5 Video Game Deaths That Happened Way Too Soon

Contrary to popular belief, video game characters can, in fact, die. The point is, unless their name is Mario, and they happen to have supernatural abilities that keep them from plummeting into the shadow realm, anyone can meet a bitter end. And yet, even when death is an imminent curse, some characters still meet their maker a whole lot sooner than others would often expect.

Rather depressingly, we have seen our fair share of premature deaths over the years, many of which have left us with more disbelief than genuine heartbreak. But which characters' departures have hit us the hardest, and which are we still only just about wrapping our head around today?

*Spoilers*

5. Carmine (Gears of War)

Notice how we haven't specified which Carmine brother? Well, there's a reason for that, and it's actually a running joke that Epic Games has kept alive since the series' debut back in 2006. Ever since the first of the family tree was introduced in Gears of War, it was clear that his role was to die. And so followed a series of unfortunate deaths for each sibling as the saga trudged on, to the point of main characters predicting the Carmine fate before they even transpired.

Although not a huge deal is known about the Carmine brotherhood, there have been a few occasions where the family history has been delved into, if only slightly. Clearly, though, untimely deaths run in the bloodline, as shown in nearly ever entry in the saga to date. The only soul who stared down the barrel of death and lived to tell the tale, surprisingly, was Clayton Carmine, the eldest of the four. Everyone else, well, death was in the cards from the get-go.

4. Vaas (Far Cry 3)

Ubisoft has toyed with some pretty questionable heroes and villains in the past, that much is true. One of its most prestigious figures, though, was a short-lived pirate named Vaas, who only made up roughly half of Far Cry 3′s campaign, despite being made out to be the primary villain in the game.

Of all the evil dictators and criminal overlords Far Cry has employed, nobody has come anywhere near as close to acquiring global stardom as Vaas. And yet, in a weird turn of events, Ubisoft decided to kill him off part-way through the story and shift focus over to an entirely new enemy faction. And honestly, that didn't go down too well with fans of the series. To many, it felt like Ubi abandoned a potential gold mine, and instead settled for a lump of coal; forgettable, and redundant.

3. Joel (The Last of Us: Part II)

Naughty Dog deserves two thumbs down for this one, to be fair. The first strike, of course, is for the genuine heartbreak that hit like a freight train. The second, annoyingly, is for Naughty Dog releasing previews of Joel and Ellie pre-launch, making it out that The Last of Us: Part II would, in fact, be based around them. However, something else was in the cards, and it was only once players had the power to flip them over that the truth came about.

After spending dozens of hours building up a solid father-daughter relationship in the first game, the inseparable duo made way for a whole other journey in the post-apocalyptic world. That, of course, should've been the outline for the second chapter. But for Naughty Dog, the relationship had run its course, and the story was in need of a new direction. To cut a long story short, Joel met a bitter end somewhere near the prologue, only to then be replaced by a whole other chatacter. How cold-hearted of you, Naughty Dog.

2. Naru (Ori and the Blind Forest)

Watching the opening scenes of Ori and the Blind Forest is a lot like seeing Disney-Pixar's UP for the first time — initially uplifting, but ultimately heartbreaking beyond belief. Although crafted to absolute perfection, its conclusion is anything but joyous and justified. And the worst part is, that very conclusion wraps up in the first ten minutes of booting up the story.

Ori and the Blind Forest follows the titular character, Ori, a child fostered by a kind-hearted creature named Naru. This motherly soul, despite having a mere ten minutes of screen time, goes on to raise and mold the small wisp into a brave and benevolent hero before, well…you get the picture. The journey itself is less of an epic quest to save the Forest, and more of a tribute to one of gaming's most beloved mothers ever conceived. Knowing that doesn't make the punch to the chest any less hurtful, though.

1. Lee (Telltale's The Walking Dead)

It doesn't matter if Lee survived right through to the bitter end, because the fact is, he did die, and not in the peaceful way we originally hoped he'd go, either. Sure, he survived up until the last part of the five-piece episodic adventure, but knowing that the series actually went on to post two more adventures plus spin-offs did make the bullet a little harder to swallow than other chatacters' untimely deaths.

Lee Everett was introduced to us as a criminal with a question mark looming over his head. But after meeting Clementine and assuming the role of a father-like figure, he blossomed into one of the most down-to-earth protagonists in gaming history. And honestly, the guy deserved to make it through the first season and into the next. Telltale, on the other hand, had other ideas, none of which the players agreed with. Even today, a decade after its release, we struggle to bring ourselves to forgive Telltale for breaking our hearts way back when. But then, can you really blame us?

So, what's your take? Do you agree with our top five? Are there any character deaths that made an impact on you? Let us know over on our socials here or down in the comments below.