As fans, we love our main characters. These characters, from the stoically heroic to the desperately tragic, captivate our hearts and minds. Great protagonists shape the narrative of great stories. We put ourselves in their shoes and become invested in their journeys. These characters aren’t paint-by-number pieces to be moved around by a plot. They reshape the world around them. They enrich our enjoyment of a story.
The very best characters are complex and flawed. They don’t just bring something to the story; they bring nearly everything to the story. These characters feel real, and even when we don’t agree with them, we understand them. This list doesn’t break down the best heroes in gaming — they’re the best main characters, and they shape the world around them for better or worse.
Updated by Cristian Macias on June 15, 2025:This article has been updated to include a video version (featured above.)
Warning: major story spoilers for the games discussed below!
10Senua (Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice)
A Tortured Soul Battling Both Mind & Blade
Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice
Senua’s story leads her down a twisting path filled with Norse mythology and endless tragedy. She hears voices all around her, some speaking directly to her, some sharing the lore of the setting, and others whispering about her endlessly. Her visions take the form of puzzles, illusions, enemies, and more. She cannot trust herself or the world around her.
You destroyed everything! Everyone! But not me!
Senua makes the list because of her sheer determination to bring back the man she loves, no matter the cost. She isn’t just on a journey filled with physical peril. Her mind is fractured. She cannot trust what she sees or hears, but she continues on her path regardless. Senua isn’t just a main character; she’s a tragic hero with a haunting past.
9Clementine (Telltale’s The Walking Dead)
Grows From Innocent Child To Hardened Survivor
The Walking Dead The Game
The journey of Clementine is one filled with love, loss, and horror. The realities of the new world are difficult for a child to comprehend, and she’s forced to grow up fast. Audiences have the opportunity to watch Clementine grow over the many chapters of Telltale’s The Walking Dead. The focused scope of her narrative is often more compelling than The Walking Dead’s usual ensemble storytelling.
God, I’d love to live in a world where I didn’t have to worry about killing or dying.
Clementine easily makes the list due to her journey through a vicious apocalypse. While she may lose her innocence, she never loses her heart and soul. The story of Clementine rivals, and in many ways surpasses, the very best storytelling within The Walking Dead universe. Her story is one of growth and determination through continuous hardship and loss.
8Peter Parker (Marvel’s Spider-Man Series)
A Hero With Or Without The Mask
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 uses the sinister intentions of the symbiote suit to shine a light on Peter’s insecurities. While he often gives more to Spider-Man than he does to his true identity, he still feels insufficient. He wants to be a better hero, a better Spider-Man, and shoulders the weight of New York City on his shoulders. While his intentions are always good, he tears apart his life and relationships because of his dual life.
Spider-Man didn’t save me back there, Miles did.
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Bombastic and fantastic.
Peter makes the list because of his relentless desire to do good. He’s a hero through and through, often times giving too much of himself to help others. While he suffers loss and pain at the hands of his villains, he never stops believing in second chances for the villains he puts away. Insomniac’s version of Peter is complex and highlights the constant strain of being Spider-Man.
7Lara Croft (Tomb Raider Series)
Explorer, Scholar, & Survivor
Shadow of the Tomb Raider
Lara Croft has been a stable in gaming since the early days of the PlayStation 1. She’s gaming royalty, and her reboot series highlighted her best characteristics. She’s a dangerous survivor who can adapt to her surroundings endlessly. Whether she’s crafting weapons to fend off dangerous animals or leaping from the water to strike down a foe, she’s one of the original action heroes in the world of gaming.
A famous explorer once said, that the extraordinary is in what we do, not who we are.
Lara Croft makes the list not only because of her legacy in gaming, but also because she’s as dangerous as she is crafty. There isn’t a puzzle she can’t solve. There isn’t a riddle she can’t crack. Whether it’s interacting with new cultures or fending off dangerous mercenaries, she’s always up to the task. She’s a worthy successor to Indiana Jones, and is obviously inspiration for Nathan Drake.
6Joel Miller (The Last Of Us Parts 1 & 2)
From Father To Survivor To Father Once More
The Last of Us
The story of Joel is one of total loss. After the death of his daughter on Outbreak Day, Joel becomes one of the most brutal survivors around. His brother, Tommy, has nightmares about the things Joel did to protect them. Tommy even questions if it was all worth it. Despite his initial disdain and objections to traveling with Ellie, he comes to love this orphaned girl like a father.
If somehow the Lord gave me a second chance at that moment, I would do it all over again.
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Joel doesn’t make the list for being a hero. He makes the list for being a father who damned the world to save his found daughter Ellie. Joel couldn’t comprehend losing another daughter. Despite Ellie’s willingness to sacrifice everything, Joel denies humanity a chance at a cure in the name of saving his new child. It’s a story of love and how it can be both twisted and pure simultaneously.
