral act and fears the consequences. This person will become their unwitting host. Children are an ideal target, due to their lack of critical thinking skills and ability to come up with lies that easily fall apart under scrutiny.

Upon making contact, the Fib will act as a friend while playing into their host's worries, convincing them it is better to lie about their misdeed than to admit fault. With each lie, Fibrilius Minimus is able to grow larger. Their growth rate accelerates with increased lies, so they will encourage the host to dig themselves deeper by continuing to lie even after being called out. In a matter of hours, Fibrilius Minimus can grow from a tiny ball-shaped alien to a godzilla-sized monster, at which point it will turn on and eat its host. 

Admittedly, we don't have a full picture of the Fib's life cycle, so it's hard to say for sure how easily it spreads. However, individual instances don't seem to be contagious. They tend to focus on a single host and conveniently "disappear" in the presence of witnesses. That said, the final stage does make them capable of destroying a city, so we shouldn't underestimate them. 

However, Fibrilius Minimus's method is also its greatest weakness. Just as it thrives on dishonesty, honesty can bring it down. The only known way to weaken or even kill it is for the original host to come clean about their lies. This is a pretty simplistic solution next to some on the list.

The primary method of travel used by Fibrilius Minimus appears to be via asteroids. The likely way it works is riding on asteroids until they enter the atmosphere of a habitable planet, then ejecting themselves into a populated area. While effective, it is not the most efficient means of spreading as it lacks any control of where it ends up.

Headcrabs (Half-Life)

Anyone familiar with the Half-Life games will be familiar with the infamous headcrabs, a parasitic organism that encases the head of its host. They've faced off against them and witnessed the horrific fates of their victims. The infamous cry of a headcrab zombie betrays the anguish experienced by those unfortunate enough to be hit by one. 

Headcrabs have a simple way of functioning. Once they find a host, they jump up and encase their head (hence the name). They then embed their arms into the host's shoulders and seize control of their nervous system. The process results in the body being contorted and mutated, all while the victim is still alive and fully conscious. The only hope for release is death. It's a cruel fate, one weaponized by the Combine, who love to deal with suspected dissidents by launching a rocket full of headcrabs at them.

However, the very fact that they can be weaponized betrays a much darker truth. As horrific as they may be, headcrabs are actually on the weaker end as far as parasites go. Their only method of infection is to physically secure themself on the host's body, and it is possible (if difficult) to kill one before this happens. With sufficient precautions, they can be handled without issue. The Combine were able to use them easily, vortigaunts are able to consume them as food, and Kleiner even kept one as a pet simply by debeaking it. 

While the results are nightmarish, Headcrabs ultimately lack the spreadability of many others, making them seem tame in comparison to others.

Seed Pods (Invasion of the Body Snatchers)

Seed Pods specialize in infiltration, which isn't unusual for a parasite, but they have one thing others don't- they don't have to physically infect their hosts. All that's needed is for a potential host to be in proximity to a seed pod. The pod produces a copy of the host. When the host falls asleep, they die and get replaced with the copy. That copy will then assume the host's identity while helping to continue spreading seed pods to infect more hosts.

What makes seed pods particularly dangerous is their discretion. They start small and gradually work their way out, carefully blending into the population and diverting any questions or investigation. Often it works so subtly that early signs are easily ignored. They come in the form of things like a kid saying there's something off about his mother, something easily disregarded by others. By the time they make themselves known, they're too late to stop.

Technically it is possible to spot a host- a general lack of emotion is a dead giveaway. However, by the time anyone can start identifying them they will have already spread to a point where they are really hard, if not impossible to avoid. The seed pods themselves can get so widespread that even the most resourceful survivors can be infected purely by chance. It was a total fluke of luck that any government response could be made to them, and that was the ending Don Siegel was forced to put in. His original vision was to end with the protagonist realizing how far it's spread and trying in vain to warn others (and the viewer) about what's coming.

The one limitation the seed pods have is they lack a means of self-spreading. While they can reproduce in alarmingly large numbers, actually spreading requires making use of their hosts and existing technology. Just covering the immediate area requires seed pods to actively be carried or loaded into vehicles to spread. Although this limitation does show them to be resourceful and adaptable to their environment, it does slow them down compared to others.

Genestealers (Warhammer 40k)

Tyranids usually function as predators, rather than parasites. However, there is one exception in one of their more... nefarious strategies. Genestealers are a special kind of Tyranid. They sneak aboard ships to get into worlds populated by other races. Once in place, they begin building up a cult, usually by seeking out outcasts and marginalized groups and slowly working their way into positions of power and influence. Over a few generations, their DNA will also start to infect the local population, producing hybrids. This makes them both a social and a biological parasite.

Left unchecked, a genestealer cult can gain enough power to dismantle a planet's defenses and destroy government infrastructures. Which is exactly the point. The goal, ultimately, is to leave the world vulnerable to a full-on tyranid invasion, essentially using parasitism to aid a predator. They can spread across an entire world without being noticed until it's too late.

The one silver lining, if it can be called that, is that genestealers are usually confined to a single planet. Once the final stage is complete, the genestealer and all its hybrid offspring are consumed as biomass along with everything else, rendering them incapable of spreading further. 

Xenomorphs (Alien)

The titular aliens from Alien function as both parasites and predators. As predators, they are apex hunters. A single fully-grown xenomorph can decimate a group of humans in a matter of hours. A whole colony can be too much even for a group of heavily armed colonial marines. Xenomorphs are great at using their environments to ambush their prey. It doesn't help that they're intelligent and fully capable of strategizing. 

As parasites, on the other hand, they have a messy reproductive cycle involving the infamous and aptly named facehugger and chestburster. The facehugger attaches itself to the host's head and shoves a tube down their throat through which it places the chestburster. Once that's fully grown, the chestburster will violently tear its way out of the host's body, killing them in the process.

As if that weren't bad enough, the facehugger has a cruel trick. It exploits the empathy of others to deter any effort at removal. It tightens its grip on the host's neck if any attempt its made at pulling it off. And the highly corrosive blood prevents it from being cut off without risking grievous harm to the host, the cutter, and any bystanders. Facehuggers can also burn through glass, so wearing a space suit won't offer any protection.

