One of the most important aspects of a video game is the characters that both the player controls, as well as the others that inhabit their worlds. A boring character can easily sink even the most interesting narratives available in video games, so when a character stands out and makes an impression on the community, it really means something special.
In 2019, with so many great games breaking out and reshaping the landscape of modern gaming, the characters that appeared on screens across the world have certainly left their impressions. Each of the following characters has landed on this list thanks to being loved by fans and their impact in the last year of gaming.
Amicia de Rune (Plague Tale: Innocence)
Amicia de Rune's compelling journey through Plague Tale: Innocence earns her a shout out as one of the most intriguing characters of 2019. Born into wealth, Amicia is thrown into a difficult situation when the game opens and has to find the strength to move forward with her estranged, and chronically ill, younger brother. The resolve and determination that she shows in the wake of so much adversity throughout the dark story of Plague Tale: Innocence is captivating.
BB (Death Stranding)
While BB doesn't exactly speak throughout the journey of Death Stranding, the tiny, premature baby trapped in a little capsule throughout the game has quickly taken off as a fan favorite like The Mandalorian's Baby Yoda. When first introduced to BB, the "child" is referred to only as "equipment", as it is the only way for Sam and other Porters to see the BTs that threaten their lives. It doesn't take long, though, for most players to grow an attachment to the little "Bridge Baby" that sits on Sam's chest.
Sam also grows an attachment to BB, eventually referring to it with a more familiar title as he travels across America. Some of the other characters in the game even have a fondness for BB, with Deadman growing attached after "re-calibrating" the little one. That attachment makes the encounters with Cliff over BB all the more intense, as it also means losing the players surrogate child should they lose.
BD-1 (Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order)
Another small sidekick joins from another one of the biggest games of the Fall, this time the title being Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. While the stellar combat is Fallen Order's most impressive aspect, its characters don't take too far of a backseat. BD-1 in particular fills a number of rolls, as both a lovable droid companion that has been a mainstay for the film franchise, but also offers some of his own gameplay mechanics into the mix.
Thanks to his storage of stim cartridges, BD-1 becomes the players medic, as well as a health meter that hangs on the players back, if they don't want to cut focus from a fight to stair at their health bar. Aside from these practical applications, its BD-1's design that really sets him apart from most sidekicks. Having been designed to emulate a dog, complete with antennae stand ins for ears, BD-1 is one of the most expressive droids to date, created specifically to win hearts.
Cliff Unger (Death Stranding)
Another entry from Death Stranding is the devoted father and war veteran Clifford Unger, better known simply as Cliff. Since his first introduction in the game's second trailer, Mads Mikklesen's character Cliff exuded a sinister presence onto the world. His presence in-game is somewhat different, however, as he spends most of the game speaking softly to the player through BB's eyes.
While Cliff does appear as a boss fight on a few occasions throughout the game, its the brief cutscenes where he visits BB, seen whenever Sam connects to BB, that garnered him the attention from the Death Stranding community that he maintains today. This is a character who is so strangely entangled into the overall narrative, that he is responsible for four out of the ten most surprising moments in Death Stranding. And without giving too much away for players who have yet to conquer the beast that is Death Stranding, he easily becomes one of the most sympathetic characters in the title.
Farah Karim (Call of Duty: Modern Warfare)
Coming from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, a game that has been gaining praise for being a return to form for the Call of Duty series' high quality campaign modes, Farah Karim makes a bold introduction into the franchise. Farah is one of many playable characters in the Modern Warfare campaign, and as such, an amount of her perceived skill can be dependent on the player. However, this doesn't mean that Farah's excellence stops at her battle prowess.
Having become the leader of the Urzikstan Liberation Force and dedicating her life to fighting to end the occupation of her home country, Farah walks a fine line between "freedom fighter" and "terrorist" as the Russian government has labeled her. It's Farah's convictions and choices to end her push at the edge of Urzikstan territory that sets her apart as a protector. She doesn't wish to attack her enemies on their own land, even when given the chance for a counter offensive, and its that strength of character to stick to her guns that makes Farah such a fantastic character to watch in action.
