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When video games first started, they were nothing more than a new type of entertainment with the purpose of being addictive and enjoyable enough to coax countless coins from the pockets of arcade-goers the world over.
For a time, that avenue of the medium worked wonders. However, gamers soon adapted and wanted more. Higher budgets for game companies allowed games to tell complex and engaging stories with more depth, more details and more immersion – while sharpening gameplay along the way.
Soon, video games had budgets on par with large-scale Hollywood film productions as well as extensive writing teams to help create tremendous works of art on par with the greatest achievements in film, television and books.
When one thinks of the greatest writing in video game history, one cannot help but ponder the countless iconic characters that have inhabited the game worlds we have explored over the years. While the stories and plots can sometimes be confusing (or downright impenetrable), if a game has incredible characters in it, odds are that those games mean a lot to their players – and will be remembered for generations to come.
With this list, we will explore those games and the incredible characters that graced our screens and, perhaps, ensconced themselves in the deepest caverns of our hearts.
Read on to find out the Top 10 Games with the Best Cast of Characters.
Disclaimer: Though this writer is an avid gamer, there is only so much time available these days, so this list will only feature games that I have beaten. As such, the following games/series will not be present despite receiving wide acclaim for having tremendous character depth: The Witcher III, Night In the Woods, Hades, Oxenfree, the Shin Megami Tensei: Persona series, the Danganronpa series, the Final Fantasy series and Undertale.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
The first BioWare-developed game on this list (but not the last), set the stage for the rise of this Canadian developer as perhaps the name in character-based RPGs and action games. With an indelible cast of characters ranging from lovable astromech droids (T3-M4), a scrappy young Twi’lek (Mission Vao), an exiled Wookie (Zaalbar), multiple fascinating Jedi companions (Bastila Shan, Juhani, Jolee Bindo) and two veterans of the Mandalorian Wars on opposite sides (Carth Onasi, Canderous Ordo), this game truly had it all.
Of course, that list only represents characters that are in your party – this game also features a brilliant villain (Darth Malak) as well as the player-character (who represents one of the greatest gaming plot twists in history) and a vibrant and varied cast of NPCs that range from hilarious to terrifying with brilliant writing for all of them.
Wait, you thought I forgot one of the greatest characters in video game history? I wouldn’t dream of it! KOTOR also saw the debut of the homicidal combat droid HK-47, whose voice acting and writing made him one of the greats in a stable of wonderful BioWare-created characters.
Here’s a refresher if you need it:
Life is Strange
From a galaxy far, far away to the sleepy, “golden hour”-drenched port town of Arcadia Bay, Oregon, Dontnod Entertainment’s 2015 game Life Is Strange not only featured engaging time-traveling gameplay elements, but it also featured one of the greatest cast of characters in gaming history.
What is essentially an ennui-filled early-college story setup is filled out incredibly with wonderful characters including the two most important characters in the game: player-character Max Caulfield (who one can’t help but love) and her long-lost best friend and chief romantic interest Chloe Price (ditto to the can’t help but love part).
Of course, this game wouldn’t be on this list with just those characters, but Dontnod don’t skimp (or Dontskimp) on filling out Arcadia Bay with plenty more terrific characters, whether they play a major role in the plot or not.
Now, (spoiler alert) it’s up to player choice on whether these characters make it out of the game alive or not, but at least there’s still Hawt Dawg Man (and a remastered version of this game coming soon)!
Tales from the Borderlands
As a studio, Telltale Games (one of the most beloved video game developers of all time) is known chiefly for its incredible stable of writers, who bring pathos, joy and believability to the characters inhabiting whatever world that each game is taking place in. Whether it be the cosmic Marvel universe of Guardians of the Galaxy, the gritty streets of Gotham in Telltale’s take on Batman or this game – based on the Borderlands series of games.
While multiple Telltale games could make this list (and perhaps one more does), this game features not one but two extremely well-written player-characters with great voice actors (Rhys and Fiona) as well as terrific secondary and ancillary characters with Telltale’s trademark wit and charm on display in spades.
