As the decades fly past and narrative-driven games experience a boom, only more and more stellar characters are brought to life. Iconic characters have appeared across various periods in gaming, like Mario in the 80s, Lara Croft in the 90s, Master Chief in the 2000s, and Arthur Morgan in the 2010s. But the 2020s already created a lot of their own.
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The talented creative writing efforts and voice acting achieve thosememorable, well-written character performancesacross many video game genres. And these are some of the standouts from the era of the 2020s.
Beware of spoilers for some games below.
10Selene Vassos - Returnal
2021 brought yet a new space traveler character with the PS5 exclusiveReturnal, and what a unique journey it was with Selene Vassos on the uncharted planet of Atropos. She’s a trained astronaut under the Astra Corporation who crash lands onto the planet, and it soon keeps her trapped in a time loop and starts manifesting mysterious connections to her past.
It’s a roguelike game, so you restart from the crash landing each time Selene dies, and she finds new audio evidence that she’s been through these areas before. Her character is one with an intriguing mystery to unravel and a skillful shooter against Atropos' hostile alien creatures that fight in bullet-hell style.
9Colt Vahn - Deathloop
A video game character even more fun in a time loop scenario is Colt Vahn fromDeathloop. When you’re first introduced to his character, he immediately gets stabbed to death by his nemesis Julianna, only to restart the loop and wake up back on the beach of Blackreef Island.
From those opening moments and throughout the gameplay, he has some of the most well-written dialogue for a Black protagonist in recent memory. And Jason E. Kelley’s performance in delivering it is outstanding and hilarious in the right parts.
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The time loop was initiated as a result of the AEON project on Blackreef, a scientific experiment during the Cold War era of the 1960s in which the game is set. Colt was the project’s former Head of Security who now feels the only way to break the loop is to kill every last of the Visionaries that started it.
8The One - Immortality
Though Manon Gage did an excellent job portraying Marissa Marcel in the found-footage FMV gameImmortality, Charlotta Mohlin gave a haunting and eerie performance as The One. Mohlin’s character is an immortal parasite that lives on through art, presumably as old as Adam and Eve,as one shocking moment reveals. She claimed Marissa Marcel as a victim to have a starring career in three movies - Ambrosio, Minsky, and Two of Everything.
The confessionals The One gives speaking directly to you are intense and creepy, along with the transformations from Marissa and other characters when you carefully reverse the video clips. This character is one you’re sure not to forget anytime soon, especially with the game’s chilling ending.
7Abby Anderson - The Last Of Us Part 2
Though not well-received initially whenThe Last of Us Part 2launched, Abby Anderson, the secondary protagonist (and debatable antagonist), is one of the best-developed and critical new characters of the 2020s. Naughty Dog does an excellent job with her character development alongside Ellie’s in the sequel to one of gaming’s most beloved stories, tragically at the cost of killing off Joel Miller.
Abby is the daughter of Dr. Jerry Anderson, who Joel murdered in the Firefly hospital before he could have a chance to operate on Ellie and find a cure. Her journey starts with successfully carrying out her revenge against Joel; her villain, but Ellie’s family. But then you see her growth and relationship with her father by getting a glimpse into her experiences, including how changed she becomes by taking care of Lev.
6Cidolfus “Cid” Telamon - Final Fantasy 16
Known for Hollywood roles like Game of Thrones and Robert Eggers' The Witch, Ralph Ineson did a spectacular job bringing not one but two exceptional video game performances in 2023, with Lorath inDiablo 4and Cid inFinal Fantasy 16. His voice talent across both characters is powerful and distinct, but Cid quickly became the fan favorite of this Final Fantasy installment.
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Cid comes to the aid of Clive and Jill from the Ironblood after Final Fantasy 16’s long prologue and has an adorable wolf companion named Torgal with himthat you may pet. He’s a charismatic outlaw and faithful ally against the empire, who you also find out is a Dominantharnessing the power of the Eikon Ramuh.
5Chai - Hi-Fi Rush
Tango Gameworks is a developer well-known for its horror games likeThe Evil WithinandGhostwire: Tokyo, but its best character design by far is Chai from the cyberpunk rhythm gameHi-Fi Rush. Chai is hunted down by Vandelay Technologies, the corporation that created his unique cybernetics of an MP3 Player heart and robotic arm, and you’ll hack and slash your way to the beat with a guitar-like weapon to stop them.
Chai is a character that’s immediately likable and funny and whose personality evokes a bit of Peter Parker. And that’s probably because he’s voiced by Robbie Daymond, who lent his talent to the Marvel Comics hero in various animated shows and video games like Disney XD’s Spider-Man and Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite.
4Zagreus - Hades
AlthoughHadesstarted as an early access title on Epic and later Steam in 2019, the game officially launched in 2020 and finally reached multiple consoles in 2021. For a long time, Kratos was the definitive character in the Greek Mythology realm of video games, but since his move to the Norse realms in 2018’sGod of War, Zagreus now deserves the title.
In the Underworld, no one knows the area or enemies better than Zagreus, the son of its ruler Hades and a character whose nature is a complete antithesis to his father. Through intense roguelite action across beautiful hand-drawn settings, your goal is to help Zagreus escape the Underworld and reunite with his mother, Persephone.
3Cat - Stray
What can be even better than a human or demigod protagonist in a video game? How about the adorable tabby cat fromStray, who you play as in the game’s gloomy atmospheric cyberpunk environment. From the animations toperfectly capturing catlike behaviors, this cat is probably one of the cutest platforming characters you may become in a 2020s video game.
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Stray’s story is contrastingly not the lightest for this cat, though. Its journey into a dystopian city populated with robots and buglike enemies called Zurks can be, at times, harrowing and traumatic, especially since the cat becomes separated from its family and ventures alone.
2May And Cody - It Takes Two
These two aren’t only the best video game characters of the 2020s, but they’re alsoan excellent duomeant to be played co-op with a friend. Hazelight Studios created the most endearing and romantic story with Cody and May in a childlike fairytale way. They’re parents who are ready for divorce amidst their struggling marriage until their daughter accidentally fuses their souls into her dolls.
Cody and May will now have no choice but to try and work together if they ever want to see their daughter in human form again, their relationship receiving some of its toughest tests yet in the form of puzzles and platforming. Their banter with each other and Cody and May’s growth throughoutIt Takes Twois phenomenal.
1Alex Chen - Life Is Strange: True Colors
The most emotional story-driven series there is,Life is Strangecontinues to deliver some very excellent protagonists that are as compelling and layered as their supernatural powers. The third entry introduces you to Alex Chen, who was orphaned at a young age and separated by the foster system from her brother, and has developed the ability to see people’s auras highlighted by colors depending on emotions.
Alex’s story picks up eight years later when she decides to move to the town of Haven Springs from her group home called Helping Hands to live with her brother Gabe. As usual, Haven Springs sounds like a welcoming place, but it’s also got sinister undertones.
