10 Games About self-sacrifice

What are the best games about self-sacrifice?

Heroes often make sacrifices to protect what they cherish. Whether it be their own lives, those of their friends, or even the lives of complete strangers, they will face insurmountable odds. They will battle against gods and monsters, demons and undead hordes, and even the armies of entire nations. They will give up everything for what they believe in, and it’s that selfless act that makes them such an inspiration to us all.

So, what are the best games about self-sacrifice? We’ve picked out ten games with some of the most memorable self-sacrificial moments in gaming, from the Call of Duty titles to Dark Souls and everything in between.

Here are the best games about self-sacrifice:

• Noir detective Cole Phelps is a hero, but not in the traditional sense. He’s not out to save the world, instead he’s looking to atone for his past misdeeds. Despite his heroic actions, Cole knows he’ll never be a good person, so instead he sacrifices himself to save his partners in crime, Phelps realizes too late that one of his partners is the traitor, and he is killed by the police.
• The L.A. Noire team did something very clever with their noir story: they added a twist. The player knows from the start that Cole is a doomed man, so rather than making the story all about his heroic sacrifices, the player instead feels empathy for Cole’s struggles and feels his pain as he faces the demons of his past.
• The Walking Dead game was a huge surprise when it launched in 2012. The first season of Telltale’s tale of survival and moral choices was a perfect adaptation of the comic and TV series, with a shocking twist towards the end that involved a guardian figure sacrificing themselves to save the protagonist. It’s not every day you watch your zombie game companion die.
• Sonic Adventure 2 and Sonic Frontiers both include emotional sacrifices from Shadow and Sage, respectively. In Frontiers, Sage sacrifices her own life to save the world, while Shadow sacrifices himself to undo the time he spent with Maria.
• Mass Effect 3 forces players to make tough choices and endure sacrifices to reach their goal. Players are forced to choose between several different outcomes, but the most painful sacrifices are the ones where characters are killed off. Shepard’s team are the ones who suffer, but players must be willing to lose their friends to save the galaxy.
• Prey allows players to choose their own ending, and several of them involve sacrificing yourself for the greater good. One of the first decisions the player makes is whether to kill the original founder of the Mimic race, or keep her alive. The founder is a powerful psychic, so if she’s allowed to live, she can bring an end to all life on the planet. The decision is left up to the player, and they will have to live with their decision, whether it’s to kill the Mimic founder or not.
• Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 surprised players by killing off a beloved character, Paul Jackson. Players have enjoyed playing as Jackson in numerous CoD titles, and his death in Black Ops 3 was a shock to players. The game’s final mission involves taking down the KPA – a South Korean army – and as the mission draws to a close, a nuke is launched at the KPA, killing them, and Jackson.
• Taka sacrifices himself in order to save Tsushima from the Mongols. In the quest ‘The Siege of Tsushima’, Taka is left to defend the island from the Mongol army. The player has a choice to either take the fight to the enemy in an attempt to draw them away from the island, or stay and continue the defense. Taka chooses to stay and fight, and ultimately dies in order to buy the islanders time to escape.
• Alan Wake sacrifices himself to save his wife Alice from the darkness. Alice has been taken over by the darkness, after years of being heavily dosed with drugs, and she is now a dangerous force. Alan is willing to give his life to save her, but ultimately, Alice sacrifices herself to save Alan. She pushes him over a cliff and into the water to keep him safe from the darkness.
• John Marston sacrifices his own peace to save his family from the U.S. army. John is a former outlaw, but he is now a family man. He has settled down and is trying to leave his past behind him, but his former gang is out for revenge. They kidnap John’s wife and son, and demand that John kill a government agent for them. John knows the agent is working for the good of the people, so he faces an impossible decision – kill the agent and save his family, or spare the agent and lose his family forever. He chooses to shoot the agent, and his family is saved, but he is left with a life of regret.

These are the best games about self-sacrifice. For another emotionally taxing experience, check out the best stories in games, or maybe the best free PC games to tide you over while you wait for the next big thing.