The Most Impactful Black Characters from Games I've Played
By: Bryce L. Jackson
Wrapping up Black History Month, I wanted to look at those Black Characters in videogames I’ve played that made significant impressions on over the years. At one point, Black characters were sparse, relegated to the sports titles. Now, there seems to be a decent picking of characters and room for even more. Minor spoiler alert for some characters inbound.
Marcus and Horatio - Watch Dogs 2
For me, Watch Dogs 2 is a severely underrated game as a whole. I rate it highly because of its less serious tone, vibrant colors, and interesting characters. None more interesting than main character Marcus and DedSec cohort Horatio. Their dynamic in the game is something every Black person feels seeing another one of them in a space that isn’t explicitly made for them i.e. an office in a large corporation, or a classroom at a PWI (Predominately White Institution). Marcus himself is a fun character with cool equipment with his own flare. His dialogue and voice acting throughout the game are rooted in Black American history with his upbringing in Oakland and the changes he’s seen in San Francisco because of gentrification due to Silicon Valley. Horatio gets time to interact and we see his story as a Black man working in a megacorporation and the microaggressions he dealt with. His unfortunate death later in the game’s story hurt me as much as it did Marcus and DedSec. I distinctly remember feeling that same mourning and thirst for revenge that Marcus had. Every mission to seek justice in that storyline weighed more that anything else in the game up to that point.
Henry and Sam - The Last of Us
Pittsburgh is close to being my favorite section in The Last of Us Part 1 because we meet Henry and Sam. They are a pair of brothers originally from Connecticut trying to meet with the Fireflies but got separated from the larger group they were with by the Hunters. The age difference reminds me of the dynamic between me and my brother. I look at Henry in this world and believe I’d try to be the same protective older brother. At times it feels like a conduit for my emotions because I’ve lived apart from my brother for the last few years. Of all the impactful moments in TLOU1, their deaths hurt me the most as Sam is infected and needed to be put down, followed by Henry overcome with grief and feeling of failure to protect his brother, takes his own life. Arguably the most emotional moment for me in any game.
Vanasha - Horizon Zero Dawn
The only thirst-based entry on this list, Vanasha is a character Aloy meets late into the game while trying to infiltrate the Shadow Carja. She’s originally a Spy for the Carja Sun King and assists in freeing the child King of the Shadow Carja and his mother from their roles as false figureheads of a repressive nation. She’s a charming and charismatic person that gains your trust (and my affection) the more interactions you have with her. This charisma is why Chief Advisor Marad who trains Carja spies is part of the reason why she is considered one of his best. Behind all that charm and impressive physique lies a caring person despite the history she had under the rule of the previous Sun King, but is also someone you know you don’t want to be on the bad side of as her lore states, she “singlehandedly killed an entire group of armed and experienced bounty hunters, and was able to dispatch attacking Eclipse cultists”. I hope she’s in Horizon Forbidden West. I need more Vanasha in my life.
The Cast of Spider-Man: Miles Morales
The team at Insomniac Games did justice to the people and the environment in Spider-Man: Miles Morales. The aesthetic of Harlem and the intersectionality of Latin and Caribbean culture with Blackness is refreshing to me. The cast around Miles all share in this dynamic with their lived experience. Such experiences led Phin to become The Tinkerer because her brother was a victim of a corporation that preferred profits over the wellness of people. It’s what motivates MIles to be his own neighborhood’s Spider-Man. Hailey the mural artist (who should be protected at all costs), Teo the bodega owner, Rick the barber, Camila the restaurant owner, they all pop out during their side stories.
Honorable Mentions to: Lee of The Walking Dead, never played that game but he’s prominent so at least worth a mention.
Ikora Ray, the Warlock Vanguard in Destiny voiced by Gina Torres
Nadine from Uncharted 4 and Uncharted: Lost Legacy
Barret from Final Fantasy VII/REMAKE