WARNING: The following article contains spoilers as to the fate of the below characters.
In the eventful and prosperous 65 years of gaming history, we’ve bid farewell to an alarming amount of heroes — oftentimes sacrificing themselves for the greater good or meeting their demise at the hands of a ruthless enemy. Sometimes, it’s neither fate nor misfortune that severs ties with these characters, but rather their ultimate outcome is thought to be exactly what they deserved. But there are a sizeable amount of exceptions to that rule; ordinary individuals thrown into extraordinary circumstances for which they ultimately pay the price, be it death or something much, much worse. Sometimes, as destiny runs its course, certain characters are prophesied to fall as martyrs so their companions may thrive.
We’ve lost some irreplaceable legacy characters, as well as relatable civilians whose only objective was to survive. All it takes is a run-in with the wrong crowd and that’s the end of the line. Not everyone has experienced heartbreak, but gamers can compare the loss of a loved one to the sinking feeling one gets when a character with such potential is snatched away from us before their time. Whether it be an untimely death, a doomed future, or the tragic parting of ways, the fates of these characters were far from just comeuppance.
Ethan Mars (Heavy Rain)
Since the story-driven Heavy Rain utilizes a choice-based system to determine the game’s ending, it’s debatable that Ethan Mars suffers too greatly. Depending on the decisions one makes, Ethan can survive the ordeal with the Origami Killer, save Shaun, and even marry Madison. The trio moves into an apartment together and supposedly live happily ever after. That’s the best outcome, but others aren’t so favorable.
If Shaun dies, Ethan will succumb to crippling guilt and take his own life. Likewise, if Ethan is arrested, Shaun still doesn’t make it, resulting in Ethan hanging himself in his cell. Either way, the inescapable guilt eats him alive and pushes him to the brink. While the implied suicide of Ethan is unbearable in itself, there’s nothing more haunting than Ethan shooting himself in the head over Shaun’s grave while Madison wails uncontrollably in the background. We won’t attest to Ethan’s suitability as a model father, but he tried his best, which is all any of us can do.
Molly O’Shea (Red Dead Redemption II)
Oh, a side character, you may ask? Actually, Molly O’Shea is infinitely more significant to the eventual downfall of Read Dead Redemption II‘s Dutch van der Linde than Rockstar cares to exploit. She isn’t the most likable of the gang members, admittedly, since she refuses to earn her share and flaunts her sophistication and privilege at any given opportunity. That said, Molly’s story is one of unrequited love and woe.
She remains fairly background for most of the van der Linde gang’s ventures, but if Arthur eavesdrops on her conversations with Dutch, it’s revealed that Molly is infatuated with him and the feeling isn’t mutual. Throughout the game, Molly makes a fool of herself to earn Dutch’s affection, but the rejection and loneliness drive her mad. She returns to camp drunk, spouting lies about how she ratted Dutch out to the Pinkertons. Miss Grimshaw makes quick work of shooting Molly point-blank with a shotgun and demanding that her body be cremated (not buried, as is custom for fallen comrades). It turns out Molly wasn’t the informant, but Micah Bell, yet Dutch still didn’t pay her any mind.
Josh Washington (Until Dawn)
Even though he terrorized his long-time friends in a Saw-esque fashion for an entire night, Until Dawn‘s Josh gets his just desserts when his crimes catch up with him. While the other seven young adults are fighting for their lives on Blackwood Mountain, Josh is dragged underground, deep into the mines, by his sister-turned-wendigo, Hannah. Josh’s fate rests on Sam Giddings finding Hannah Washington’s journal, which describes how she survived the initial fall into the mines a year prior, but starvation set in and she was forced to resort to cannibalism. Hannah devours her sister Beth and invites the spirit of the wendigo to possess her, resulting in a transformation commonly referred to as “Handigo.”
If Sam doesn’t find the journal, Josh doesn’t recognize Handigo when she attacks him and vice-versa, so Hannah kills Josh instantly. If Sam does find the journal, Josh survives until dawn but becomes trapped in the mines himself, also resorting to cannibalism and turning into a wendigo. Instant death or an eternity as a flesh-eating monster? Doesn’t bode well for Josh, does it?
B-12 (Stray)
Who ever thought we’d be so emotionally invested in a talking drone? The deuteragonist of Stray, B-12 befriends the Cat in Chapter 3: The Flat. From that moment on, B-12 assists the Cat in hacking mainframes, talking to civilians, and giving clues/hints to progress. B-12 is the consciousness of a human scientist who attempted to infiltrate the city’s network, corrupting his memories in the process.
When the Cat and B-12 reach the Control Room needed to access the Outside, it’s revealed that in order to override the city’s security, B-12 will suffer devastating recoil. B-12 informs the Cat that he cannot return to the Outside and must stay behind, then powers down once and for all. It’s implied in the ending cutscene that B-12 might have successfully transferred his consciousness to the city’s network, enabling him to watch over the Cat from afar, but as far as the main story suggests, B-12 didn’t make it. Shedding tears over a robot is a perfectly normal thing to do, right?
Aunt May (Spider-Man)
If you’ve seen Spider-Man: No Way Home or literally any iteration of Spider-Man, you’ll be aware that Uncle Ben doesn’t make it, as is Peter Parker’s origin story. But in most renditions of the superhero, Aunt May doesn’t last much longer. It was Green Goblin who fatally wounded her in Tom Holland’s portrayal, but in PlayStation’s Spider-Man, Otto Octavius — corrupted by the mechanical arms overtaking his mind — unleashes a deadly disease known as Devil’s Breath on New York City.