The good news is the facehugger alone isn't contagious. A single facehugger will attach itself to one host and die upon successfully implanting the embryo, so anyone around the host is unlikely to be infected. At least, that's if there's only one of them. While removing the facehugger is a huge gamble at best, it is at least theoretically possible to remove the chestburster via surgery if it is spotted early enough. 

To really get going, xenomorphs need to mass produce eggs... which is exactly what they do. The crew of Nostromo found hundreds of eggs, but were fortunate enough to only see one actually hatch. The settlers at LV-426, fifty-seven years later, weren't so lucky. However, this requires the establishment of a queen and a sufficient supply of potential hosts. While effective, this does take time and requires xenomorphs to jump through a few hoops before they can reach the level of other parasites. 

Zerg (Starcraft)

The Zerg are driven by an endless quest to achieve genetic perfection. To that end, they have an unusual biological quirk- an ability to consume other organisms and absorb their genes. This ability makes them highly adaptable to different environments, including outer space. By taking traits from other species, Zerg can produce a variety of different units for different tasks. There are even zerg who have evolved to act as living spaceships, facilitating interstellar travel. 

Naturally, they spread very easily and can consume entire worlds given the opportunity. While it is possible to resist them, this is easier said than done. They are extremely durable and resistant to most conventional weapons, and their sheer numbers can be overwhelming. There's a reason they are often referred to as a swarm.

Luckily, there is one thing that's stopped them from consuming the galaxy outright. They are pragmatic and can be reasoned with. Under the right circumstances, they can form alliances and make an uneasy truce with other races. And even uphold that truce. They were even open-minded enough to make a human their queen. While certainly not an easy thing to broker, it is more than can be said for a lot of parasites.

Mnggall-Mnggal (Star Wars)

Note: This may or may not be an actual image of Mngall-Mnggnal. It's been alternately labelled as Mgnall-Mnggal and a DND monster named Jubilex, and I have been unable to find the picture's original source, so I can't confirm which it is.

What I said earlier about parasites not being to blame for their actions? Yeah, that all goes out the window with Mnggal-Mnggal- a parasitic creature so twisted and evil, you could probably be forgiven for thinking this was Warhammer 40k's answer to the Thing instead of something out of Star Wars. What makes mnggall-mnggal particularly sick is its malevolence. It doesn't just parasitize to survive; it revels in it. It loves tormenting its hosts and using them to play mind games.

Mnggal-mnggal is essentially a sentient fluid, which makes it easy to infect a potential host. It commonly appears as a seemingly inert pool of black goo, waiting for a potential host. When one appears, it will splash the unfortunate victim, quickly sliding into any opening it can find in the body. A single drop will be more than enough to be lethal. mnggal-mnggalwill begin eating the host's body from the inside out, breaking down organs, tissue, and bone, until only the outer flesh remains. It will then continue to puppet its host until their body inevitably decays. 

This does make mnggal-mnggal easy to spot if one knows where to look. Zombified hosts have several obvious signs. However, what makes mnggal-mnggal dangerous is it's intelligence and desire for cruelty. It won't just infect anything in sight, it will actively communicate with them. mnggal-mnggal will offer lost secrets and forbidden knowledge that it may or may not actually have. One of its favorite tactics is to possess children and then sic their zombified remains on their parents. Some go as far as to suggest it doesn't even need to feed on its hosts and acts purely for fun. It even collects trophies in the form of shipwrecks orbiting its apparent homeworld of Mugg Fallow.

Judging by the state of their homeworld, which is completely taken over with mnggal-mnggal having destroyed just about everything, it can easily take over an entire planet. And has probably done this across several worlds. It also has a very simple mechanism for spreading. Once a host is taken, their remains can easily be used as a vector for spreading the goo to others. Gnall-Gnall can also use its hosts to pilot ships, so spreading to other worlds isn't a problem either. 

An important detail to keep in mind is the mnggal-mnggal isn't a species in the traditional sense. It's actually more like a single organism. Every instance ultimately connects to the same hive mind, making it great at co-ordination to the point where zombified hosts will often act in unison. 

Luckily, it is possible, if difficult, to quarantine mnggal-mnggal. It's bad enough that the Chiss are willing to pay handsomely for anyone open to purging an infected world. Full eradication is possible in theory, but nobody's come up with a plan for how to safely approach Mugg Fallow and destroy it at the source. And even then it's hard to say if that would be enough to destroy mnggal-mnggal for good.

The Thing (The Thing)

The titular monster of John Carpenter's 1982 sci-fi horror classic The Thing was described as "the ultimate in alien terror" for a reason. Xenomorph infections are bad enough, but at least their victims can be identified with some level of reliability. Actually, dealing with the infection is another matter, but usually the presence of a facehugger makes it easy to tell who was infected. Not so much the case for The Thing. 

The Thing is an alien that not only infects and consumes its hosts, but also replaces their bodies with an identical copy. There are a few ways it can do this, but ultimately, its greatest strength is discretion. The ability to perfectly copy its host allows the Thing to easily blend into any environment and spread unnoticed. 

Once it gets going, the Thing is really hard to eradicate, because all it needs is a single cell. While an individual instance of the Thing can be defeated by a flamethrower or explosives, it remains a threat so long as any cellular activity remains. And even when one instance is dealt with, its rapid spread and built-in survival instincts make it easy for smaller pieces to break off and escape. 

But what makes the Thing especially dangerous is its intelligence. It doesn't just spread to whoever's nearby; it studies its targets and strategically decides who to infect. This intelligence can be used to exploit the inevitable paranoia of its victims and manipulate them against one another. It even has the knowledge to build its own transportation using whatever bits and pieces of machinery are available.

Left unchecked, the Thing could easily assimilate every organic lifeform on Earth in a few days at the most, and that's just the latest in what is probably a long chain of planets. Given sufficient means of travel, the Thing could spread across the galaxy and maybe even further. 

X Parasite (Metroid)

Metroid's X Parasite is a gelatinous organism that consumes its hosts and replaces them with an identical copy, similar to the Thing. In their base form, X Parasites look like large blobs, usually yellow though variations in other colors exist. In this state, they are really hard to kill, simply because it's hard to actually do any meaningful damage. But it gets worse when they actually infect a host. 

