Video game characters can be hit or miss. In some instances, they rise above their medium and become iconic to anyone, gamer or not. Mario, Sonic, and Pikachu have reached that echelon. Others are buried within their medium, meaning they only get the public adoration when there’s some sort of adaptation. Think Joel Miller or Lara Croft.
Plenty of characters don’t get adapted and just remain cool video game characters, but they deserve some love, too. Here is a collection of five of the coolest characters you’re liable to meet in any medium; they just so happen to be in gaming (and in no particular order)
A Cool Collection of Video Game Characters
5. Arthur Morgan
Arthur Morgan is perhaps the most legendary video game character of all time. He was not even a consideration when the first Red Dead Redemption game came out, even though plenty of eventual RDR2 characters were in that game. Arthur wasn’t, but Rockstar perfectly worked within those parameters to create one of the best characters ever. It’s a perfect game that maybe shouldn’t be meddled with for TV or movies, but if it did, Arthur’s exposure would go up, and that’d be just fine.
4. Elizabeth Comstock
Elizabeth Comstock is one of those characters that makes an indelible mark without ever being played as. BioShock Infinite players play exclusively as Booker DeWitt, an iconic character in his own right. But the entire game revolves around Elizabeth, who becomes more and more fascinating as the mystery unfolds. She ends up having one incredible story and becoming maybe the coolest side character in video game history.
3. Abby Anderson
It takes incredible guts to do what Naughty Dog did with The Last of Us Part II, killing off the fan-favorite character and then later making players experience a whole half of the game from the killer’s perspective. What results is a tragic tale that really puts both Abby and Ellie in a whole new light, and Joel as well. It results in the most complex and nuanced story, and Abby ends up being a pretty great character despite her rough beginning.
2. Fragile
If you haven’t played Death Stranding, you’re missing out. For one, it’s a fantastic game. For two, it’s filled with rich, deep characters despite it being, in essence, a game about isolation. Fragile is one such character. Sam Bridges gets a lot of love, deservedly so, but among the side characters, Fragile is the best. She’s got the most interesting backstory, most useful ability, and is a delight on-screen every time (thanks to the incomparable Lea Seydoux).
1. Jin Sakai
Ghost of Tsushima‘s protagonist, Jin Sakai, is one of the most legendary video game characters of all time. Within the game’s universe, he becomes a figure of legend who is able to inspire oppressed people to fight back against their violent captors. That alone makes him an awesome character, but his story is so much more than that. He’s searching for identity, grappling with the loss of everything, and trying to come to terms with his new outlook’s clash with his upbringing.
Conclusion
The cast of characters can often make or break the game. If the characters are good, there’s a good chance the game, albeit much more than just its characters, will be good. If a player is meant to spend hours and hours in a certain game world, it’s best if that world has people the player wants to be with. In the case of the above games, the characters are excellent, even if sometimes you don’t get to play as them.
