As a chosen one destined to bring peace, you’re often burdened with the weight of responsibilities. However, sometimes playing as just some guy whose fate isn’t set in stone can be a refreshing change. Stepping away from the spotlight might seem less dramatic, but it paves the way for realistic andimmersive gaming worlds.
10 Video Game Protagonists Everyone Hates
Yeah, don’t expect to like any of these protagonists anytime soon.
These games don’t put the weight of responsibility on your shoulders—instead, they challenge you to shape your fate, starting at square one. From the harsh post-apocalyptic world ofKenshito the infected world ofThe Last of Us, these titles prove that you don’t need to be the favored one to save the world.
Challenging Survival In The World Of Aurai
Outward is an open-world RPG that follows an unknown protagonist in a brutal world of misery. You are very weak at the beginning, with no skills or abilities.
Your character can suffer from fatigue, fever, cold, and other ailments during the playthrough. To avert that, you need to eat food, treat your wounds using bandages, and otherwise take charge of your health and survival.
Should you lose all of your health, the result can be a randomized outcome, including apossible permadeathif you’ve chosen Hardcore mode. To make matters more challenging and stressful, since the game doesn’t feature fast travel or manual saving, you can’t rely on save scumming to undo a mistake.
Even with clunky combat mechanics, I consider Outward an amazing RPG title that makes the survival grind rewarding because of its difficulty.
Are You Ready For A Prison Break?
Coming from ordinary beginnings, the Nameless Hero who debuted in Gothic is no chosen one. He is just another convict, used to turn the tide against the Orcs by being forced to mine under the king’s orders.
Set in a fantasy medieval open world, Gothic focuses on interactivity, bringing its grim world to life by dynamically responding to your actions. If you’re knocked out, for instance, the surrounding NPCs can steal your money and weapons. Even after escaping his initial predicament, the Nameless Hero’s life doesn’t get easier any time soon.
A highlight is the character customization. you’re able to earn skill points by interacting with suitable NPCs or mentors, allowing you to use various abilities like stealth or two-handed combat, similarly toSkyrim. Considering theGothic remakeis in the pipeline, it’s worth playing the original title for its unmatched sense of immersion, music, and world-building.
8Project Zomboid
Battle To Survive Endless Zombies As An Ordinary Survivor
Project Zomboid
What’s the most realistic outcome of a zombie outbreak?Project Zomboidcasts you as an ordinary survivor in Knox Country, rather than a thoroughly prepared and heavily armed soldier.
10 Games Where You Play As The Monster
Become the thing that goes bump in the night.
you’re able to earn a variety of traits based on your choices, and they offer you various buffs and debuffs as you progress. It’s a system akin to that ofDarkest Dungeon, and it allows your character to evolve as you progress.
However, in the face of death, your only real goal is to prolong your time and – possibly – outlast this zombie nightmare. You’ll need to scavenge for essentials, rest enough, anduse strategic tacticsto survive mobs of Romero-style walking undead.
What makes the game more compelling is its rewarding and uncertain looting system. You never know which random house could be your last.
7Outer Wilds
Unravel The Mysteries Of The Planetary System And Beyond
Outer Wilds
The unnamed protagonist ofOuter Wilds, also known as Hatchling, has no superpowers or grand destiny waiting for them. Instead, they are propelled forward by the hidden secrets of the universe and their curiosity to discover more about them.
In this visually striking open-world adventure, you must survive and explore a planetary system on the verge of its collapse, while stuck in a 22-minute time loop.
What makes Outer Wilds stand out fromother indie gamesis its art style, music, and mysterious lore, along with the fact that it employs minimal tutorials. What will you discover, and how will you go about it? That’s up to you.
An Open-World Sandbox Title With Brutal Combat
In the post-apocalyptic and open-world setting ofKenshi, you’re free from narrative or linear progression. you may make allies from various factions, and you can also decide to betray these factions and fight against random NPCs alone.
As a squad-based role-playing game, Kenshi features no level scaling, so it can be a struggle for you to survive early or even later on. What you can do, though, is recruit and control several playable characters to potentially make your grind easier.