As a gelatinous lifeform, the X Parasite can easily squirm into the cracks of any armor and absorb itself into the host's body. They seize control of the host's nervous system and then begin reproducing. Each copy of the X Parasite begins taking over more and more of the victim's body, absorbing their DNA. When the process is finished, the host is replaced with a nearly identical copy. It will look like the original host, while also inheriting all their skills and memories. Just about everything short of emotions. 

Unsurprisingly, the X Parasite can spread really fast, especially if it gets the right host. The entire infection process only takes a few seconds. For the Chozo, it got so bad that they had to genetically engineer a predatory organism to keep it at bay- this is literally the entire reason Metroids exist. And even they couldn't completely wipe it out. 

Voidworms (Stellaris)

If some of the parasites above seem frightening, how about one that consumes entire planets? While many of the previous entries, like the Thing or Seed Pods, and the Genestealers, could easily take over a planet given the chance, they still have to infect on an individual level. That usually means gradually infecting hosts one at a time. World domination doesn't happen straight away, and there is at least theoretically time to identify and stop them. That all goes out the window for voidworms. 

These space leeches travel across the galaxy looking for planets occupied by biological life forms. When they find a suitable world, they bombard it with spores, quickly overwhelming and easily infecting any living organisms on the surface, whose bodies become incubators for the worm's young. Eventually, they emerge from their hosts as nymphs and leave the planet, continuing the cycle.

While they don't appear to have the intelligence of other species, their ability to mass infect an entire planet gives them a firm reproductive advantage. It is possible to develop a cure to the infection and even an immunity, but this takes time- easily enough for the infection to spread before a cure can get anywhere near completion.

Another thing that makes voidworms especially dangerous- they can travel through the vacuum of space. Keep in mind that other examples, like the Thing or even mnggal-mnggal, still need to either build their own transport or exploit their host's technology. Voidworms can travel through space unimpeded and, while not indestructible, become formidable opponents when allowed to grow to their full size.  

The Flood (Halo)

The parasitic menace known as the Flood is basically responsible for setting the entirety of Halo into motion. This parasite mainly transmits itself through airborne spores, which are then breathed in by other species, allowing their bodies to be taken over and mutated. There are several different forms that mutation can take, but they all serve the same basic purpose of spreading the infection by whatever means available. The use of spores make it easy to spread and infect multiple hosts at a time. 

That alone would be bad enough, but it gets worse. The flood considers intelligent species a primary target because it can learn from each host's mind. When a host is infected, the flood gets access to their mind. It can read their memories and access everything they know. The more intelligent hosts consumed, the more it learns. This allows the flood to become a lot more organized and strategic. Once it starts forming a gravemind, the Flood can start using advanced battle tactics and even play conflicting sides against one another for its own ends. 

This already happened once before. The flood became so widespread that the Forerunners had to turn to an extreme solution. The only way to stop it was to use the Halo Arrays, a collection of superweapons powerful enough to wipe out all life in the galaxy. While Chief is able to prevent that happening a second time, they come pretty close.

Brethren Moons (Dead Space)

The Brethren Moons are massive aliens, similar in size to the Jovian moons, who have built their entire existence around exploiting the evolutionary patterns of other species. Their method relies on what could be described as a galactic trojan horse, known as the marker. It's like a cruel inversion of the monolith from 2001: A Space Odyssey. Where the monolith acts to further the evolution of other species into an intelligent spacefaring civilization, the marker presents itself to an established spacefaring species and engineers their downfall.

The whole system relies on a common evolutionary pitfall. Each species encounters a problem when it exhausts their homeworld's resources and must travel into space to sustain itself. The Brethren moons offer the marker as an apparent solution- a free and infinite power source, and who's going to say no to that? Even better, they're designed to be easily studied and reproduced. The host species, seeing a perfect solution to their energy problems, will begin making more markers and dispersing them across every planet they've settled. All while failing to realize this is only step one of a bigger, much darker plan.

By becoming an integral part of the host species' society, the markers are able to secretly begin manipulating people around them with electromagnetic frequencies. This begins discreetly, with the marker causing people in proximity to begin experiencing hallucinations. This is used to create chaos which then leaves bodies that can be reanimated as necromorphs, corpses modified into durable killing machines that further the infection. The final stage is a convergence event where all the leftover biomass is brought together and forms into a new Moon.

The biggest advantage the moons have is their ability to mass infect on a level unseen in most parasites, without even touching their hosts. While they are certainly capable of surviving in a vacuum, they don't even need to travel. The use of markers allows them to quickly infect multiple worlds simultaneously, while also taking their host species by surprise. It's already known that they previously destroyed thousands, if not millions, of other civilizations through this process. And each cycle only produces a new moon, adding to their numbers and making them increasingly powerful. 

The only limitation the moons have appears to be a technological one. They can launch markers around the galaxy, but lack the means to actually build them, instead relying on their host species to replicate and spread them across any given civilization. But being as immensely powerful as they are, this is a pretty minor drawback.

Starro (DC Comics)

Now, admittedly, when it comes to this one, the available data can be wildly inconsistent, thanks to DC's tendency to constantly rewrite its own canon. Is he a single entity or part of a larger species? What exactly is the full range of his powers? Is he even truly a villain or more of an anti-hero? It all depends on exactly which version we're looking at across a huge range of comics from different eras, plus movie and TV versions.

That said, Starro is usually portrayed as a ruthless tyrant seeking power and control. To that end, he relies on a seemingly infinite supply of parasitic starfish that can be launched at will. These will attach themselves to a host's face and override their nervous system. The host's free will is suppressed, and their body effectively becomes a drone for Starro's bidding. 

Whether the host can survive this process depends on the version, but Starro can launch thousands of stars at once, and co-ordinate hosts across massive distances unthinkable to most parasites. At his most powerful, Starro has been able to infect and control hosts across nine galaxies. And he has even shown a capability to infect superheroes, having used his mind-control stars on several Justice League members on multiple occasions. 

