You may not realise it, but your favourite video game companion says a lot about you – they can be indicative of your gameplay style, and you as a person in general. As an example, I always find people’s go-to Skyrim follower very telling. For instance, if you stuck with Lydia, the Housecarl you receive at the start of the game, all the way through to that final battle with Alduin, you must be a very loyal Dragonborn indeed. That, or your self-respect level might be quite low, to be willing to suffer Lydia’s insolent attitude which, frankly, is not very befitting for a someone who has decided to dedicate their life to you.
If you tend to go for a killable NPC i.e. non-essential characters who can and will die at the first dungeon containing a swinging axe trap, you might be considered pretty reckless. And, if you don’t even reload when they are inevitably killed by a stray fireball, I can only applaud your level of commitment to realistic roleplay. If you go for Cicero, well… it is slightly concerning that you don’t mind having this sadistic little creep around you 24/7. But who am I to judge? In fact, today the judgement is for you to dole out, as I present to you some of my own personal favourite gaming companions.
Minor spoilers for each game ahead.
1. Sparx the Dragonfly from Spyro
This little guy hovers around for all of the adventures featuring our favourite purple dragon, and from Spryo 2 onwards, he can even help you find gems. In the age of trophy hunting, I cannot express just how helpful this is. Not to reduce him to being just a collectible detector, but Sparx could make it on my list based on usefulness alone. This is especially true given that the colour of his skin indicates your health. But Sparx is more than a health bar: he is a funny, very lovable little companion – if a little too eager to suck down live butterflies. He has an adorable character design that bursts with personality without him ever saying a word which, after a childhood of irritating sidekicks, reinforces the idea that silence is golden – and Sparx is too!
2. Garrus from the Mass Effect Series
Garrus Vakarian is a Normandy crew member in all three of the original Mass Effect games, and is even a romance-able character in 2 and 3. But regardless of romance, one thing is clear about this Turian rogue: he is your best bud, through and through. Garrus consistently seems to be the only member of the crew who really gets it, who fully understands you as Commander Shepherd. In Mass Effect 3, when it seems like the whole galaxy (including members of your own crew) are ready to doubt you, Garrus usually plays the role of the perfect hype man, with the (literal) guns to back it up too. During my second playthrough of the series, many years after my first, I had committed to finally romancing Kaiden Alenko. However in Mass Effect 2, there is no option to romance Kaidan. He is also very quick to walk out on the relationship at the thought of Shepherd teaming up with paramilitary group Cerberus, who may or may not be human supremacists. I still think Kaiden is a little too quick to jump ship though. In comes Garrus, who is so cool and so affable that I just did not have the heart to turn him down – he has the funniest lines, best action sequences and is actually one of my favourites to bring on missions combat-wise. This is a rare feat in gaming in general, having a character who is enjoyable to be around both on and off the battlefield. Honestly, Kaiden signed his own demise in my heart when he returned in Mass Effect 3 only to say he forgives me for cheating on him following his absolute bull-headed betrayal in the previous instalment. It was then that I realised that an intergalactic space war is no time to be settling for mediocre allies, especially when we could be rocking it with someone who is literally blue-blooded – a truly fitting description because at this point, I am not alone in considering Garrus is video game royalty.
3. B-12 from Stray
I never thought that the game which most people on the internet have dubbed “the cat game” could make me feel so emotional, yet I can’t think about Stray without getting wistful (though this isn’t the first time a game has unexpectedly left me emotionally compromised). This is in no small part thanks to B-12, the palm-sized robot drone who accompanies you in Stray. B-12 is your only consistent companion in the game, there until the bitter end, whether it is traversing long abandoned streets or areas infested with the nightmarish crawling goobers (called Zurks, if you want to get specific about it). How is it that a non-voice acted robot is able to deliver some of the most poignant dialogue I’ve seen in gaming? Without him, uncovering the mystery of why the humanless word of Stray has come to pass would be a very bleak journey indeed.
4. Elizabeth from Bioshock: Infinite
Something that sets Elizabeth apart from the other entries on this list is how contrary she can be. She is far from being a ‘yes man’, the very antithesis of the soothing, sympathetic Garrus. What makes her different from the obstinate of Lydia? Other than being much more than a one dimensional storage container, and being incredibly helpful in combat by providing ammo without getting in the way, Elizabeth is one of the first glimpses of goodness we (playing as former soldier Booker DeWitt) see in the fictional city-state of Columbia. She’s not quite comic relief, but a form of relief none-the-less, adding moments of levity between massacre after gory massacre. Exploring with her can sometimes almost feel like a holiday, pausing to sing songs or spend the day at the beach. Whether Booker deserves the holiday is well… up for debate. Ultimately, Elizabeth is a glimmer of hope and a voice of reason, the person who is there to make it clear that things aren’t as black and white as they seem.
5. Cappy from Super Mario Odyssey
How many video game companions can you throw into the air to use as a springboard for making almost impossible platform jumps? I don’t know the answer, but it can’t actually be more than one, because the release of Super Mario Odyssey introduced us to the wonder that is Mario’s googly-eyed hat Cappy. Cappy, much like Sparx, is another silent companion and I truly think we dodged a bullet there. I can only imagine how grating it would have been if he was given a voice beyond his little grunts and giggles. Cappy has a point in almost every category to qualify as a good companion, being both useful and a form of comic relief, and between him and FLUDD I’m forced to consider how many talking inanimate objects within the Mario universe we are missing out on.
Honourable mentions:
I feel like I have an unwritten rule of only one Bioware title mention per list article, otherwise I would also be including a whole host of Dragon Age characters (Iron Bull, Varric, Dorian).
Trico from The Last Guardian – I didn’t include this one because I haven’t actually played it, but every bit of gameplay I have watched has convinced me that this creature should be protected at all costs.
Victor Sullivan from the Uncharted Series – I wasn’t sure if Sully really counts as a companion. I love him anyway.
Lieutenant Kim Kitsuragi from Disco Elysium (though this might depend on how much of a deadbeat you play as!).
That about wraps up my list! What are some of your own favourite video game friendships? Do you still respect me after reading my impassioned ramblings about fictional romances I’ve had? Let me know in the comments!