FL4K (Borderlands 3)
On a far less serious note than the previous entry, FL4K comes in as one of the four new Vault Hunters that players can take control of in Gearbox's latest title in the Borderlands franchise. His inclusion is rare when considering the franchise, as previous games didn't go far to make the playable Vault Hunters all too expressive, instead choosing to tell the story primarily through NPCs. Borderlands 3 instead includes a sort of call and response between the player characters and the NPCs offering a slightly deeper insight into the Vault Hunters' personalities.
FL4K's personality is especially intriguing, as it would seem that the robot among the cast is one of the most expressive and interesting of Borderlands 3's Vault Hunters. His responses to other characters are often sarcastic and are torn between both valuing life and trivializing it, as FL4K has become self-aware, but is still tackling that whole morality thing. On top of all of that, FL4K's pets, which can break the game on occasion, are some of the best companions in the series so far.
Goose (Untitled Goose Game)
Untitled Goose Game is easily one of the biggest breakout indie titles of 2019, coming to the Nintendo Switch out of nowhere and taking the gaming world by storm. The titular character, The Goose, never speaks throughout the game, nor do any other characters throughout the several hours of gameplay. That doesn't mean that The Goose is completely silent, as some may still remember that sinister honk in their nightmares.
What makes The Goose such an impressive character for having no actual spoken lines, comes from the To-Do List that players must fill out in order to proceed through the game. The List includes a number of ways that The Goose wants to torment the inhabitants of the small village that it lives on the edge of. Playing as The Goose is proof that somewhere deep down, there is evil in the heart of everyone, and that evil comes out as an annoying honking Goose that won't stop stealing farming equipment.
Greez Dritus (Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order)
Greez is a Latero, an alien race first introduced in Fallen Order, and the trusty pilot that escorts Cal around the galaxy for the duration of the game's campaign. For most of the story, Greez works as comic relief, offering an air of brevity during the otherwise serious narrative of Fallen Order, hopefully keeping his positive demeanor forward through the rumored Fallen Order sequel.
At a certain point in the story, however, a running joke with Greez comes to haunt the player in one of the most random and unresolved sequences in the game. Greez has a gambling problem and it stirs up some trouble, creating a plot point in Fallen Order that introduces Bounty Hunters into the game and gives Cal even more adversaries to face off against. In one of his more serious moments, Greez reveals that Cal and Cere have become his reason to keep going forward in the reign of the relatively young Empire.
Jesse Faden (Control)
Control has one of the strangest and most fascinating stories of any title in 2019 and Jesse Faden sits at the center of it. At first, her somewhat standoffish approach to the strange, shifting world around her seems somehow bland, but as the player continues to unravel the mystery around Jesse and her past, the more drawn in they become. Soon the player realizes that its not that Jesse is simply aloof to the strangeness around her, but she herself is already twisted by the strange happenings that she's already come across.
Interwoven into the convoluted, but masterful narrative of Control is the story of Jesse Faden, the woman who would become the FBC's Director and stand against the HISS. As such, Jesse becomes the throughline for one of the best titles in the Metroidvania genre of the year, in a year that delivered a number of stellar titles within the previously unexplored genre.
Kait Diaz (Gears 5)
While Kait Diaz wasn't originally introduced in 2019, her promotion to primary protagonist in Gears 5 makes her a prime candidate for one of the best characters of the year. Kait brings all of the grit and grime to the stage that the Gears franchise is well known for, without being delegated to "Girl Marcus" or some other mirror of a past character. Instead, she comes forward as her own character with a fascinating relationship to both the members of the previous trilogy as well as the Locust hoard and their Myrrah, Kait's grandmother.
Mirage (Apex Legends)
Gamers would be hard pressed to find a better looker than Mirage from Apex Legends. The charming Legend is even aware of his good looks and uses his abilities to make sure players look at him again and again and again. It's no wonder he makes such a good distraction sending his visage across the battlefield to snatch up attention and leave enemies vulnerable.