The Hiss (Control)

The Hiss are an extra-dimensional entity that even managed to overwhelm an entire US government agency dedicated to protecting extra-dimensional threats. The Hiss can infect and assimilate its hosts in an instant, transforming them into tools that further its spread. There are a few different ways hosts can be used, but they all serve the same function. At best, hosts get turned into transmission vectors who constantly perform a mysterious incantation that seems to facilitate their spread. At worst, hosts can turned into weapons, their skills turned on their former allies. Or even worse, the hiss can modify their hosts on a molecular level, twisting and contorting their bodies to whatever serves their purpose.

Some of this might not sound that unusual, but how many parasites can travel across dimensions and spread by literally breaking reality? The Hiss are powerful enough to easily overwhelm and confuse an entire government wing dedicated to dealing with extra-dimensional threats, taking the majority of its personnel almost immediately. Just Containing the hiss was only made possible by intervention from another equally powerful entity, and even that took massive foresight and extensive research from their head scientist.  If not for Polaris, the Hiss would easily have overtaken the world and probably continued spreading, maybe even destroying the universe as they have in other realities.

No other entity on this list has the power to deal the amount of damage the Hiss can do when allowed to run wild. This easily makes them the deadliest parasite there is.

A Bunch of Great Warhammer 40k Game Concepts (Games Workshop, please call me)

Warhammer 40k has a long history with video games, perhaps fittingly since it originated as a tabletop game. They don't always work perfectly, but when they do, the franchise has come up with some truly impressive titles. And there has been a pretty good streak of successful games in recent years- Space Marine 2, Boltgun, Rogue Trader, even the mobile game Tacticus. But a lot of these games have barely scratched the surface of the franchise's notoriously bleak universe.

The more I deep dive into Warhammer 40k lore, the more I start to find myself noticing things that could make really interesting games, yet remain untouched. I start to have really cool ideas for video games that sound really interesting, if only I actually understood game production and knew how to get the rights. So I'd like to present a collection of ideas I've had for 40k games that I think could make something really interesting. 

Games Workshop, if you're reading this, please take these ideas. Take all of them. Take them and put your best people on them. You don't even have to pay me for suggesting these; giving me credit is enough. Just make them happen!

Note: I'm deliberately avoiding any ideas centered around Space Marines. While there is certainly lots of untapped potential around them, they have been done so much already, and I'd like to propose something different.

Adeptus Custodes Hack n' Slash

It's not hard to see what makes the Space Marines so interesting to Warhammer 40k fans. They're genetically augmented super soldiers built to take on the worst of an unforgiving galaxy. But if we're going to go that route, why not go even bigger? After all there is one faction that is even bigger and tougher than Space Marines- the Adeptus Custodes. These golden-armored warriors are usually around 9 ft tall, easily dwarfing most Space Marines. And when they appear, it's a sign that things are really bad.

If Space Marine 2's main selling point was playing as a genetically augmented super-soldier, playing as a custode would take that to a whole new level. Players would get to be the one thing that's bigger and tougher than a space marine (at least within the ranks of the Imperium). This would mean being able to blast through monsters that could easily overwhelm someone like Titus. 

Another fun detail about the Custodes is they are the Emperor's personal guard, so playing as one would be an opportunity to bring one of 40k's key locations outside the realm of concept art and into an immersive 3D environment. The Imperial Palace is the seat of power for all of humanity. A Custode game could actually explore this place and some of its mysteries, maybe even feature an appearance by the Emperor himself (or what's left of him, anyway). 

That said, there is an aspect in which a Custode game could do more than just feel like playing as super space marines, and that would be focusing on their differing combat style. Space Marine 2 allowed a pretty solid range of melee weapons, but it was ultimately a shooter. A custode game would be the opposite. 

While they are definitely capable of using firearms and explosives, the Adeptus Custodes primarily use melee combat. So a game centered around them would logically be more of a hack-and-slash than a shooter. This would create a much more distinct experience from the Space Marine games. 

While Custodes could theoretically work at any point in the timeline, a game centered on them would be a great opportunity to explore the Horus Heresy, a Civil War which came closer than anyone before or since to destroying the Imperium. Playing as a Custode experiencing one of the biggest genre-defining moments of the franchise would be a great selling point.

Adeptus Mechanicus RPG

The Adeptus Mechanicus is one of the more peculiar factions in the Imperium. They are a techno-cult from Mars that has a... peculiar relationship to technology. They'll build marvels of engineering but also feel the need to bless it with incense and elaborate rituals. This goes beyond mere superstition, with "machine spirits" actually being a thing in this world, but it definitely looks strange to any modern engineer. The only thing is that they can't actually innovate, at least not openly. Instead, they have to scavenge and rediscover old pieces of lost technology. 

And here's where things get messy, since one of Adeptus Mechanicus' core beliefs is the inherent weakness of the human body and the need to ascend through technical augmentation. On the more moderate side, this basically means digging circuit boards out of the trash and shoving them into your body to see what happens, and becoming a cyborg. The more fanatical ones do that so much they don't have a body left, becoming more like a brain encased in a machine. 

Now the Mechanicus have appeared in games before. They did have a notable role in Space Marine 2 and, unsurprisingly, they starred in Mechanicus 1 and 2. But there hasn't really been a game that's taken full advantage of their strange beliefs. An RPG could have some fun with this, casting the player as a new initiate into the cult and putting an emphasis on scavenging parts. An RPG could allow the player to experiment with different types of upgrades, essentially customizing their augmentations for different playstyles. We've seen this kind of thing work before in games like Cyberpunk 2077, though a mechanicus RPG would probably be a lot more extreme in this regard.

Another fun detail- there are some interesting philosophical questions that could be explored with this setup. Questions about what it means to be human, and how far the player is willing to go to achieve their full potential. This could even be a mechanic in the game, where the player is given the choice to dive deeper into mechanical augmentations or try to retain some of their humanity, with pros and cons both ways. 

Cadian Tactical Shooter

On the flipside, it might be refreshing to do a game where you play as a regular human. Let's face it, sci-fi games centered around playing a genetically augmented supersoldier are becoming a tired cliche. From the Space Marines to Halo's Master Chief, it's been done a lot. What about changing things up and instead playing a game where you get the experience of being one of those supporting NPCs who lack all the fancy modifications. 

