Recognizing Playable Video Game Dads for Father’s Day

It is not very often that you get to play as a parent in video games, let alone a parent of a still-living child. Most of the time, when the main character is a parent, their family is killed or have been killed to provide a motive for the character while also serving as a plot device to help move the story along. Unsurprisingly, female main characters, who are also mothers, are very rare but there aren’t that many games where you play as a father either – albeit there are certainly more. Whether related by blood, adopted, or circumstance, there are some examples of great, playable video game fathers to check out as Father’s Day arrives.

Now, as secondary or background characters, there are a lot of great, and not so great, video game fathers. You have James (Fallout 3), Eli Vance (Half-Life 2), Barret Wallace (Final Fantasy VII), Dr. Light (Mega Man series), and even Bowser from the Super Mario Bros games (though Bowser is a poor example of a father considering how his kids turned out). But when it comes to playing as a father, where your child hasn’t been killed in the first act, that is not as prominent. It is only in recent years that we have seen more games with a father as the antagonist. 

A sign, I felt, that the video game industry was growing in a new way.

So here is a list of playable video game dads and feel free to share with us some of your favorites.

Harry Mason – Silent Hill

Released back in 1999, Silent Hill had an impact as a horror game and spawned the Silent Hill franchise. Yet while the game’s disturbing and frightening atmosphere resonated with players, the story of Harry searching for his daughter is one that is very memorable. Harry, who becomes a single father after his wife died, went through a lot of crazy, insane things and witnessed some disturbing sights in order to find and try to save his adopted daughter.

Those lucky enough to beat Silent Hills and get the “Good +” ending will get to see a very sweet and satisfying one (as sweet as one can hope from a Silent Hill game). Unless you wanted the joke ending involving Harry being abducted by aliens…

James Heller – Prototype 2

After returning from his tour in Iraq, US Marine Sergeant James Heller finds out that his wife and daughter were declared dead due to the events in the first Prototype game where the Blacklight virus was unleashed. Upon discovering his family is dead, James rejoins the military in order to combat the Blacklight virus in New York Zero. 

As James pursues Mercer, the protagonist from the first game, Mercer infects James with a strain of the virus that gives him superhuman abilities. While James learns to use his new abilities, deal with various plots, and even wrestle with Mercer’s offer to join him, James finds out that his daughter, Maya is still alive. 

Not only does James have to save NYZ but his daughter as well. One of many examples of what a father will do to save his daughter. 

Jack – BioShock

Unlike the fathers in this list, Jack is more of an optional father in the game BioShock. In this first-person shooter, Jack traverses throughout the underwater city called Rapture where he discovers that he himself has come from. But while exploring Rapture, and learning about his past, he will run across a Little Sister that is always being escorted by a Big Daddy.

(Spoiler Warning for the end of BioShock)

In regards to the Little Sisters, the player has the choice of killing them in order to harvest ADAM or spare the kids and purge them of a sea slug, returning them to normal. For those who saved all the Little Sisters, the ending of BioShock will show that five of them escaped with Jack who took care of them and, on his deathbed, are there with him.

One could almost call BioShock a litmus test for parenthood. 

John Marston – Red Dead Redemption

As an outlaw, John Marston is promised amnesty for his past crimes if he helps the Bureau of Investigation. The same organization which has abducted his wife and son who tells him to bring in the remaining members of his old gang to justice. Marston agrees in order to get his family back.

Eventually, Marston is reunited with his family after all his trials and tribulations. 

Unfortunately, one should never trust the government. 

Sam Fisher – Splinter Cell

Sam Fisher may be as tough as they come when it comes to the Navy Seals and special operatives, but when his daughter Sarah died it tore him up. Depressed and emotionally unstable, Fisher started accepting dangerous missions. However, he then found out that his daughter’s death had been faked by Third Echelon, a sub-branch of the NSA (you just can’t trust the government).

Despite everything they have been through, both father and daughter were reunited and enjoy a close relationship.

Octodad – Octodad: Dadliest Catch

If Dr. Light can be a father to Mega Man, then I guess it is only fair that an Octopus can be a family man. right? You have to admit, though, that Octodad is a hard-working father in his own right. He cooks, cleans the house, goes shopping for groceries, and even takes his wife and kids to the local aquarium. All while making sure they, and anyone else for that matter, never finds out that he is an octopus.

Without a doubt, this is one of the strangest plots for a game. But there is no denying that, when his family is in danger, Octodad is willing to do anything to save them. That includes revealing his true identity. 

Ethan Mars – Heavy Rain

How far would you be willing to go to save your child? That is the question you will be asking yourself as you move Ethan Mars from one trial to the next as he searches for his son who was taken by the Origami Killer. Prior to the kidnapping, Ethan’s older son had been killed in an accident while Ethan ended up in a coma for six months.

After waking up from his coma, his wife left him and his second son, Shaun, was estranged from him. But nothing will stop Ethan from saving his only-remaining child from the Origami Killer. 

Be warned though, you will hate hearing the name Shaun. 

I know this to be true because my name is Sean (the real way to spell my name).

Kratos – God of War (2018)

If someone had asked me five years ago if I thought the eternally-angry Kratos would ever become a father, I would have laughed. After all, this arrogant, semi-narcissistic, god-killing Spartan is not exactly someone who you would automatically think would want to be a father. Not even a good one. 