Leaning on realism, Kenshi features a damage system where you and your enemies can permanently lose their limbs during duels. Should this happen, you’ll have an option to replace them with prosthetic limbs. It’s not an area that video games have explored very often, and adds another interesting layer to the experience.
5Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Ah, Here We Go Again
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
CJ needs no introduction, as he’s one of the most popular characters of all time in the gaming and modding community. However, his life in Los Santos isn’t about being a hero.
This is the story of an ordinary guy navigating his rise to power through pure hustle, ambition, and courage in inescapable circumstances.
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreasfeatures an open world rooted in darkness, beset by gang trouble and corruption. If you find it overwhelming, you can engage in daily activities like clubbing, dating, gambling, bowling, playing arcade games, and exercising to ease up.
If it wasn’t for a protagonist like Carl Johnson, this beloved Grand Theft Auto title would have panned out as far less grounded and emotionally compelling.
An Ordinary Engineer Battling With Extraordinary Horrors
Dead Space
Isaac Clarke is one of the formerlysilent protagonists who spokewhen the sequels and remake of the first installment arrived. In the originalDead Space, however, I thought that his silence heightened the sense of isolation and the protagonist’s powerlessness.
With no powers should come no responsibilities. However, it’s not the same with Isaac, who is an engineer exploring the stricken Ishimura along with a small team of colleagues.
After they discover that the ship is infested by the Necromorph outbreak, it all comes down to his improvisation with mining tools, as there are few other weapons available to fight back with. Dead Space’s nerve-wracking atmosphere and fast-paced combat wouldn’t have been nearly as gripping if Isaac had been an all-powerful space marine, effortlessly eliminatingterrifying alien speciesusing super weapons.
3Kingdom Come: Deliverance
Forge Your Path From Scratch In This Unforgiving Action RPG
Kingdom Come: Deliverance
Henry is a young lad whose life is torn apart after his parents are murdered by the army of Cumans. While he is determined to avenge them and the town of Skalitz, he is your regular Joe with no experience as a warrior, so it may take you some time to get started with combat.
10 Game Worlds You Wouldn’t Want To Be Trapped In
We’ve seen several horrifying game worlds across many video game titles, but these are surely some of the most dangerous ones.
Unlike a lot of RPGs, where your character is pre-established with specific abilities and skill trees to advance down, Henry is a blank slate. This makes the gameplay more challenging but offers the player more freedom and license.
By the end ofKingdom Come: Deliverance, Henry does become a competent and skilled warrior. Nevertheless, the road to being an adequate warrior seems endless when his journey begins.
2Yakuza: Like A Dragon
A Chaotic JRPG Starring A Goofy Ex-Yakuza
Yakuza: Like A Dragon
Fresh out of prison, Ichiban Kasuga is the heart of theYakuza series, but not for the reasons you might expect. His impulsiveness, goofy behavior, and tendency to not think things through often land him in trouble.
Nevertheless, what he lacks in tactics, he compensates for with his unfailing kindness, love for everyone, and strong sense of justice.
As he imagines his brawls in turn-based combat, Ichiban’s love forDragon Questshines through in the gameplay ofYakuza: Like a Dragon.
With revamped turn-based combat mechanics, this rated title boasts a fleshed-out story alongside charismatic characters and a compelling storyline. The fact that it stars a distinctly non-super character who loves video games helps make it relatable.
1The Last of Us Part I
Brace Yourself For Tough Choices And Ellie’s Book Of Puns
The Last of Us Part I
Unlike some of thestrongest video game protagonists, Joel Miller doesn’t have any superpowers, but he certainly has everything he needs to fight to take care of Ellie in the infected world of The Last of Us.
Driven by the greater good, Joel wipes out numerous members of the Fireflies group at Salt Like City to prevent losing her for a cure, making a selfish decision. His deeply flawed and complex personality, alongside Ellie’s sharp wit and bad puns, contrast well, adding something heartwarming to the gritty setting of the game.
When it comes to action-adventure titles,The Last of Us Part 1is a certified masterpiece due to its characterization, atmospheric environment and soundtrack, and the emotional depth of the story.
10 Best Games Where Players Are The Bad Guy
If you ever want to play out your evil fantasies, these games should scratch your itch.