In the context of Warhammer 40k, even the normal humans have to be tough to survive its unforgiving universe. And few exemplify that resilience quite like the Cadians. As many like to say, their homeworld broke before they did. The Cadians are easily among the most versatile and experienced factions when it comes to warfare, yet they often get reduced to the background as support for Space Marines. Putting them front and center would offer a unique experience.

For one thing, playing as a Cadian would allow players to see the 40k universe in a new light, since we could see how it looks to a regular human without all the fancy gene seed upgrades. This would make a lot of encounters more daunting, and more challenging. But that opens up a new angle for a Cadian game- greater focus on tactics. After all, Warhammer 40k is supposed to be a tactical game, is it not?

A logical way to do a Cadian shooter would be to put an emphasis on caution and strategy, possibly following in a similar vein to the Ghost Recon series. The player is cast as the leader of a Cadian squad tasked with daunting objectives. You can't just go charging in and opening fire, you'd actually have to evaluate the situation and determine the best strategy. It would be harder, but that might make it a lot more satisfying when the Cadians actually manage to take down a Carnifex.

The great thing here is Cadians are trained to be versatile, which leaves room for the player to experiment with different playstyles. They could experiment with more aggressive techniques or go for a quiet stealth-based approach. It could even mean experimenting with different weapons, vehicles, and squadmates to find the right combination. 

Death Korps of Krieg

The Death Korps of Krieg is an intriguing faction with a messed-up history. Long ago, there was a rebellion that led to a civil war. And now the descendants of those who fought at Krieg are forced to perpetually "atone" for their actions. And of course, atonement can only be achieved by fighting and dying for the Emperor. 

This often gets exaggerated into the Krieg recklessly charging into danger in the hopes of getting killed, which isn't entirely correct. More accurately, they're trained to work in hostile environments and produce maximum results with minimal resources, and conditioned to be willing to put their lives on the line if the situation calls for it. 

This is actually a pretty good setup for a game. A campaign centered around Krieg could emphasize three major things- squad-based gameplay, brutal fighting conditions and limited resources. This would make combat a lot harder, since the player would have to find unconventional ways of dealing with problems and occasionally improvise or use the environment to their advantage. 

Another thing about Krieg is that they have a very distinct aesthetic that would help the game stand out. One of the big things that allowed this faction to resonate with players is their WWI-inspired design, which extends to their weapons and tactics. A skilled design team could really take advantage of this to create some amazing visuals.

There is also a practical side to doing a game about the Death Korps of Krieg. They almost always wear gas masks, so focusing on them would mean significantly less work on facial animations, something that's often a daunting prospect even under the best working conditions.

Orders Hospitaller Simulator

Orders Hospitaller is a unique faction within the Adeptus Sororitas, being one of the few orders that aren't combat-focused. Of course they can still be ruthless towards enemies of the Imperium, and being capable of self-defense is essential in 40k's unforgiving galaxy, it's just not their primary objective. Instead, they serve as the closest thing 40k has to first responders, providing valuable medical care and aid relief. And this could actually make an interesting spin on the franchise.

It comes as no surprise that war plays a big part in Warhammer 40k, but there is a lot more to fighting a war than just shooting enemies. Like, for example, being able to provide medical aid to soldiers. And this would be where a game centered around Orders Hospitaller could do something interesting. It would still fit thematically- there is still war happening, the player is an active part of the war effort, and they are helping people who have been affected by war.

A game centered around Orders Hospitaller would shift gears by moving away from front-line combat to acting more like search and rescue or field medics. Gameplay would probably be focused more on navigating war zones and treating wounded soldiers or rescuing civilians from disaster (which, again, was probably caused by all that war). 

 Of course, it wouldn't need to forego combat entirely. No doubt the protagonist would occasionally need to defend herself against any number of threats. There could even be moments where she has to take up arms to protect her sisters or patients, or occasionally deal with a heretic in the ranks. The point is, it would be a game about war where shooting wouldn't be the central focus. While perhaps an unconventional approach, it actually could make for a truly unique game within the franchise.

Sisters of Battle Shooter

Space Marine 2 was a huge success, and a masterpiece in a lot of aspects. But it did have the downside of being very male-dominated in a franchise that already has a reputation for hypermasculinity. There weren't a lot of female characters in the campaign and the ones it did have didn't get a lot of screentime. This does make a degree of sense, seeing as its primary focus is on the Astartes, a faction that is explicitly all-male in the lore. While it might have been nice to see more of Major Sarkanna, it was ultimately Titus' story. 

However, what if there was another faction we could do that might be a little less... masculine? Something similar enough to the Space Marines to adopt a lot of the same gameplay but distinct enough to still be its own experience? Like maybe a female counterpart to the Space Marines... oh wait, there is! The Sisters of Battle are the closest thing Warhammer 40k has to female space marines, and they're sometimes framed as a counterpart. 

A game centered around the Sisters of Battle could likely work with a similar structure to Space Marine 2. You could have your central protagonist accompanied by two of her sisters, with an emphasis on the dynamic between them and optional co-op. They use a lot of the same weapons as well. You would still have your bolters, flamers, grenades, chainswords, so gameplay wouldn't be too far off. 

But there is one thing about playing as the Sisters of Battle that would make it distinct from playing as a Space Marine- you're not playing as a super soldier. While well-trained and ruthlessly effective, the Sisters of Battle lack the genetic upgrades of their male counterparts. This game could take advantage of a change in scale, adopting similar basic mechanics while recognizing the Sisters are around half the size of titus and therefore need to adopt different tactics when taking on the same enemies. And managing to take down something like a carnifex that is usually able to go toe to toe with a Space Marine would definitely feel pretty satisfying.

Sisters of Silence Stealth Game

The Sisters of Silence are a curious faction who certainly live up to their name. The name has a double meaning. For one thing, they are literally silent, as in they never speak. Becoming one requires an extreme vow of silence. They also act as assassins who rely on stealth and cunning to reach their targets, rather than a direct assault. And this is where the potential starts to manifest. There hasn't really been a Warhammer 40k stealth game, and the Sisters of Silence are practically tailor-made for such a project.

The obvious structure would be to do something in the vein of either Hitman or Dishonored, where the player is assigned an objective and placed into an open-ish world that leaves them different options on how to accomplish it. The Sisters do come with some crazy powers that could also be incorporated into gameplay, most notably they can disrupt the powers of psykers just by being in proximity. How is this not already a game?

