Here's a classic arcade villain, and quite possibly the most sadistic of the lot. Certainly the most infamous, but that's not why we're here.
What's The Work[]
He made his first appearance in the 1980 arcade game Berzerk, which soon moved to the Atari 2600 console and stayed popular enough to also be part of the Atari 5200 library two years later, get a sequel that same year (known as Frenzy, which was also in the arcade and in the Atari 5200) and even get a board game.
The games featured a Humanoid Warrior, the last of a small group of Earth people who landed on the labirynth-like planet Mazeon, where their spacecraft was immediately destroyed by faceless robots known as Automazeons, the only beings that could live in this uninhabitable planet, led by their creator, a supernatural entity known as Evil Otto.
The humanoid is imprisoned but manages to escape into the mazes that make up this world, full of electrified walls. Evil Otto and the Automazeons chase after him and that's where the original game begins.
Who is the Candidate? What They Did?[]
Evil Otto is a supernatural entity of unknown origin but immense power, described to be mad and merciless, and evidently quite evil as he does nothing but chase after the Humanoid Warrior, bouncing on the ground like a ball and destroying his own minions if they stand in his way, all while donning a somewhat innocent but also somewhat intimidating smile on his face, which is always looking at the player. Even when an Automazeon is destroyed, the explosion is shaped like Evil Otto's face, making it impossible to escape that menacing grin.
The Atari 2600 description states that he will pound the Humanoid Warrior to a lifeless pulp, grinning like a maniac all the while, and that his only hope is to get out of the electrified maze before Evil Otto catches him.
Evil Otto is basically a slasher villain with reality warping powers, you can't really do anything but run. Even in the game modes where he can be put down, much like the more supernatural slashers he will just get back up and continue the chase, and not only that, but move even faster than before, so fighting back isn't an option either.
Freudian Excuse/Mitigating Factors[]
None at all. His own creations are nothing to him.
Heinous Standard[]
There weren't many video game villains from this era who were depicted as being this evil and brutal (talking specifically about villains originating in video games, not ones based on films), the closest equivalent would be Space Invaders (among other generic alien villains like Zylon from Star Raiders), but that's an entire race of extraterrestrials whereas Evil Otto is just one entity of unknown origin and immense power, and unlike the Space Invaders, he would have no trouble if he was in their place, given his ability to create the Automazeons and, naturally, his invincibility.
And while the Space Invaders don't have a defined personality or reason to eliminate mankind (not like they need it), Evil Otto very much does, sadistically killing the last human seemingly only because it brings him joy, plus whereas the Space Invaders are on their way to Earth to destroy all humans, Evil Otto is much closer to succeeding in that goal, since he has killed the last remnant of humanity with only one survivor escaping through the mazes that make up his domain.
Final Verdict[]
An easy yes, I would say.