While one might think a downhome mechanic with an exaggerated Southern drawl would be an annoying character, Telltale makes it work in a satisfying (but ultimately heartbreaking) way. Now that’s good writing!
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
How long would it be before a Naughty Dog game made this list? Here’s your answer!
While the team at Naughty Dog might’ve made their careers on platforming masterclasses such as Crash Bandicoot and Jak and Daxter, by the third game in the J&D series they had begun to explore darker subject matter with more rounded characters and a less cartoony bent.
By the time their next series debuted on the PlayStation 3, Naughty Dog – much like BioWare – were leaned on as one of the preeminent action/adventure games writers out there. They delivered on that promise with Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, which featured player-character Nathan Drake, a lovable rogue, his mentor Victor Sullivan (“Sully”) and his romantic foil Elena Fisher.
Plenty more characters feature heavily, but the interplay between those main three (as well as Drake’s new squeeze Chloe Frazer) is whip-smart and extremely entertaining and quippy – even as these characters battle life-or-death situations and long odds of survival.
Mass Effect 2
BioWare’s back, and this time with their own sci-fi IP. While the first Mass Effect set the scene with a sprawling RPG featuring a fantastic soundtrack, terrific characters and a truly intergalactic scope, the second game in the series might prove to be the zenith of character writing in gaming history.
For one thing, much of the first half of the game is devoted to recruiting these characters – all of whom (with very minor quibbles here and there) are extremely well-rounded and well-written characters with engaging backstories. After recruiting them, you learn more about them through engrossing loyalty missions that further flesh out their backstories and make you closer to them both in-game and as a player.
These are characters that stay with you for decades after completing the game, such as the Justicar Asari Samara (whose black-and-white ideas of justice sometimes shock the more “grey” views of player-character Commander Shepard). Or there’s Tali, a holdover from the first Mass Effect who gets way more backstory in ME2 – so much so that she’s even a romance option for male Shepards.
There’s Jack, the tortured, badass biotic. There’s Thane Krios, a dying assassin with a painful familial history. There’s Garrus Vakarian, beloved holdover from the first game as well but rebranded as the powerful gangbuster “Archangel.” Beyond that, there’s ample NPCs that fill out the galaxy with tremendous pathos and backstory – just to drive home how brilliant the characterization in this game is.
Then, of course, there’s another character that might hold the crown as “best character BioWare has ever created,” which is truly a high bar to clear. I give you, the Salarian, the myth, the legend: Mordin Solus:
Kingdom Hearts
While the lore of the Kingdom Hearts series might be about as impenetrable as the Black Gates of Mordor thanks to multiple spin-off games and a bevy of prequels, sequels and in-betwequels, there can be no denying that the debut game for Sora, Riku and Kairi features a classic cast of characters – literally, because it also stars multiple famous names from the Disney universe as well as famed names from the Final Fantasy universe.
While this premise sounds utterly insane on paper, it actually works extremely well in-game and you care deeply about all of the characters, including legendary Disney creations Donald Duck and Goofy – not just because you recognize them from your youth, but because they are engaging and fun characters to be around in their own right in this game.
When you get fully on board for Disney’s Goofy as a classic RPG tank and Donald as a glass cannon mage, you know you’ve got some good character writing on your hands.
VA-11 Hall-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action
The first, and surprisingly, only visual novel game on this list is sort of a hybrid between a bartender simulator and the more text-heavy, non-gameplay-focused visual novel genre.
While this game could be similarly lauded for its neon-drenched, pixelated art style or its tremendously enjoyable synth-pop soundtrack, it is the game’s enjoyable cast of characters and the interesting plot points that deserve most of the credit.
Sure, some of the characters might not be overly pleasant to you all the time, but that’s just like real life, right?
As player-character Jill, you serve up drinks (a very simple, almost no-risk minigame if you pay attention) and chat with the various denizens of VA-11 Hall-A – a bar in Glitch City.