For those who aren't in the know of Mirage's abilities, he can send out a hologram of himself that when struck enough times will disappear to reveal the ruse that an enemy player just fell for, making sure he's never outnumbered even when he's running solo or duo queue. Additionally, when it comes to his in-game and post-game comments, Mirage is one of the quipiest Legends available, with a comical response prepared for every occasion. And if that isn't enough, then maybe his glazed pork chops will earn him the right as the best Apex Legends has to offer.
Mr. X (Resident Evil 2)
Another character that doesn't exactly originate from 2019, but had an impact on gaming in the last year that puts him with the best of the best is Mr. X. He stormed into the Resident Evil 2 Police Station straight out of 1998 with a brand new coat of paint and HD textures that brings the character to life. Uttering no words throughout each campaign of the game, Mr. X does nothing more than stalks the players through every location after initially being triggered on the roof of the Police Station.
As one of the most legendary monsters created by Umbrella to date, Mr. X manages to instill dread in players without relying on body horror or quick lunges. Instead, Mr. X does something that few other enemies can manage; he simply walks, slowly towards the player with the promise that, if he catches Leon or Clair, they won't survive the encounter. Players will be happy to know that Mr. X's successor, Nemesis, may be coming to stalk the STARS once again in a rumored Resident Evil 3 Remake.
Owl/Father (Sekiro)
Owl, or Father as he's referred to by Wolf, is the father of the main protagonist of Sekiro. The character himself only makes a few appearances in game, but has an incredible impact on the lore of Sekiro, as well as being two of the most challenging boss encounters in the title. During the war that ends with the Ashina Clan taking control of the kingdom that Sekiro takes place in, Owl finds Wolf orphaned on the battlefield and decides to take him in to train the young man as a shinobi, leading to the events of the game.
His true character is revealed at the midpoint of the game, however, when Owl asks Wolf to abandon the young Lord Kuro and join the father on a quest to conquer the world with the power of the Dragon's Heritage. Some of the secrets that can be unlocked involving Owl muddies his character further, as it can be revealed that he attempted to kill Wolf two years prior to the beginning of the game, in an attempt to steal the Dragon's Heritage. There is a glimmer of hope in the man, though, as his final words in the second fight against him are of pride in the skills of his son, Wolf.
Parvati Holcomb (The Outer Worlds)
It should come as no surprise that Obsidian, a studio made up of some of the original creators of Fallout, is talented at crafting intelligent, charming, and realistic characters. Parvati from Obsidian's latest title Outer Worlds is no exception to that rule. Allegedly based on Kaylee from Firefly, Parvati plays the role of the naive moral center of the cast, whose sweet personality has drawn players to consider her the best companion Outer Worlds has to offer.
Naming Parvati the best companion in Outer Worlds is no small feat considering the impressive cast of characters the game boasts. Between Vicar Max, Ellie, and a host of lovable characters, Parvati has a number of characters to contend with. Even with the stiff competition, her innocence and intelligence still brings Parvati to the top of the list of companions in Outer Worlds.
Typhon DeLeon (Borderlands 3)
Last, but not least, is Typhon DeLeon from Borderlands 3. At first, Typhon is introduced as a historic Vault Hunter who discovered the very first Vault, with a collection of fanfare spread around his name. Throughout Borderlands 3, players can find special logs from Typhon that gives a little insight on his travels and his seemingly unsuccessful career as a Vault Hunter after finding the first Vault.
However, when the players finally meet Typhon, he isn't exactly what most would expect from the legendary explorer and destroyer of Vault Monsters, presented as a small, overweight man whose jokes tend to fall flat. In actuality, his legend is quite a bit grander than some would believe, as he found numerous Vaults, long before the player arrives. Not to mention, his family ties become quite the obstacle for the players to overcome shortly after meeting him.