5Commander Shepard (Mass Effect Series)
Soldier, Spectre, & Only One To Stand Against The Reaper Threat
Mass Effect: Legendary Edition
When everyone tells you the Reaper threat isn’t real, you tell them you’ll just save everyone yourself. Shepard and their crew are humanity’s last hope. With the Reaper threat looming, they do everything they can to prepare the galaxy for war. There’s no limit to what they’ll sacrifice to save everyone from a threat the Council refuses to acknowledge.
Nobody ever fell in love without being a little brave.
Whether you play male or female, renegade or paragon, Commander Shepard is the last hope for humanity. Shepard gets the job done, whether it’s a suicide mission or a direct fight against the Reapers. Shepard is relentless, and earns their spot on this list for stopping at nothing to save the galaxy from the Reaper threat. However, Shepard is more than a soldier. Their story is one of companionship and love as much as it is danger and heroism.
4Geralt (The Witcher Series)
Lives By His Own Code & Moral Compass
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
The Witcher stories never work in terms of good and bad. Characters and storylines tend to be more complicated than that, and it’s a gray world Geralt constantly has to parse through. While he’s certainly a monster hunter for hire, he isn’t just a hired sword. He isn’t afraid to dispense justice, but he never really labels it that way in his mind. His adopted daughter, Ciri, follows in his footsteps as a Witcher.
Hatred and prejudice will never be eradicated. And witch hunts will never be about witches.
Witchers are something that’s dying out in the world, and Geralt knows it. However, he also knows that there’s no true end to the presence of the monstrous in this complicated world. He has earned his place on this list for his wisdom and fearlessness in the face of danger. He’s never one to shy away from a complicated situation, and while he has his own sense of right and wrong, he knows it’s a subjective thing.
3Kratos (God Of War Series)
Raging Warrior Turned Reflective God Who Wants Better For His Son
God of War Ragnarok
The story of Kratos is a long and complicated one, but the reboot of the series shows us a wise man instead of the brute of his past. Kratos has taken time to reflect on his actions and even distances himself from his son for fear of the boy ending up like him. His journey with his son to scatter his wife’s ashes inGod of War (2018)turns out to be one of prophecy. While Kratos can see the literal writing on the wall, he does not believe anyone is tied to their fate.
Do not mistake my silence for lack of grief!
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Kratos has earned his spot on his list with his remarkable transformation from a man out for blood to a wise warrior seeking to do better. He’s forced into the true role of a father when his wife passes, and he’s left to raise his son, Atreus, alone. As they journey together, Kratos teaches his son the responsibilities of being a god and the need to do better than those that came before. In the end, Kratos even convinces Thor that their role as destroyers is not set in stone.
Cowboy In A Changing World Who Sees The End Of The Road
Red Dead Redemption 2
Arthur’s story is one of dedication and loyalty. He’s a man who would do anything for his best friend, Dutch, and their gang. However, Arthur recognizes that their days of cowboying and robbing are coming to an end. While Dutch practically goes mad trying to find ways to maintain their lifestyle, Arthur is prepared to face the music. He even recognizes that some things, like their life as a gang, were never really meant to last.
We can’t change what’s done, we can only move on.
Arthur takes the second spot on this list for embodying one of the best character arcs in gaming. Despite his cowboy gang lifestyle, Arthur tries to do right in the end. He never believes he can do enough right to make up for the bad he has done, but he does what he can anyway. He even helps set up John Marston (the main character of the firstRed Dead Redemption) with a better life for him and his family. In the end, Arthur’s final moments are tragic and gut-wrenching. There has never been a cowboy quite like Arthur, and there may never be one again.
1Ellie Williams (The Last Of Us Parts 1 & 2)
The Girl Who Could Have Saved The World
The Last of Us Part II
Ellie’s journey is a complex one, but it might just be the best in all of gaming. After being bitten and realizing she was immune to the illness that toppled society, Ellie becomes humanity’s greatest hope for a cure. She journeys with Joel to meet up with the Fireflies. She learns how to be a brutal survivor from Joel. While she could have turned back and lived a quiet life with Joel, she insists on finding the Fireflies, so her life isn’t for nothing.
I was supposed to die in that hospital. My life would’ve f****** mattered, but you took that from me.
Ellie takes the top spot on the list for her complexity and growth as a character. While her journey isn’t one of a hero, it is a very human story. When Joel is killed in Part 2, Ellie swears to get revenge. She travels across the country to seek out Joel’s killer. No matter what she loses, she continues to sacrifice herself and her friends in the name of this vendetta. She finally gives up her chance at having a family to hunt down Abbie once again. She’s a tragic character whose journey is a cautionary tale about hate born from love.
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