Video games are all about having fun and escaping the real world, but they are also a pretty great medium for conveying and exploring emotions, particularly sadness. When players are experiencing a story first-hand, the characters and the world feel so much closer than a movie or a book, so when an iconic hero dies, or a sidekick falls into the hands of the villain, the tears are almost guaranteed to start flowing.
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A lot of the stories are told over the course of an entire playthrough, while others take place in a much shorter frame of time, letting players feel connected to the characters before they are quickly taken away. Creating sadness is an art in itself, and it is the combination of great writing and exceptional voice acting that allows these deaths to feel and appear much more impactful, and ultimately, hit a lot harder in the end.
Major spoiler warning for many big-budget games released in the last 10 years
Fit the 9 games into the grid.
10
Jackie Welles
A Friendship Cut Short
Details:
- Loyal partnership grounds the early story
- Death brings in emotional stakes
Jackie Welles serves as the heart of Cyberpunk 2077’s opening hours, acting as the protagonist’s closest ally and guide through the ruthless streets of Night City. A dreamer with big ambitions, Jackie constantly talks about hitting the major leagues as a merc, and his easygoing humor and undying loyalty contrast sharply with the cold world of corporations and gang violence that defines the setting.
During the disastrous Konpeki Plaza heist, Jackie is mortally wounded while escaping Arasaka forces. As the pair flees the tower, his condition worsens until he dies in the passenger seat of the getaway vehicle, with his death transforming the entire story’s tone, turning what began as a hopeful rise through Night City into a far darker journey defined by loss and consequences.
9
Rodric
Courage In A Hopeless Fight
Details:
- Sacrifices himself to save others
- Turning point in the children’s journey
Rodric is introduced in am A Plague Tale: Innocence as a kind-hearted blacksmith’s apprentice who becomes one of Amicia and Hugo’s most dependable allies. Strong, brave, and deeply protective, Rodric often places himself between danger and the younger characters, and within the group, he represents stability and warmth, being the closest thing the children have to a reliable guardian.
During the siege of the Inquisition stronghold, Rodric helps Amicia push a heavy cart while under attack, but is shot by an arrow and dies just after helping the duo escape. His death underscores the cruelty of the world around them and becomes one of the story’s most heartbreaking moments that the characters and the player themself won’t soon forget.
8
Mama
Bound By The Afterlife
Details:
- Haunting character connected to one of the game’s strangest mysteries
- Final moments reveal the harshness of reality
Mama is one of the most unusual figures in Death Stranding, being tethered to the ghost of her newborn child, but despite this tragic existence, she continues her work as a brilliant engineer, helping rebuild the Chiral Network. Her storyline explores the blurred boundary between life and death that defines the world, but it was only a matter of time before that link had to be cut off forever.
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Eventually, Mama decides to sever her connection to the child so she can reunite with her twin sister, Lockne, and the moment she leaves the location where the baby’s spirit is anchored, her body begins to fail. After sharing a quiet farewell with Sam, she dies shortly afterward. The scene emphasizes the emotional weight carried by characters in a fractured world where survival often demands painful sacrifice.
7
Daisuke
Innocence In A Nightmare
Details:
- One of the few sympathetic characters in the story
- The collapse of hope aboard the ship after his death
Mouthwashing is itself a strange and unsettling experience that explores so many aspects of the human mind, but among the cast, Daisuke stands out as one of the rare characters driven by genuine kindness. While much of the game explores moral corruption and disturbing psychological tension, Daisuke offers a small sense of humanity among the crew, making him feel tragically out of place in the increasingly hostile environment aboard the Tulpar.
As tensions escalate and the situation aboard the ship spirals out of control, Daisuke becomes one of the story’s biggest victims. His death is brutal and senseless, emphasizing how innocence cannot survive within the toxic dynamics of the crew, and the whole series of events heavily reinforces the bleak themes of the narrative, leaving behind an unsettling sense of moral collapse that remains all the way until the end of the game.
6
Gustave
Surviving For Only So Long
Details:
- Motivated leader and friend
- Mission becomes reshaped after his passing
Clair Obscur begins in an incredibly yet deeply emotional manner, showing a world of death and pain before the action has even really started. Right from the start, players are introduced to Gustave, a loving and noble character whose only goal in life is to bring an end to the Gomage that has been plaguing his city for his entire life.
