The definition of an assassin is fairly simple. It’s defined as “a person who commits murder especially one who murders a politically important person either for money or from fanatical adherence to a cause” and that’s what we are going to be talking about today. 

In gaming there has been  a multitude of assassin’s that utilize tools of death like blades, poison, sniper rifles, and even piano wires.

With all of the assassins that have existed in the gaming world, I am going to list down, in my opinion, the most famous assassins to have ever existed in games.

10. Ellie - The Last of Us Part II

“Don’t scream or I’ll shoot”

We have witnessed the transformation of Ellie from The Last of Us series from being a wisecracking 14 year old kid to the army murdering, horde slaying, badass killer that she is today. 

We’re talking about The Last of Us II iteration of Ellie in this list because in the first game she doesn’t do much murdering.

Albeit she helps out Joel, the playable character of the first game, but she doesn't do the main murdering in the first installment.

In the second game though, literal hordes of infected and human enemies have been burned, stabbed, dismembered, shot, and blown up by Ellie on a quest for vengeance.

Trust me, you DO NOT want to be on Ellie’s bad side. She will machete your face off and blow your corpse up just for fun.

Fun fact about Ellie, the tattoo on Ellie’s arm was designed by tattoo artist Natalie Hall.Before being put in the game, it was tested on the arm of UI artist and designer Alexandria Neonakis.

9. Mysterion - South Park: The Fractured But Whole

 Do you know what it feels like to be stabbed? To be shot? Decapitated? Torn apart? Burned? Run over? It's not pretty cool

Who is Mysterion? Is he an undead assassin? Is he a demon sent out to protect South Park? A government agent?

Well.. no. Mysterion is actually Kenny McCormick in disguise. Kenny might be a silent kid in the morning who lives in a trailer park but at night he transforms into the vigilante known as Mysterion.

Mysterion appears in the 2017 game South Park: The Fractured But Whole, which acts as a sequel to the 2014 game South Park: The Stick of Truth. Mysterion sides with the Freedom Pals along with Dr. Timothy, Toolshed, Tupperware, and Wonder Tweek.

In the game he is seen possessing strange powers such as shadow manipulation and a dark energy that he uses for long range combat with enemies.

His main power, as we all know, is that he cannot die but in game even if Mysterion dies he will come back as a ghost and keep on fighting.

Mysterion is named after a 1960s TV series called Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons. Captain Scarlet has the power to reincarnate and regenerate from any injury given by a race of aliens called the Mysterons.

8. The Second Sister - Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order

“I’m stronger now because of the pain”

The sith from the Star Wars franchise are the antithesis of the Jedi Order where they are devoted to the dark side of the force that use hate, deception, and greed as their conduits of power.

In this evil empire of killers, there exists a subgroup known as “sisters” that are tasked to hunt down any remaining Jedi in the galaxy. In Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, we are introduced to the deadliest of the sisters, Trilla Suduri AKA The Second Sister.

The Second Sister was formerly a force sensitive padawan en route to becoming a Jedi but was captured by the galactic empire and was subjected to torture and pain until her psyche broke.

She turned to the dark side and became its deadliest Jedi assassin. 

Trilla was tasked to hunt down the main character of the game, Cal Kestis, and made his life a living hell all throughout the course of the game.

Her strength in the wielding of the force is further amplified by her hatred towards the Jedi and her deadly dual lightsabers.

The Second Sister was actually first seen in a comic book about Darth Vader 2 years prior to the release of the game. She made her on screen debut in 2019 in the game.

7. Nina Williams - Tekken Franchise

“You’ve got a date with death”

Appearing in every installment of the Tekken franchise all the way from the very first game, Nina Williams is one of the most famous faces in the roster. 

Nina is an assassin first sent out to murder Kazuya Mishima but subsequently joined in the Tekken Tournament. She is perpetually put into cryosleep that’s why throughout the years she never seems to age. 

Her fighting style is composed of grapples, holds, and a variation of different throws. Koppojutsu is the name of her main martial art which is the main martial art used by assassins.

One thing to know about Nina is that during her cryosleep, her ovum was taken out of her without her knowledge. The ovum that was taken from her was used to create the world renowned boxer, Steve Fox who first appeared in Tekken 4

6. Jin Sakai - Ghost of Tsushima

“I am not your son.. I am the Ghost”

Samurais have a strict code that is built on honor and justice. Any deviation from that code leads to dishonor and exile from his family and clan.

But when invaders from a far away land wipe out all of his samurai brethren and threaten Jin Sakai’s home, he has no choice but to adapt new tactics that go against the samurai code to fight the Mongol army all on his own.

Jin Sakai is a former samurai lord turned assassin that protects his island of Tsushima and the neighboring island of Iki.

He appears in the astounding 2020 game, Ghost of Tsushima, as the main playable character where he uses his katana to cut down throngs of Mongols along with bombs, kunai, and arrows.

But he also has to contend with his samurai upbringing and his uncle who is a steadfast samurai warrior who chooses to live and die by the samurai code.

