10 Best New Male Video Game Characters Of The Decade

10. Varric Tethras - Dragon Age II

Dragon Age II cops a lot of flak, and rightly so. It reused dungeons, was a much smaller game than its predecessor and completely changed the tone from epic to character driven. It’s perfectly possible for people to have it as their favourite Dragon Age game though, as the characters are just that good.

A huge part of that is Varric Tethras, the swarthy storytelling Dwarf who’s at your side for Dragon Age II and Dragon Age: Inquisition; the only squadmate to be a permanent fixture across two games.

As the game’s unreliable narrator, Varric is central throughout Dragon Age II, and is never too far from the action in Inquisition either. In the same mould as Mass Effect’s Garrus Vakarian - a 2008 debutant and therefore ineligible here - Varric is made to be your brother in arms.

Reliable in battle, witty in conversation and loyal to the last, Varric is exactly the kind of soldier you want to be in the foxhole with.

Thanks to Dragon Age offering up so many squadmates, Varric isn’t a runaway favourite. He’s clearly built to be one of the stars though, and represents the likes of Iron Bull, Solas and Fenris by his presence here.