After the crew sets out on their expedition, not everything goes to plan, but they somehow make it far enough to uncover more about the Paintress and her hidden story. However, just after it feels like players are really getting to know Gustave, he is cut down by Renoir, demonstrating that there are forces out there even more sinister waiting for the team around the corner.
5
Brok
The Loudest Heart In The Realm
Details:
- Blunt honesty masks deep connections
- Shocking death devastates the main cast
Brok is a legendary dwarven blacksmith known for his crude humor and abrasive personality, but nonetheless, he acts as one of the story’s most dependable allies. Alongside his brother Sindri, he forges weapons for Kratos and Atreus in Ragnarök while providing moments of levity during an otherwise grim journey through the Nine Realms.
Late in the story, the disguised Odin reveals himself and brutally kills Brok in front of the group, and the sudden betrayal leaves the characters stunned, particularly Sindri, whose grief transforms him entirely. His death lands with devastating force because he had always seemed untouchable, and losing him fractures the group and permanently changes their outlook on the people and the wider world around them.
4
Aunt May
The Ultimate Sacrifice
Details:
- The moral compass of Peter’s story
- An impossible choice to be made
Aunt May plays a crucial role in Marvel’s Spider-Man as Peter Parker’s closest family member and emotional anchor. Beyond her role as a loving guardian, she dedicates her life to helping the homeless through the F.E.A.S.T. shelter, serving as a constant reminder that heroism begins with caring for others.
After the Devil’s Breath outbreak devastates New York, Aunt May becomes infected with the deadly disease, but when Peter eventually obtains the only available cure, there is just enough for a single dose. Choosing to distribute the cure to the entire city instead of saving her life becomes the most painful decision he has ever faced, and her death effectively encompasses the core theme of sacrifice that has remained in the franchise ever since its beginning.
3
2B
Escaping The Endless Tragedy
Details:
- A warrior trapped in the conflict
- Cruelty is highlighted in the YoRHa system
2B stands as one of the most recognizable characters in the gaming world, and in NieR: Automata, she appears stoic and disciplined, embodying the relentless fight against machine lifeforms on behalf of humanity. However, beneath her calm exterior lies a far darker truth about her mission and her relationship with fellow android 9S, which only gets revealed towards the later stages of the playthrough.
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During the game’s later chapters, 2B is infected with a lethal logic virus that slowly destroys her systems, and as her condition worsens, she entrusts A2 with ending her life before the infection spreads further. The moment devastates 9S and exposes the cruel cycle forced upon YoRHa soldiers, with her death becoming one of the defining tragedies of the narrative, revealing how duty and emotions can collide within a war built on deception.
2
Joel Miller
Father Turned Fighter
Details:
- Parental figure throughout Ellie’s childhood
- Violent death that shifts the narrative tonally
Joel Miller was first seen as the main protagonist in The Last of Us, a hardened survivor of the fungal apocalypse who gradually develops a deep father-daughter bond with Ellie during their cross-country journey. His morally complex choices become the major thematic talking point for the series, and as questionable as some of his decisions may be, no one can deny his love and devotion.
Early in the sequel, Joel is captured by Abby and her group seeking revenge for the events of the first game, and after some back and forth, he is beaten to death with a golf club while Ellie is forced to watch helplessly. The scene is intentionally brutal and shocking, immediately setting the tone for the story’s exploration of revenge and consequence, and it adds even more complexity to both his own choices in the first game and Ellie’s subsequent ones in her mission.
1
Arthur Morgan
Finding Redemption In The End
Details:
- An emotional arc masterclass
- Ending completes the road to redemption
Arthur Morgan is the tragic protagonist of Red Dead Redemption 2, a veteran outlaw struggling to survive as the American frontier fades into history. Initially loyal to Dutch van der Linde’s gang, Arthur slowly begins questioning the group’s increasingly destructive path, and over time, he forms a much deeper moral perspective, particularly after contracting tuberculosis and realizing his life is nearing its end.
Arthur’s final moments occur after helping John Marston escape the collapsing gang, one last act of nobility that ends his life on a high note. The quiet death reflects the redemption he finally achieves by choosing compassion over violence, and the reason his ending resonates so deeply is because of how well his journey to greatness is conveyed and portrayed over the course of the narrative, cementing him as one of the most human and compassionate characters ever written.
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