The other fun thing with the Sisters of Silence is an opportunity to explore one of the key defining moments of 40k's history. While this could work at any point in the timeline, they had an especially prominent role during the Horus Heresy, a brutal Civil War that broke the galaxy. Playing as a sister of Battle who does sabotage and assassinations against Horus's forces would be a great framework for exploring such a defining moment in the lore.

Tallarn Guerrilla Experience

The Tallarn Desert Raiders are an underrated piece of the Imperium that doesn't get much attention, which is unfortunate because they are quite unique. Inspired by the Fremen of Dune, Tallarn is built around guerrilla warfare, which could actually be a pretty good setup for gameplay. Aside from bringing a lesser-known faction into the spotlight, a game centered around Tallarn would still fit with the themes of Warhammer 40k but offer a very different style of combat to other factions. 

With their specialty being in Guerrilla Warfare, a Tallarn-focused game would logically be put more emphasis on stealth and strategy. Players would need to carefully evaluate each objective and figure out the best way to get maximum results quickly and efficiently. And, depending on the circumstances, there might be various ways of doing that. Perhaps a bit of sabotage to weaken their defenses is in order, or a carefully timed explosion, or maybe you just need to know where they're going to be and set a trap.

Ghost Recon Wildlands might be a good point of reference for how a Tallarn game could work. A squad-based game where the player has to strategically make use of the available resources is a good approach. Maybe they could have a few different specialists to choose from for different strategies. Alternatively, something more in the vein of Sniper Elite, where the player is thrown into the meatgrinder and left to experiment with different strategies could also work.

Tomb Raider-Style Action Adventure Game

The universe of Warhammer 40k has a pretty complicated history, one full of mystery and dread. Just among humans, there's the whole Dark Age of Technology before the rise of the Imperium (which itself has existed for a few thousand years in some form). But the full timeline goes back well before humanity existed, with the earliest recorded event being a galaxy-breaking conflict known as the War in Heaven. And there might be some things even older than that, like the enigmatic Blackstone Fortress.

The point is the galaxy has a crazy past and uncovering old ruins and relics is already a common theme in Warhammer 40k, so why not use that as a framework for exploring some of that history in more detail? An action-adventure puzzle game in the style of Tomb Raider or Uncharted could be a fun way to do that, while also offering something a bit different. 

The premise could involve an archaeologist exploring old ruins while searching for a powerful artifact. It could be a human researcher seeking technology they think would aid the Imperium, or maybe a mechanicus tech-priest looking for knowledge. Either way, they would be searching through ancient structures and uncovering pieces of history, and, as happens a lot in 40k, a much greater danger. 

As for what they're investigating... well, take your pick. The Horus Heresy is already a thousand years ago at the current point in the timeline, and that's on the more recent end of things. There's the Dark Age of Technology, Necron Tombworlds, the Blackstone Fortress (itself an enigmatic mystery that could work great with Tomb Raider-esque puzzles), and anything leftover from the Aeldari empire.

But if you want to go really far back, why not use this as a way to explore the War in Heaven? It basically set everything in motion, but it's never really been shown. This approach could be an interesting way to tell a story around that conflict. Some of that fancy ancient technology could even be used to create flashbacks and let players experience actual moments of the infamous conflict.

And it might sound weird to do a puzzle game in Warhammer but that could still work. There could still be conflict, perhaps our protagonist is dealing with an opposing faction or one of the many xenos who are also competing for the same artifact? But thematically, it would still make sense on the grounds that it's exploring how war shaped the galaxy.

Tyranid Hive Simulator

Of all the alien species introduced in Warhammer 40k, tyranids are easily some of the most terrifying creatures. The easiest way to describe them would be something like the Xenomorphs of Alien, except somehow worse. They are a predatory hive mind whose only objective is to consume everything in their path. But the real danger is their intelligence. While their goals may be simple, tyranids are capable of elaborate battle tactics and espionage, and they have access to some advanced technology. And this is where a game could find some interesting opportunities. 

The thing to really take advantage of is the hive mind. In a way, the player is controlling the whole swarm. A fun way to do this would be to cast them as a hive tyrant, a sort of controller organism that acts like a commanding officer. Except instead of just giving orders, playing a hive tyrant would make it possible to directly control, and swap between, different types of tyranids. This would allow an interesting approach that could mix a shooter and real-time strategy format and put a lot more emphasis on their tactics.

There also hasn't been much that actually shows their perspective. Tyranids are usually portrayed as antagonists, so it would be an interesting shift to see what it's actually like to be them, especially if it had made a compelling story that actually makes the hive somewhat relatable, or at least understandable. Or at least allows players to have fun controlling supersized monsters and terrorizing the galaxy.

Imperium Team-Up

A common thread through all these suggestions is that a lot of them are, ultimately, part of the same Imperium. We have all these different groups we're  used to thinking of as separate factions- the Space Marines, Custodes, Sisters of Battle, Cadians, Death Korps, etc. But at the end of the day are they not all serving the same emperor? Sure, they may still have drastically different values and ideas of how to serve the Emperor, but that could still be a good source of conflict for a story. 

So why not bring a bunch of them together? Not just as different types of armies, but as a character-driven story around people brought together by unexpected circumstances who have to settle their differences for a common goal. Here's the setup: the Imperium sends a bunch of its forces on a critical mission, but things go bad (as happens a lot in 40k). Almost everyone is killed, save a few survivors who are reluctantly brought together and realize it is there duty to finish the job.

So here's what I'm thinking- a shooter using a similar structure to Borderlands where there are multiple playable characters and options for both single-player and co-op. Each playable character would come from a different part of the Imperium and therefore be tailored to a different playstyle.

So if, for instance, the playable roster included members of the Space Marines, Sisters of Battle, Cadians, Death Korps, and Tallarn Desert Raiders, each one could have different strengths and weaknesses. A Space Marine could be good for confronting larger enemies, while a Sister could be more agile and better at targeting weak points. Meanwhile, a Tallarn desert raider could focus on support through stealth and ambush tactics, and a Cadian could be portrayed as versatile.

