Daniel vs Mandus

[Alardem]

[This was inevitable.]

Which anti-hero did you prefer playing as?

In terms of scale, Mandus easily wins out - he's a vile industrialist dependent on the blood of animals and boys for money even before his self-realization, and ends up tormenting thousands of people following his nihilistic breakdown. It's never made clear how many people Daniel personally tortured and murdered, but even so the dungeons of Brennenburg could never have acquired as many victims as Mandus' Machine did.

Gameplay-wise, I like Mandus more. Simply put, he's a braver man - motivated by a pig-headed love for his sons, his fear and tenuous grasp on sanity never provide frustration for the player. Whenever he's trembling in fear or running in blind panic, it's because I myself feel those emotions and not because of some arbitrary game mechanic.

I have to say that I didn't want either of them to succeed. Daniel was motivated by fear and selfishness - relatable, but not heroic. He was too weak to deal with his own evil, and wanted revenge on Alexander for corrupting himself rather than because Alexander victimized innocents. Mandus, by contrast, is motivated by despair, externalized self-loathing, misanthropy and twisted love. His 'sacrifice' at the end doesn't at all impress me because, ultimately, he could not undo his own actions and may have inadvertently brought about a 20th century more horrific than our own.

TL;DR - I'd go with Mandus for now. He's a creepier protagonist, and also less irritating to play as.