But the Ghost of Sparta stepped up as a father to his son Atreus. Kratos showed some moments of tenderness and understanding but still retained his anger and bloodthirsty ways. Especially when Atreus falls ill and Kratos has to bring out the Blades of Chaos to fight his way through Helheim to find a cure.

(Warning: Spoilers for God of War (2018))

Naturally, things would have been a lot easier for Kratos if Atreus had been a normal boy. So to use a very appropriate adage, “like father, like son” Atreus is the child of the gods through Kratos but also of giants via his mother Freya. However, in an attempt to break a cycle that Kratos has been a part of, the Spartan tells his son to learn from his experiences and that they should not repeat past mistakes. 

Geralt – The Witcher Franchise

If there was a medal for a man who didn’t want to be a father by trying to avoid it as much as possible only to grudgingly step up and do a good job at the role, then Geralt of Rivia would receive the gold medal. When he claimed the Law of Surprise, Geralt wasn’t expecting a child to be the surprise. But a child it was and Cirilla was now his destiny as everyone would tell him a plethora of times. 

However, Geralt didn’t want the child, ignored her, and avoided her but destiny has its own way of making things happen. Whether it was Ciri’s family being wiped out when Cintra was invaded, to running into the Witcher multiple times, to even being claimed once more by Geralt from a second “Law of Surprise,” eventually it all wore him down.

Finally, the White Wolf gave in to destiny and raised Ciri as an adopted daughter. While this professional Witcher is focused on carrying out his duties and making a point to not get involved in politics, he couldn’t maintain any such distance from Ciri. From comforting her when she would have nightmares to going to any length to protect and save her, Geralt of Rivia did the best he could in the fatherly role that destiny forced him to take. 

Bass Armstong (Dead or Alive Franchise)

When it comes to overprotective, overbearing fathers Bass has to rank up there. It gets to the point that when his daughter, Tina, wanted to get out of wrestling, he would encourage her to enter the Dead or Alive tournament in the hopes it will rekindle her interest in the sport. But when that fails, and she wants to work in Hollywood, the undefeated wrestler will fight her in order to stop her. 

Of course, whether it is being an actress, wanting to become a rockstar, or be involved in politics, Tina can’t catch a break from her father. Every step of the way Mr Strong has tried to stop her, but failed. You just can’t keep a strong girl down and, eventually, Tina convinces him that they should become a father-daughter team. 

Guess you can teach an old dog new tricks…sometimes!

Nier (Nier Gestalt)

How far would you go? How much would you risk? What, who, and how much would you sacrifice to save your loved one? It’s a common theme in many video games and for Nier, sacrificing his soul is a price he is willing to pay in order to keep his daughter, Yonah, safe and attempt to find a cure for her.

Not only is Nier willing to sacrifice his soul, but capable of swallowing his pride while doing tasks and errands for the villagers. Villagers who are aware of his daughter’s plight and try to help him by throwing work his way. So when Yonah disappears, naturally Nier embarks on a journey to find her and a cure for her disease while fighting the ever-increasing amounts of Shades roaming the world. But what he discovers about the origins of the Shades would throw any parent through quite a loop. 

Should you play this game, you’ll be asking yourself how far would you go to save your child. 

Joel – The Last of Us

If there is any game that will resonate with parents, it is The Last of Us. Even if you are not a parent, the game is so powerful in its storytelling that you will feel a plethora of emotions as you control Joel throughout the entire game.

(Spoilers for the beginning of The Last of Us and last half of the game)

From the moment Joel’s daughter is killed in the game’s opening act, as an outbreak transforms most people into cannibalistic monsters, he is instantly changed from the warm, loving parent he was. Time fast forwards 20 years and Joel has cut himself off emotionally and seems to be living just for living’s sake. Except that circumstances bring another young girl into his life who could hold the key for a cure. 

Charged with protecting Ellie, Joel maintains his distance and wants nothing to do with her. Yet, as their journey continues, he finally warms up to the girl and treats her like a surrogate daughter. The story of Joel is one of a man emotionally scarred by the loss of his daughter but, even though he tries his best not to, is still able to become emotionally invested in another child and take on the role of father once again.

Papers, Please

In this puzzle simulation game you are an immigration officer who, unlike the rest of the fathers on this list, must provide for an entire family. While there is your young son to look after, you also have a wife, a mother-in-law, and an uncle relying on you. As the only employed person in the family, you must come up with the funds to pay for rent, food, and heat. If that weren’t enough, your position is a precarious one in that, if you can’t toe the line, the government could arrest you and your family. 

So the question is, how far are you willing to go to provide for your family and try to improve their lives? Will you do favors for corrupt government officials, help a terrorist organization, accept a bribe when you can’t afford medicine for your sick son? Papers, Please will test your resolve to be a provider, a good father, and loyal citizen. 

Glory to Arstotzka or glory to your family? 

That is up to you.

Conclusion

So that is it for our list of playable video game fathers that are the protagonist of a game. There were a lot of great examples provided to me but I couldn’t add them all to the list (because that would take up a lot of time). However, I will be adding them to next year’s list. Many thanks to the forum users over at Exclusively Games for their suggestions (Star Magician, Bolo73, Necromancerx69, Dub-Z, Musou Tensei, Clockwork, and Star255)

So who is your favorite father from this and why? Sound off in the comments below and let us know who you think should be on the list next time!

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