And as far as the story goes, there's a lot of potential conflict just from the characters settling their differences. There is, canonically, already a rift between Sisters of Battle and Space Marines they would need to overcome. The Space Marine's interactions with the others could vary widely depending on which chapter he belongs to. An Ultramarine or Salamander will be a lot more amenable to working with normal humans than a Black Templar or Blood Angel. 

To Be a Free Man: Understanding the Futility of Freedom in Half-Life

The full Half-Life series currently comprises two main games, a series of expansions to the first installment, and two episodes continuing the story of the second game. The gameplay is fairly simple, focusing on a mix of first-person shooter action and problem-solving that usually require the player character to get from once place to another while avoiding obstacles and enemies.

In the first game, the player assumes the role of Gordon Freeman, a scientist newly hired at the Black Mesa laboratory. Shortly after his arrival, an experiment goes wrong causing a resonance cascade that results in the laboratory being infested by aliens from another dimension. Gordon then finds himself battling through both aliens and marines sent to cover up the disaster eventually travelling to the dimension of Xen where he defeats the nihilanth (the apparent "boss alien"). Half-Life 2 picks up twenty years later, where the world has been taken over by a ruthless alien race known as the Combine, and Gordon Freeman becomes the leader of a revolution.

But this is where the situation gets more complicated. The themes of freedom and liberation are hardly subtle. It's even reflected in the protagonist's name: Gordon FREEman. Yet the irony is that Gordon Freeman, the so-called "One Free Man" is never truly free. He is constantly subordinated to someone or something in what seems to be a never-ending chain of command. Throughout the series, Gordon Freeman is constantly under the thumb of a mysterious figure of authority. The true identity of this unnamed man remains a mystery still debated among fans of the games. Numerous fan theories exist to explain his apparently metaphysical presence, and the uncertainty of whether he's even human.

However, the identity of this character, known in the community as "G-Man" (derived from his filename) is ultimately not as important as what he represents to the world of Half-Life. Whoever this guy is is ultimately irrelevant. What matters is that he is the puppet master behind Gordon Freeman. Whatever his endgoals are, and for better or worse, he displays a firm investment in Freeman's activities and appears to be working toward specific outcomes (even if to what end remains unclear). Throughout both Half-Life and Half-Life 2 G-Man makes routine cameos where he appears to be observing Gordon, or otherwise taking an interest in the setting. Both games also see G-Man congratulating Gordon for his efforts, implying that the player did indeed produce G-Man's desired outcome.

At the end of Half-Life, G-Man appears to offer Gordon a "job opportunity," yet the game implies that this is not a choice on Gordon's part. G-Man appears to consider Gordon a valuable asset for reasons unclear and wants to make use of him again, and subsequently puts him into stasis until the events of Half-Life 2. In that game, G-Man once again awakens Gordon, only to once again suspend him in stasis as the film's conclusion after, once again, Gordon has produced the desired outcome. G-Man has essentially enslaved Gordon and is treating him like one might a tool, literally the same way one might treat a hammer or a screwdriver. Gordon is taken out when he is needed, but when he is no longer useful he is placed back into stasis, a sort of "toolbox" where he is stored until such a time as he is needed again.

This adds a peculiar irony to the events of Half-Life 2, where Gordon is drawn into the resistance against the oppressive Combine. He becomes a beacon of freedom towards everyone. The vortigaunts, once enslaved by the antagonists of the first game, now happily aid Freeman. By the end of the game resistance members eagerly follow him and place their trust in his leadership. But is this really freedom? Or are we only seeing a transition from one handler to another?

As the player already knows, Gordon is trapped under the thumb of G-Man, with no clear means of escape (this is accomplished in Half-Life 2: Episode 1, but G-Man's reaction suggests this is little more than a temporary setback). And yet the vortigaunts are calling him the "One Free Man," a moniker the player knows to be false. In short, Gordon Freeman, the leader of the freedom fighters is himself under the control of someone else, only he is given strings that can be seen by nobody else.

The futility of Gordon's efforts at freedom is further reinforced by the decision of Valve to treat him as a silent protagonist. Throughout the series Gordon never speaks a single word, not even so much as a grunt. The series is also experienced in the first-person- Gordon's face is only ever seen on the game boxes and posters. This deprives Gordon the chance to express himself in any meaningful way. By keeping him from speaking, Gordon is unable to share his thoughts or opinions on any issue. The first-person perspective prevents him from emoting. This is also fitting as there is another dimension to his character.

G-Man is not the only one manipulating Gordon. He is also being controlled more directly by someone else- the player. Every action Gordon performs is up to the player. Gordon's movements are based on the actions of a figure who, within the diegesis, shouldn't even exist. As a silent protagonist whose story is seen in the first person, he never gets a chance to properly share any independent thought, personality, or emotions. They are whatever the player decides them to be. So even when Gordon is released from G-Man's grip by the vortigaunts, he is never released from the player's.

Furthermore, in addition to the players, Gordon's path and actions are dictated by the game's writers and developers. His movements are controlled by an entity he doesn't know exists, and his story is scripted. Freeman is therefore perhaps the least free of all the cast of Half-Life, without so much as a means to share or even indicate any real independent thought. Gordon is a puppet on three different fronts, and he can only recognize the strings of one of his puppet masters. He is about as far from a "free man" as can be imagined.

And yet, the contradiction of the so-called "Free Man" and his constant imprisonment is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the themes of control. While Gordon Freeman is indeed being manipulated by forces he can't control, he also has puppets of his own in the form of his apparent allies. Part way through Half-Life 2 one of the Vortigaunts provides Gordon a means of controlling the antlions (a hive-minded race of insectoid aliens) by harvesting Pheropods. As a result, the antlions become Gordon's personal army.

Now the puppet has become a puppeteer. The antlions under Gordon's control blindly follow his orders, taking on enemies and being ready to get themselves killed on mass just to protect Gordon. Just as Gordon cannot see that he is being controlled by the player, now the antlions become his unwitting servants, fighting and dying for him all while being unable to see or even comprehend the strings that are manipulating them.

Once Gordon reaches the levels Anticitizen One and Follow Freeman, the antlions are replaced by human resistance members. "Hey everybody," the rebels yell as they join him, "Follow Freeman!" These are freedom fighters, driven by a desire to end the oppression of the Combine and liberate humanity, but in fact they are now Gordon's servants. He can instruct them on where to go, when to hold position, when to follow, and they obey his orders.

