Within the last 20 years or so, video games have become increasingly cinematic. As a result, it has allowed a level of connection to the stories and characters comparable to movies and television. The stories have grown more complex, the worlds more rich, and so on and so forth. I cried multiple times playing Death Stranding 2 just because I was so connected and immersed in its story. However, while some games will get accused of being more like interactive movies due to the fact that they’re so cinematic, games have a very unique way of telling stories. By putting us in control of the character, we feel a deeper connection and are implicated in the character’s actions.
It also makes it feel a bit striking when a protagonist dies. It’s someone you’ve been in control of for many hours. Someone you’ve upgraded, someone you’ve cared for, and someone you’ve felt the struggles of because they were also your struggles. With that said, we’ve rounded up a handful of games where the main character is abruptly killed off.
It should go without saying that there will be spoilers for a bunch of games in this article, and we can’t tell you which ones… because that would be a spoiler in itself. So read on at your own risk!
#6) The Last of Us Part 2
We’re starting off on a big one, but one that is also not going to surprise anyone, either. This is probably the most notable example of a main character dying, even though you technically only play as Joel for a brief moment as he rides on horseback in the game’s opening. However, he was the main protagonist in The Last of Us and fans expected that he would play a pivotal role in the second game. Of course, his death is the shocking catalyst for the story, so you don’t get to play as him ever again.
It’s a rough moment, but one that impacted players deeply, even going as far as making some swear off playing the rest of the game. Even if that may technically be a negative thing, it highlights the intense emotional connection between players and Joel. Whether or not anyone will ever dare to do something this bold in a game ever again remains to be seen, especially since it still makes people pretty angry five years later.
#5) LA Noire
LA Noire is a pretty underrated Rockstar-published game where you play as an LAPD detective in the 1940s. After rising through the ranks of the police department, Cole Phelps becomes a disgraced cop after being exposed for having an affair with a source on a case, creating a public scandal. He gets assigned to the Arson desk where he makes some groundbreaking discoveries about a series of cases, leading him to confront a suspect.
He chases him down into a sewer tunnel that is flooding due to heavy rainfall and sacrifices himself so his friends can escape. It’s a rough end for a cop who never gets his public redemption. He dies as a disgraced cop, despite all of his positive efforts. It’s a pretty bleak ending, but one that feels fitting for the noir, Chinatown-esque story it’s trying to tell.
#4) Red Dead Redemption Series
Both Red Dead Redemption games end with the tragic deaths of their main characters. In the first game, John Marston is shot and killed by the government on his own farm after getting to spend a short amount of time with his family. Even though he did what was asked of him, he was a loose end that couldn’t be spared, and as a result, was brutally gunned down after saving his wife and son.
In Red Dead Redemption 2, Arthur Morgan can die in a few ways. The one that fans are likely most familiar with is that he succumbs to his tuberculosis after overexerting himself in a fight with Micah and trying to protect John from being captured/killed. However, Arthur can also get shot in the head by Micah, depending on the player’s morality. Either way, they are some of the most heartbreaking deaths in gaming and their demises have major ripple effects into each game’s epilogue.
#3 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Series
Every entry in the original Modern Warfare trilogy has at least one main character die in some insane way. In Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Sgt. Paul Jackson dies after a nuclear bomb is detonated and takes down his helicopter. He manages to survive the crash and tries to limp to safety, but ultimately dies due to the devastating effects of radiation on his body. It’s easily the most haunting death in the series, especially since Jackson is one of the few characters we never hear talk or see the face of.
In Modern Warfare 2, an undercover operative known as Joseph Allen takes part in a mass shooting at a Russian airport with an ultranationalist known as Makarov. However, it is revealed at the end of the mission that Makarov was fully aware of his true identity and kills Allen to frame America for the attack, sparking World War III. Later in the game, Roach and Ghost are killed after being betrayed by General Shepherd, which is one of the biggest twists in the entire franchise.
In Modern Warfare 3, there’s a pretty big body count. Soap and Yuri are the two main characters you play as who are brutally killed throughout the course of the game. Soap is killed when a bomb is detonated inside a watchtower. Although he’s initially alive, he dies by the time you get him to safety. At the end of the game, Yuri is killed in action while assaulting a hotel Makarov is held up in. Captain Price is largely the only one left standing by the end of the game’s story.
#2) Resident Evil Village
Ethan Winters had a pretty tough go across the two Resident Evil games he was in. After managing to rescue his wife in Resident Evil 7, he is then dragged into even more extraordinary circumstances when his child is kidnapped in Resident Evil Village and he has to battle vampires, werewolves, and more. Ethan technically died in the previous game, but was resurrected due to the mold which gave him regenerative powers (hence why his limbs are able to come off without much consequence).
At the end of the game, charges are rigged to destroy the Megamycete, a powerful fungal organism that could create all kinds of problems if left to rampage. Although Ethan’s family boards a helicopter to escape, he stays behind in order to detonate the charges himself, realizing his body is going to ultimately be destroyed by the mold that has kept him alive this long. It was pretty shocking since it seemed like we were going to get a trilogy with Ethan Winters, but alas, the recent announcement of Resident Evil Requiem seems to suggest that’s not the case at all.
#1) Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
The most recent example on this list is Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Charlie Cox’s beloved character in the game, Gustave, meets a terrible end when he gives himself a hero’s death trying to protect his friends. Given that Cox is such a prominent actor, many assumed he would be a part of the entire game, but he’s really only in it for a handful of hours before being swiftly killed off. While not quite at the level of Joel in The Last of Us Part 2, it is yet another fairly early game death that devastated players.
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