These characters are sure to keep you engaged and entertained throughout the surprisingly long run time of this game – especially if you attempt to get all six of the endings, which you will certainly want to do after one playthrough thanks to how much fun you’ll have in this world. And you can owe that enjoyment to the characters that developer Sukeban Games has made to inhabit the VA-11 Hall-A bar.
So pull up a barstool and order your favorite beverage – whether it be a Gut Punch, Fringe Weaver or Crevice Spike.
The Wolf Among Us
The final Telltale Game on this list is among the company’s earliest “prime years” releases.
While the company had previously produced various story-based, “choices matter” titles years before (including ones based on major properties like Jurassic Park, Back to the Future and Wallace & Gromit), it wasn’t until the one-two punch of The Walking Dead in 2012 and The Wolf Among Us in 2013 that the company cemented itself as among the best in the business at story-based, character-driven narrative games.
The Wolf Among Us is based on Bill Willingham’s Fables comics series, in which mythical characters such as Snow White, Beauty and the Beast, Ichabod Crane, the Big Bad Wolf and many more are forced to leave their homes and move to modern-day New York City.
With that rich backstory, Telltale had to deliver the goods when it came to story and characters – and they did – the tight plotting and terrific writing of Bigby (the titular Wolf), Snow White and the cornucopia of other bit players in the story easily make this one of the greatest casts in gaming history.
Yuppie Psycho
A brilliant indie game that is sure to stay with you long after beating it, this game is able to convey its story and terrific characters without any voice acting (much like many visual novels).
This adventure game is set in a corporate hellscape in a haunted high-rise office building and features a wide range of characters led by the unflappable but constantly terrified and bewildered player-character Bryan Pasternack.
Amazing sound design, terrific “vintage-style” adventure gameplay and detailed yet abstracted pixel artwork certainly make this game a pleasure to play, but it’s the gut-bustingly hilarious writing and entertaining characters (Ms. Sosa, Inay Doshi, Kate Hicks, the inimitable Mr. Hugo) that will keep this game on your mind for years after completing it for the first time.
Dragon Age: Origins
The final BioWare game on this list is the high fantasy masterpiece Dragon Age: Origins. The first in the Dragon Age series, which continued to amass acclaim thanks to Dragon Age: Inquisition years later, this likely represents the peak of BioWare’s writing overall.
Despite being a being a bit more “old school” thanks to a non-voiced player-character, the characters surrounding you are so fully fleshed-out and entertaining to be around that you find yourself wishing that you could just hang out in camp the whole game – not completing the story at all and just chatting with your compatriots for hours on end.
On that front, you have a mysterious mage named Morrigan, whose sardonic wit and nihilistic worldview are always welcome, Alistair, the bastard son of the dead king, who is also extremely funny and plays a major role near the end of the game, Oghren, a gruff dwarf, Zevran. the assassin elf, a polyamorous lothario, Leliana, a deadly but kindhearted assassin with the voice of an angel and Shale, a persnickety golem that has been alive for over 1000 years – though it only remembers the last 30 or so.
This might be the funniest game BioWare has ever released, as almost every party character, NPC and even the silent protagonist has a legitimately hilarious moment or two over the course of the game.
With a bevy of side quests to explore alongside plenty of additional content that can be found in the “Ultimate Edition” of the game, these characters will remain etched in the memory of any player who spends a full playthrough (or three) with them.
There you have it! These games are the best of the best when it comes to characters, so if you haven’t played them yet, seek them out and be enveloped by rich storytelling, all-encompassing game worlds and – most of all – magnificent characters.
A final note: There were multiple games that were originally on this list but were cut because when you hear the phrase “cast of characters” one thinks of a large stable of interesting characters – not just a handful.
As such, games like Firewatch, The Last of Us and Half-Life 2: Episode 1 all had to be cut because they feature only two major characters. Also, all three of those games rely on isolation as a thematic element, which goes against the denser, character-packed games above.
Believe me, though, it was hard to take those three off the list because the characters are amazing!
