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Video game protagonists are the primary characters in the game’s narrative, existing as an agent of the player and affecting the world according to their will. However, protagonists also have their own backstory and character arcs throughout the game. This might sometimes lead to certain reveals about the protagonist that change how the players view them.
Interesting twists such as these make the protagonist an interesting character, more than once previously assumed, and act as a way to shake up the narrative. Sometimes these twists in video games tend to give a fresh new look at the protagonists, while other times, they can completely change the character’s outlook.
Regardless of the long-lasting effects, such character reveals are numerous in video games and appear in many of them. Here are five examples of video games where the protagonist turned out differently than how players envisioned them.
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Note: This article reflects the writer's opinions.
5 video game protagonists who were different than initially thought
1) Martin Walker - Spec Ops: The Line
In the third-person shooter video game Spec Ops: The Line, players step into the shoes of one Captain Martin Walker, who is leading a small band of soldiers into war-torn Dubai. Their mission is to bring in a rogue US military operative named John Konrad, who has taken over the city and its residents with his infantry.
Throughout the game, both Walker and the players are under the general impression that they are playing the role of the hero. The lines get a little blurred along the way when Walker has to shoot some enemy US soldiers and accidentally kill some innocent civilians using white phosphorus.
After the incident, Walker got increasingly unhinged before finally cornering Konrad to take him in. It is revealed here that Konrad has been dead since before the game even started.
Walker, having justified all of his actions for the capture of Konrad, now understands that he has been playing the same exact role that Konrad was presumed to have. Having gotten his teammates killed, as well as himself killing many innocent people, Walker realizes that he has been the villain all along.
2) Aloy - Horizon Zero Dawn
When players were first introduced to Aloy at the beginning of Horizon Zero Dawn, it was immediately clear that she did not belong amongst the Nora tribe. Being a baby found by Rost, he raises her without a mother, and players expect that her biological parents are probably some people from another part of the world of Horizon.
However, throughout the video game, as Aloy is able to access technology, which is generally unresponsive, her roots are hinted at as being from the past, when such equipment was readily used. It is naturally assumed that she is a descendant of someone from the old world, possibly Elizabeth Sobek, who recurrently appears in holograms from the past.
While that is partially true (or 200% true, depending on how one looks at it) it is revealed towards the end of the video game that Aloy is not a biologically conceived human at all. She is instead a clone of Elizabeth, designed to be a failsafe against machines and AI, should they ever rise up. After learning this, Aloy understands her role in the world and sets out to fulfill her destiny.
3) Starkiller - The Force Unleashed 2
Starkiller (or Galen Marek) was the protagonist of the first Star Wars Force Unleashed video game, although, in the light side ending of the story, he is seemingly dead. However, when the trailer for The Force Unleashed II was released, fans were amazed to see Starkiller back, this time wielding twin lightsabers. It was a surprise, to be sure, but a welcome one.
However, when the game starts, Darth Vader is quick to tell the new protagonist that he is nothing but a clone of the original, created only to be a weapon. This seemingly is the truth presented to Galen as Vader tries to groom him again. It is ultimately another failed attempt, as when Galen starts to have visions of Juno, the woman he loves, he escapes from Vader and goes in search of her.
Throughout the rest of the game, it is put into doubt just how true Vader’s statement is when Galen meets his old ally Rahm Kota, who notes that cloning force wielders is next to impossible. This is backed up by the fact that at the final level, Galen has to fight many other clones of himself, none of which are perfect. In the end, the lesson for Galen is that it does not matter who he is, as long as he is true to himself.
4) Booker Dewitt - BioShock Infinite
The video game BioShock Infinite tells the story of Booker Dewitt as he is sent on a mission to rescue a young girl named Elizabeth from the flying city of Columbia. Kept there as per the orders of the city’s ruler and antagonist Comstock, once rescued, Elizabeth and Booker are given chase by the dictator’s henchmen.
They are then chased through time and space, with some time travel taking Booker and Elizabeth to the past. After many more adventures, Booker and Comstock finally come face to face, where, after an argument, Booker kills the dictator by smashing his head against a stone baptismal font. Elizabeth finally unlocks her full power to open tears in time-space and takes Booker with her to reveal the truth to him.
She tells him that there are an infinite number of universes with Elizabeth, Booker and Comstock in them, resulting from all of their choices. Here, it is revealed that Booker is in fact Comstock, where in an alternate universe, overcome with his guilt, he takes a religious vow and takes on the name Zachary Hale Comstock. To remedy this, across all universes, Booker must die at the time of this choice, thereby eliminating all versions of him and Comstock.
5) Solid Snake - Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain
If one hasn’t played through the events of Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes, this reveal at the end of The Phantom Pain might come as quite the shock. In Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain, players are initially under the impression that they are playing as Big Boss, newly dubbed here as Venom Snake.
As this iconic character is from the preexisting games of the franchise, players are thrilled to be able to return to playing as Big Boss and, for most of the game, will remain under the impression. However, it is revealed towards the end that the protagonist isn’t the actual Big Boss but a paramedic who was injured, along with Big Boss, during the events of Ground Zeroes.
Thus, before the start of this video game’s events, the real Big Boss takes on the name Ishmael and helps the player escape the hospital. At this point, the player is actually the paramedic who has been hypnotized into believing that he is Big Boss and given plastic surgery to match the persona. This enables the original Big Boss or Naked Snake to undertake covert missions while the Venom Snake does the more conspicuous assignments.