Aunt May contracts the Devil’s Breath and when Peter visits, she’s been hospitalized. After procuring the antiserum, there’s a heartfelt scene between Peter and May in which the latter reveals she knew about his double life all along. Parker must choose between saving May or saving New York, ultimately sacrificing May’s life for countless others. Never let it be said that video games aren’t soul-crushing, especially the way Peter sobs at May’s bedside. We don’t even want to think about it.
Joel Miller (The Last of Us/Part II)
Naughty Dog let us bond with Joel Miller across two games just to snatch him away from us in the cruelest way possible. As we went along on Joel and Ellie’s journey, Joel didn’t just become a surrogate father to Ellie, but to all of us. There was something inexplicably comforting about Joel from the off, but as we entered The Last of Us: Part II territory, the proverbial rug was rudely pulled from under our feet. There were already eerie vibes with Part II, but no one could have predicted Joel’s death so soon after the introduction sequences for both Ellie and newcomer Abby.
There are decidedly mixed opinions on Abby, but say what you want about her, we all mourned Joel excessively. In fact, many gamers couldn’t let go of the fact that Troy Baker wouldn’t be reprising the role ever again. Besides, Abby making Ellie watch as she bashes Joel’s skull with a golf club isn’t a scarring scene that one simply forgets. Although it was necessary to set Ellie off on her revenge arc, it still didn’t feel right to have Ellie without Joel.
Arthur Morgan (Red Dead Redemption II)
We’ll never, ever forgive Rockstar for this one. Arthur Morgan is easily one of the greatest video game characters of the modern age, so we should have been more prepared to say goodbye sooner than we’d have liked. Although John Marston, the protagonist of Red Dead Redemption, reappears in the sequel/prequel, it’s Arthur Morgan’s time to shine for the majority of the game. Depending on Arthur’s actions throughout, he can either have high honor or low honor, an important function in determining his fate during the final mission, ironically called “Red Dead Redemption.”
When all-out war brews with the Pinkertons and the van der Linde gang falls apart, Arthur must choose to either return to Beaver Hollow to selfishly collect the Blackwater money or assist John Marston in escaping and reuniting with Abigail and Jack. Either way, Arthur dies. He either succumbs to his tuberculosis (contracted earlier in the game no matter what) against the rising sun or suffers a more brutal death at the hands of Micah Bell. Justice for Arthur.
Mia Winters (Resident Evil 7: Biohazard/Resident Evil Village)
She might not be as central to the Resident Evil lore as some others, but Mia Winters is an especially pivotal character in Resident Evil 7: Biohazard and Resident Evil Village. Before she’s abducted by the Baker family and turned into a mindless puppet of Eveline’s, Mia is but a sweet and innocent wife to Ethan Winters whose adventures in the bayou led her to the Bakers’ residence — a place she can’t return from. When Ethan sets out to find Mia, he discovers her to be highly volatile and homicidal, as per Eveline’s influence. In the end, Mia was chosen to be Eveline’s surrogate mother, so it was one of those “wrong place, wrong time” scenarios.
She somehow survives the ordeal but meets her maker in Village, when Chris Redfield sends a squadron to Ethan’s home to extract Rose on behalf of Mother Miranda. Without hesitation, Chris’ men open fire on Mia, pumping her full of lead and leaving her to bleed out on the dining room floor. Talk about brutal.
Ghost (Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2)
Without a doubt, one of the biggest betrayals to ever come from the Call of Duty franchise was that of General Shepherd in Modern Warfare 2. He double-crosses Roach and Ghost during their mission to extract Makarov’s operations playbook onto a DSM. Looking to bring down Makarov himself and take the glory as a war hero, General Shepherd meets Roach and Ghost at the extraction point, having made them do all the dirty work, then takes the DSM from them.
After shooting Roach point-blank in the chest, Shepherd turns the gun on Ghost, killing him instantly. A cutscene plays out that shows Shepherd’s men dumping Roach and Ghost’s bodies in a ditch and setting them on fire. For most of Modern Warfare 2, Ghost was a valuable asset to Task Force 141, so when he was removed from the game’s future so abruptly, it took a lot of gamers considerable time to get over Ghost’s death. In the end, it comes full circle as the player assumes control of Price and ends Shepherd’s life, so at least Ghost and Roach don’t die in vain.
Sarah Miller (The Last of Us)
The Millers just can’t catch a break, can they? If it’s not Joel, it’s Sarah, or vice-versa. It’s the biggest initial shock to come from The Last of Us as Naughty Dog gives us a short segment of gameplay to get to know Sarah, then we’re back to Joel again as the outbreak overtakes Houston. When Sarah is injured, Joel carries her through entire streets of infected and blazing inferno to the edge of the city, where the military awaits to seal off the area.
Unwilling to take any chances, a military soldier meets Joel and Sarah and aims at them without hesitation. Joel attempts to take the brunt of it, but Sarah gets snagged with a bullet in her abdomen. Needless to say, it doesn’t take her long to bleed out. Not only was it a bold move for Naughty Dog to kill a child in such a nonchalant way, but Sarah’s death promised a wild ride for the remainder of the game. It’s truly Joel’s devastation that makes Sarah’s death hit the hardest.