There are so many cool protagonists in video games, individuals that we flock to and remember for their charming personality and the sleek way they conduct themselves. But who are the coolest of the bunch, which characters stand out as having a level of style that is just above the rest? The Gamereactor editorial team has picked a slate of icons.
Ezio Auditore da Firenze
Altair got the ball rolling, but it was Ezio who truly picked it up and ran with it. The definitive Assassin of Assassin’s Creed was so cool Ubisoft refused to move on from him for three games and hasn’t really found a man or woman who can match his aura. Whether it’s charming Italian nobility or eliminating historical figures like it’s going out of style, Ezio remains one of the coolest characters I’ve ever played. It helps that his parkour and instant-kill counterattacks only added to his overall cool meter, making him an immortal presence in my eyes as soon as he put that cowl over his face.
Bayonetta
Gaming’s ultimate femme fatale, Bayonetta made her presence known as soon as she was unveiled to the world. Her confidence flowed from the screen like her lavish hair, and her combat style was filled with personality, making her a mainstay before she even had a franchise. Time may not have been kind to Bayonetta’s voice actor, but it has been kind to the character, as with each new outing she’s only felt cooler and cooler.
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Bigby Wolf
Perhaps one of the most prolific aura farmers in the gaming world, Bigby Wolf is – on paper – a bit of a loser. No girlfriend, no money, and is a raging alcoholic, but he’s got such a way with a pose, a grizzled beard and a hunky voice that we forgive him for all of it. Bigby gets up in the morning and gets the job done. With a cigarette in his mouth and bruises on his knuckles, he’s not scared to get his hands dirty to get to the bottom of a case, and as we see his journey progress in A Wolf Among Us, he only becomes cooler as we unlock more of his werewolf powers.
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Cloud Strife
What more is there to say about the hero of Final Fantasy VII? Perhaps the most iconic and awesome hairdo in all of gaming, wields a sword that all men envy, and has two hot women fighting over him the entire game. Cloud is the ultimate cool dude package, and that was the case when FFVII first launched and remains the case in the present day where modern graphics and technology has made him even more epic. Who needs lengthy monologues and emotional depth? Cloud is a man of few words, the epitome of a guy’s guy, and because of that, this list would feel simply wrong to not include him.
Lara Croft
If you had to pick one character to classify as the female video game icon, there’s really only one person you can select: Lara Croft. This iconic adventuring heroine has for decades been the coolest woman in the video game world, beating out several other excellent options. Lara has everything that makes someone “cool” by the definition of the word, be it a completely and utter fearless nature, the constant need to defy the odds, and an outfit choice that many have used as inspiration. Let’s not forget, without Lara there would be no Uncharted or Prince of Persia as we know them, and both Nathan Drake and The Prince are two options cool enough to make this list by themselves…
Agent 47
Move over James Bond, not even you are as sleek and cool as Agent 47. The iconic hitman has been at the forefront of IO Interactive’s stealth action series for years and for good reason. Agent 47 is the ultimate chameleon, the epitome of a modern day man, a being so comfortable and sure of the person he is that he can effortlessly swap between personas and disguises and fool anyone into thinking he belongs. Agent 47 looks at home in a Dubai skyscraper, on the beaches of a luxury Pacific resort, wandering around a South American shanty town, or gently perusing the idyllic beaches of the Mediterranean. The only thing that lets Agent 47 down is that he kills for money, because remember children, murder is bad, unless it’s for a very, very good reason.
Aloy
Aloy of the Nora was a true revolution, and not just because she became the new life project at Guerrilla Games, the Horizon series. The young red-haired girl who survives and in fact becomes the best hope for humanity is a symbol in itself of how you can build powerful female characters independent of any male archetypes that are still associated with them in video games. Less so now, but for others to run, Aloy had to walk (and hunt giant machines in the process). 38 million copies of her games sold prove me right.
Doom Guy/Doom Slayer
This is an atypical case, as his development as a character has more to do with how we perceive him than with what happens to him in the narrative of the story in his games. For in Doom the story is … indifferent, and the protagonist behind the green helmet is basically an unstoppable force of nature who carries us in his toned arms to smash everything that appears before him and moves, no matter how many legs, arms or rows of teeth he has. Doom Guy is cool because he doesn’t need to speak to express himself: He is the perfect embodiment of what it means to play a video game: pure escapist entertainment. Doom Guy, don’t ever change.
