5 video games where characters are trapped in a paradox

Paradoxes can be fun and frightening to deal with in video games. Players are always put into a fantastical world wherein they're often seen to have endless possibilities. In these scenarios lies one where the protagonist loses themselves in the bewildering paradoxes they encounter. You'll find yourself stuck in a beautiful yet terrifying loop of adventures probably for eternity and eventually in a race against time.

These very stimulants that excite you might be the ones you disdain.

Note: This article is subjective and solely based on the author's opinion.

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5 video games that showcase protagonists stuck in a paradox

1) Atlas and P-Body (Portal 2)

Portal 2 creates a brilliant paradox (Image via Valve)

Throughout the years at Aperture Science, the company developed and constructed the most interesting pieces of technology, each with the ability to make great changes to the world. The robots of Aperture never ceased testing new developments, and one of these was the cooperative testing initiative.

Atlas and P-Body are two robots constructed by Glados, an evil artificial intelligence robot whose agenda is to end all mankind. These two robots would have to work together to complete the test chambers of Aperture and their artificial intelligence would evolve depending on the situations they found themselves in. These robots would have to use their Handheld Portal Devices to run through the indefinite testing cycles in the Aperture Chambers.

These repetitive cycles in the cooperative tests would ultimately create portals of paradoxes that neither of the robots could find themselves out of. Thus, forever entombing them in the Aperture chambers, in an eternal bond of cooperation.

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2) Taliyah (League of Legends)

Taliyah (Image via Riot Games)

Taliyah is a part of the Shuriman village, and from a very young age, she has been a little different from the other kids around her. She is both stronger and braver, and what makes her really unique is her ability to reshape the earth using her mind.

As her powers grew, she began to worry that she might accidentally hurt someone she cared about, as she didn't have what it takes to control the powers bestowed upon her. The very gifts she grew to love were now being despised by her.

Consequently, she landed in a rough paradox where even if she wanted to do something for a better cause, it would only amount to destruction and upheaval. She struggles to find inner peace as these haunt her. Eventually, she abandons her loved ones and wanders off, hoping to tame her powers.

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3) Sisyphus (Hades)

Hades (Image via Supergiant Games)

Greek gods have always been notorious for cruelly punishing any human who would upset or disobey them. Although much of their stories are popularised through literature, a few of the more disturbing ones are avoided entirely. One such story belongs to the first king of Corinth, Sisyphus.

Sisyphus was a clever king but also notorious at the same time, known for deceiving the Greek gods and cheating death on multiple occasions. He was eventually captured and punished with the task of rolling a huge boulder up the slope of a mountain but, it would roll down just as he would reach the top. This would recur in perpetuity, thus enslaving Sisyphus in a never-ending cycle.

This Greek myth was digitized in the game Hades where, instead of a mammoth task of carrying the stone uphill, you have to fight a variety of colorful enemies. But the never-ending struggle of Sisyphus' paradox was in no way defeated just because it was portrayed in a fun hack-and-slash action-adventure game.

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4) Tim (Braid)

Tim in Braid (Image via Thekla, Inc.)

Braid is a game that rings a bell for Super Mario fans as it greatly follows the footsteps of this massive franchise. Braid borrows a lot of the platformer and puzzle-based challenges from Super Mario.

Tim is the protagonist you play; he's grief-stricken because his princess was abducted by the Big Bad. You will eventually face him in the final level for which you prepare yourself from the very beginning. Each level is like a tutorial preparing you for the next, cumulatively making you ready to rescue your princess from the clutches of the Big Bad.

Now, Tim possesses a special power that lets him manipulate time, i.e., you can rewind time. It often leads to inevitable paradoxes where Tim’s current actions and decisions greatly influence events in the future, some of which might be unfavorable for him. Thus, he finds himself lost in the loop trying to find his way through the puzzles of Braid to rescue his beloved.

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5) The Sole Survivor (Fallout 4)

Fallout 4 (Image via Bethesda Softworks)

The scene is set in post-apocalyptic Boston, where you wake up from a long cryogenic slumber and find yourself in a vast and seemingly empty world. The game puts you in a situation where you want to fulfill the obvious objective at hand: rescuing your kidnapped child and avenging the murder of your wife. But you can often get sidetracked by the myriad attractions that Bethesda has put in this game.

From exploring a desolate environment where the game's setting is really welcoming for the inquisitive mind looking for adventure. You can satisfy your inner James Bond by indulging in in-depth gun crafting. However, as the sole survivor, you can create a paradox for yourself by the choices you make and the aspects of the game you give immediate preference to.

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These characters beautifully depict the mind-boggling paradoxes that you can find yourself in while indulging in the wonderful world of video games. If you feel there is any other character worthy of being a part of this list, comment down below.