Most Realistic Video Game Characters

Summary

• Custom character creators and dialogue options are valued by players for crafting their own hero.
• Pre-made video game characters are crafted with thought, magic, superhuman abilities, and realism.
• Game characters like Joel, The Boss, and Sojiro reflect real struggles, losses, and sacrifices in immersive storytelling.

Crafting a video game character can be difficult for any budding creator. It’s the balance that can be an issue, as it’s hard to gauge what an audience wants to see. Should a character be slick and full of jokes like Star Wars’ Han Solo, or should they be more reserved like Samus Aran from the Metroid series?

That’s why custom character creators and dialogue options are so valued by players in games, as they allow them to craft their own hero. While always a good option, these pre-made characters were crafted with a lot of love and thought. Even though they may know magic or have superhuman abilities, they are also down-to-earth and realistic.

Joel Miller (The Last Of Us)

Just Trying To Survive

Joel is the main character from The Last of Us, developed by Naughty Dog. The game starts with him living happily with his daughter as a single dad, but a post-apocalyptic event changes all that. Joel loses his daughter during the outbreak and, when the game’s story jumps ahead about twenty years, it’s clear that moment turned him into a very different person.

It’s hard to say how someone would behave in a zombie apocalypse, as that’s never happened to anyone before, but it’s believable that Joel would come out the other end a hardened person. Even so, there is the DNA of a father deep within him, and that begins to bleed out the more he travels with Ellie, the young girl whom he’s tasked with ferrying to a resistance group. It’s this internal conflict that drives a lot of Joel’s actions, and it’s a very relatable conflict that makes Joel feel like a real person.

Just A Soldier Who Loves Her Country

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater is filled with wild characters, as is the entire Metal Gear series, but at the heart of it all is The Boss. She’s the leader of the Cobra Unit, but unlike her soldiers, The Boss has no special quirks other than her expert combat talent and leadership skills.

The Boss is a trained soldier who knows exactly what she’s doing throughout the game, even though it’s all a ruse. She sacrifices herself to save her country, the United States, even though she knows it will end in her death and her being labeled as a traitor. It’s one of the saddest endings in a Metal Gear game, but The Boss is a patriot through and through, and there’s no question that her sacrifice was well within her character.

Sojiro Sakura (Persona 5)

Just Wants To Make Coffee

Sojiro is an important side character in Persona 5. He’s the one who picks up the protagonist, often referred to as Ren in the canon, as a favor to his family when Ren gets in trouble. That said, Sojiro doesn’t want this teen around in his shop’s attic. He sets the ground rules that if any funny business starts to go on, he’ll be out of there faster than he can say “Hierophant.”

Sojiro comes across as a tough-as-nails shopkeeper at first, but then players will learn why he’s so bent out of shape. He’s a father just trying to raise a shut-in daughter while also trying to protect a troubled family friend. It’s a lot to take in for any one man, but it’s also believable that Sojiro is both self-sacrificing enough to take all this on and frustrated that doing so is crushing him. Thankfully, Sojiro softens over time and becomes as much a Confidant to Ren as his friends are.

Cole Phelps (L.A. Noire)

From Cop To Detective

Cole Phelps is the hero from one of Rockstar Games’s more forgotten projects, L.A. Noire. He starts as a beat cop but quickly rises through the ranks and becomes a detective for the local police. He’s a down-to-earth detective and former Marine from the 1940s, and as the game progresses, he becomes pretty good at his job.

That said, Cole is not Columbo, going around outsmarting suspects around every turn. He’s just an ordinary guy thrown into dangerous situations and trying to do his best, even though he is suffering from very believable PTSD from World War 2.

Amicia De Rune (A Plague Tale: Innocence)

Big Sister, Bigger Problems

Amicia is the protagonist of A Plague Tale: Innocence and the big sister of Hugo. They’re both former nobility turned poor refugees trying to escape the oppressors who stole their home by fleeing into the French countryside, all while a war is raging and the Black Plague is rampant. Amicia does what she has to for Hugo, even if that means harming others in the process.

She’s not a trained assassin, though. Amicia will primarily have to use stealth and distraction techniques or swarms of rats to get past her foes and keep herself and Hugo safe. Amicia is an admirable character who fights with everything she has to protect those close to her.

Makoto Naegi (Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc)

Just The Luck

The Danganronpa universe is set in a school designed to house the most talented kids in Japan. Some teens are good at sports, fashion, and programming, for example. Makoto is the main character, and like his classmates, he wakes up with amnesia to find a murderous robotic bear has placed them in a game of death.

In each chapter, Makoto has to uncover who killed his classmates, even though he doesn’t have any discernible talent other than luck, and the help of other savvy players. What makes Makoto so realistic is that he never stops being freaked out by the whole thing. He can pull himself together when the game calls for it, but trauma is a hard thing to bypass even in life-or-death situations.

Hope Estheim (Final Fantasy 13)

Just A Scared Child

Hope is not the favorite party member among fans of Final Fantasy 13; he’s just a child, one who likes to cry and complain. Not only does Hope see his mother die in front of his eyes, but moments later, he also gets branded with a magic mark that is said to curse anyone it touches.

Hope didn’t dream of being a soldier or even an adventurer like his fellow party members. He just wanted to live out his days with his mom in peace, and even though he can fight monsters with his cursed magic, it’s easy to see where Hope is coming from. Who wouldn’t be freaked out if they were thrown into danger like this as a child, especially after losing their family?

Dave (Dave The Diver)

Is This How Sushi Businesses Are Run?

Dave, the titular hero of Dave the Diver, is not a typical muscled video game protagonist. He’s a realistically big guy, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t talented. In fact, Dave runs a very successful sushi restaurant.

Dave will go deep below the waves to find exotic fish for his restaurant. No matter the danger, Dave will face it to help his business succeed. He’s a man of many talents, but Dave is not immune to exhaustion, as running two metaphorical ships is no walk in the park. It’s easy to respect Dave’s work ethic, but it’s also easy to relate to him when he just needs to take a break sometimes.