Jin’s name translates to “benevolence, compassion, humanity” which perfectly describes how he rules over his people where he chooses to fight for it till his last breath.

5. Ada Wong - Resident Evil Franchise

“I don’t always play by your rules”

One of the most recognizable characters in the Resident Evil franchise is the enigmatic spy and assassin for hire, Ada Wong.

She has gained notoriety amongst all the other characters in the franchise due to her unknown past and often romantic ties with other series favorite, Leon S. Kennedy.

Ada is normally hired by the highest bidder to handle difficult situations and accomplish normally impossible missions. Whether it be political assassinations, specimen retrieval, or even rescue. Ada Wong has the means to do it and more.

True to her secretive nature, Ada Wong is only an alias. Her true name remains a mystery and so do her motivations for her actions.

She describes her various allegiances and missions as a means to an end to her “true purpose” and is not afraid to betray her employers or even her allies to achieve this.

4. Scorpion - Mortal Kombat Franchise

“GET OVER HERE”

Wielding one of gaming's most iconic weapons and with a badass catch phrase to boot. Hanzo Hasashi is better known by his most famous moniker, Scorpion.

Scorpion has appeared in every single Mortal Kombat game since the very first one back in 1992. He is a resurrected ninja from earthrealm that now resides in the netherrealm as an undead ninja assassin hell bent on revenge for the death of his clan and his family.

He wields his iconic rope dart to make his enemies get over here. He also possesses a katana that he can set on fire and teleportation to give his opponents a fiery surprise attack from behind.

He is known for his rivalry with another series regular, Sub Zero. Their rivalry has spanned the entire franchise but has mellowed down over the years as they even started working with each other. 

His iconic “GET OVER HERE” taunt is voiced by the co-creator of Mortal Kombat, Ed Boon himself.

3. Mordecai - Borderlands Franchise

“Ah, another day. Another kill”

Appearing in every Borderlands game in the series, Mordecai first appeared in the original 2009 Borderlands game as “The Hunter”.

He uses his sniper rifle to execute long range assassinations and with the help of his BFF Bloodwing, he uses her for support and reconnaissance for scoping out terrain and intel of enemies.

He first knew of his prowess for long range accuracy at the age of 17 when he joined and won a marksman competition with only the use of a pistol while everyone else used sniper rifles.

Since then he has been racking up kills and contracts and came out alive and on top in every single one.

He first teamed up with the original vault hunters in the 2009 Borderlands game along with Roland, Lilith, and Brick.

He has since split apart from his original team to form a sub team with Brick as they adopted another series regular and fan favorite, Tiny Tina.

Mordecai is proficient with any kind of weapon and is deadly at close range or at a distance. Shotguns, pistols, rifles, rocket launchers, and even knives all become 100 times deadlier at the hands of Pandora’s deadliest marksman.

2. Agent 47 - Hitman Franchise

“Names are for friends, and I don’t need one”

It is a well known fact that being bald means you have immeasurable power in your own respect.

Kratos is the god of war and has the power to murder literal gods, Sagat from Street Fighter can tiger uppercut your head to the sky, and even The Rock who’s appeared in numerous WWE games has the innate ability to be the most detailed character in the roster of every yearly WWE game release.

But few of these big bald bambinos can measure up to the mystique and or skills of Hitman’s Agent 47.

Agent 47 is the top ranked assassin of the world spanning International Contract Agency until he exposed the agency to the public which then ended its existence for good.

Since the dissolution of the ICA, he and his associate Diana Burnwood are now freelance mercenaries on a contract-for-hire basis that goes to the highest bidder.

He is a genetically modified and physically superior human being that allows him to see things at a slower rate while also moving faster than a normal human. He can headshot a room full of 20 enemies before they even have time to raise their weapons.

His genetically enhanced physiology also lets him see tracks and evidence that is not normally seen by even the most hardened detectives and is a master of disguise and his signature Hardballer Longslide Silenced Pistols.

Only two of his targets have survived in his whole career, Mark Faba and his associate Diana.

1. Ezio Auditore da Firenze - Assassin's Creed (The Ezio Trilogy)

‘My name is Ezio Auditore da Firenze, and as my father before me. I am an assassin”

None in gaming history has anyone come close to the legend that Ezio has brought to his franchise and gaming as a whole. 

Throughout his dedicated trilogy in the Assassin’s Creed games we have witnessed him develop from a cocky florentine nobleman during the renaissance to a hero and savior of the literal world due to his shadow missions he operated in along with help from various historical figures including Leonardo da Vinci himself.

He wields the iconic hidden blades on both of his wrists and also utilizes pistols and poison darts. Later in his career he has used a hookblade along with his hidden blades to climb buildings faster. 

He is widely regarded to be the best assassin in the Assassin’s Creed games, even beating out the original series protagonist, Altair.

Even until Valhalla which is the most recent game in the franchise, his influence is still felt with some even speculating he is still alive in the animus.

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