These people are devoting themselves to following Freeman, meaning they are in fact becoming his puppets. Just as Freeman is being manipulated by G-Man, now he manipulates the resistance. The only difference is that the resistance can't see that they're being controlled, and that they are not truly free.

And yet this is only what is seen through the perspective of Freeman himself. Let us shift our perspective for a moment and consider the character of the so-called "G-Man." We never do find out exactly who he is or what his intentions are, beyond that he seems to have an investment in Gordon's success and the implication that he may not be entirely human. He is even shown to be able to freeze time itself. It is obvious that G-Man is a powerful figure, perhaps moreso than even Gordon could begin to understand. When he is not directly obverving Freeman, he is seen interacting with other characters in ambiguous conversations. The expansion Opposing Force even implies that G-Man was the one who sent the marines into Black Mesa. This would seem to suggest he is a boss figure of some sort, the man in control of everything...

Except that is not in fact what he is. He may appear this way as far as any human is concerned, but one important detail is G-Man's references to his "employers." Who G-Man works for is an even bigger mystery than the man himself, but it is clear that he is working for someone. This is not some all-powerful being manipulating everything for his own personal gain, but an agent or employee acting on behalf of an even bigger party, someone so high up that we have no idea who they even are. This means that G-Man may in fact have no more control over anything that goes on than Gordon himself, and his actions are mainly conducted to suit the needs of his unknown employers.

This does leave an interesting question to think about. If G-Man is himself being controlled by someone else, whoever they are, is that party also being controlled by someone else? Is this simply a never-ending chain of command, servants controlling servants who control servants? This appears to be the case when one examines Gordon's enemies. In the first game, Freeman is battling a mix of aliens and U.S. Marines. In the second, he is mainly fighting his way through the Combine forces, with a particular emphasis on their human propaganda master Wallace Breen.

Breen is an interesting case study given his status as the "face" of the dystopian world established in Half-Life 2. In keeping with its not-so-subtle Orwellian influence, Breen takes on the role of a "big-brother"-like figure who regularly appears on screens to deliver messages encouraging City 17's residents to be compliant and submit to the Combine authority. Among the city's residents he is a figure of resentment and a symbol of the Combine's oppression. The man basically sold out humanity when the combine first arrived (though this proved the only way to ensure humanity's survival). As a result he has practically enslaved the entire human race, enjoying the privileges of his role as administrator while trying to comfort everyone else with exaggerated claims about the supposed long-term benefits of Combine rule (even referring to them on-camera as "Our Benefactors").

But Breen is himself little more than a puppet for the Combine. His job is simply to go along with whatever they desire and find some way to present it to the human population as a positive move. Under Breen's direction, it is implied that humans are stripped of everything that makes them individuals to turn them into the ruthless metro police and and the soldiers who routinely work to stop Gordon Freeman, but they are ultimately serving the Combine, not Breen. Breen is only a tool used by the Combine to subjugate humanity. He is ultimately using his position of authority to work toward their interests. Once again we a puppet, albeit a puppet who also has puppets of his own.

Curiously, in Half-Life 2: Episode 1 we see the screens once again being used, this time by Dr. Isaac Kleiner. This comes after the revolution started in the previous game, after Breen has been deposed from his position as administrator for humanity. Kleiner instead takes up a suspiciously similar role, even if he is now speaking on behalf of the resistance. We hear him instructing humanity on what to do, and how they should feel about the Combine recognizing them as "malefactors" (echoing Breen's referring to them as "Our Benefactors" throughout Half-Life 2). He even begins providing instructions for any humans who aren't in immediate danger to begin reproducing to re-establish the human race. It leaves us to wonder: is anything really changed? Has the resistance made things better or are we only replacing one authoritarian regime with another?

Likewise, in Half-Life both groups of antagonists are acting on behalf of other authorities. The marines who arrive to cover up the Black Mesa incident are themselves implied to be manipulated by G-Man. They are only acting under orders, not even fully understanding why they have been deployed or to what end they are working. They are only acting under orders, not out of any malevolence to Black Mesa, on a mission that appears to have been meticulously planned by someone well above their level of command.

The aliens that invade Black Mesa have been enslaved by a creature called the Nihilanth, a peculiar telepathic entity that rules the dimension of Xen. The Nihilinth serves as the primary antagonist and ultimately the final boss. But it ultimately turns out that the whole reason the aliens were in Xen to begin with was because they had themselves been enslaved by the Combine (the primary antagonists of the second game). The enslaved had now become the slaver.

Furthermore, the Vortigaunts find themselves in a peculiar position. They were previously enslaved by the Nihilinth until it was defeated by Gordon. This leads to the Vortigaunts developing a particular respect for Freeman, to the point where he takes on an almost messianic quality in their view. They become extremely loyal and willing to do almost anything for the person they have come to know as "The Free Man" (who, as we have established, is not in fact free in any sense). Throughout Half-Life 2 and its episodes the Vortigaunts provide Freeman with various services. This suggests that Gordon did not in fact liberate the Vortigaunts, but that he merely replaced the Nihilanth as their master while they unknowingly continue to be controlled by their own blind loyalty.

Given these patterns, one is left to wonder about the Combine, who at first seemed to be brutal imperialists interested only in domination. We never do find out just who or what runs the full empire, something only alluded to by the transmission sent in Half-Life 2: Episode 1, but what we have seen of the other characters suggests some interesting questions about what might be found if the series had continue or were to be revived. Is it not possible that, given what we've seen, the oppression and brutality exerted by the Combine forces is in fact because they themselves are being controlled by something else?

At the end of the day, we are left with a simple question: what is freedom? What does it mean to be free? Can one ever be truly free or do they just change controllers? These are the questions which the series constantly wrestles. Their answer? Freedom is an abstract concept constructed in our minds, one for which we constantly feel we must strive towards and yet can never truly attain. True freedom is impossible. The closest one can get is the illusion of freedom brought on by strings they cannot see. Everyone is locked in a series of endless chains of command- servants controlling servants controlling servants, in an inter-tangled web of manipulation and control.