Lately, tarot card motifs have appeared in many video games. Tarot cards have been assigned to different characters in Dragon Age: Inquisition, they have appeared as murals in Cyberpunk 2077, have been symbols of characters in Persona titles, and Final Fantasy 14 has an entire healing class based on them. That is only the tip of the iceberg too, as many other games have tarot motifs.
Tarot cards have been used for hundreds of years, containing 22 major arcana as well as suits of swords, wands, coins, and cups. Today, they are often associated with divination and the occult, but the original purpose of the cards hundreds of years ago was actually to play games. As such, tarot and the concept of games have always been connected. As to why they are appearing as motifs in video games, a lot of that has to do with a tarot resurgence and how they can be used to tell stories.
The Resurgence Of Tarot
A tarot resurgence has come up a lot in media and online discussions. Some believe the resurgence is more about self-care than the occult, and they could be right. Rather than using the cards as a sort of fortune-telling method, many who read cards today mention that readings are useful for shedding light on different topics and for critical thinking about various issues. Comfort can also be found in the themes of the cards, which themselves show a sort of hero's journey beginning with the innocence of the Fool and ending with the completion of the World.
This resurgence has influenced the video game industry. Looking at the cards and what they symbolize, a lot can be said with very little from using their imagery in story-centered video games. The meaning of the cards themselves is complex, which allows for interesting angles on what the video game characters and themes are about with tarot card motifs.
Video Games With Tarot Motifs
Cyberpunk 2077 has an entire sidequest related to the major arcana of tarot. The sidequest is fittingly named "Fool On The Hill" and is about finding tarot graffiti around Night City. Every piece of graffiti relates to a character or something that happens in the game. For example, the Fool (symbol of potential) achievement is awarded when V becomes a mercenary and the World (symbol of a cycle ending) achievement comes from beating the main story. Every ending is also named after a major arcana, with the Star (symbol of wishes and inspiration) being assigned to the Aldecaldo ending and the Sun (symbol of happiness) being assigned to becoming a mercenary legend.
The recently releases horror game The Quarry also has tarot card collectables. Each one collected symbolizes a choice in the game. For example, the Fool is about choosing how to tamper with the van and the Devil (symbol of obsession) is about whether to shoot Nick or not. The cards have appeared in a number of horror games due to their association with the occult, as Silent Hill has sported tarot card-based puzzles in the past. Another example is Murder House, in which the Easter Ripper uses tarot cards with easter eggs as a calling card.
The tarot has been in more than just recent titles. It has appeared in some pretty old games as well. The Sega Saturn game, Mansion of Hidden Souls, used tarot cards as a sort of compass with each room associated with a different card. Another old title is literally about Tarot cards, a puzzle game from 1987 called The Fool's Errand.
Games have also often had fortune-tellers that use tarot. In Quest for Glory: Shadows of Darkness, players could get their fortunes read by an NPC. The cards that appear depend on what point of the story the player is on. The same is true in Curse of Monkey Island. In Max Payne, Lisa Punchinello uses tarot and leaves a fortune on the table that Max reads. Chihaya in Persona 5 is also a tarot card reader.
Video game titles that use magic also often have schools or classes based on tarot. SaGa Frontier has the Arcane Magic school, whose spells are based on minor and major arcana. Astrologians in Final Fantasy 14 use cards based loosely on tarot to give buffs and heal party members. Lucia from the Shadow Hearts series also used tarot cards in battle (though they sometimes had negative effects on the party). Tarot cards have been used as spells in Ogre Battle. Outside magic, they have also been part of equippable items such as the wearable rings in Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia.
A lot of the time, there are video games that relate their characters to specific tarot cards. Boss monsters in the House of the Dead series are typically based on tarot cards such as the Magician, Moon, and Emperor. In the Persona series, arcana are everywhere. The most recent game used confidants as major arcana and previous ones have used minor arcana for demons, shadows, and personas. Dragon Age: Inquisition used the major arcana for its characters, and sometimes the arcana symbols even changed depending on player choices. For example, Solas can turn from the Hermit (symbol of inner guidance) to the Tower (symbol of chaotic change). Outside RPGs, Sayonara Wild Hearts uses tarot arcana in its lore and characters as well.
Some games are also subtle about their tarot references. Fire Emblem: Three Houses is one such title, as its Crests are all based on major arcana. For example, Seiros is the High Priestess (symbol of mystery and intuition) and the Beast is the Devil arcana. Even with games that don't have tarot, fans often create tarot cards of the characters and events, assigning them arcana based on their various traits.
In conclusion, there is a ton of tarot in video games already, and there will likely be way more in the future. Even those with no interest in tarot, by playing video games, will likely learn a little about tarot cards here and there. After all, the cards are essentially symbols of building blocks used in storytelling. After all, most gamers have seen characters like hermits, magicians, priestesses, emperors, and devils. In this resurgence of tarot, video games have definitely become a part of the trend.