10 Best Silent Protagonists In Gaming History

By Lee Price / June 16, 2015

In a gaming environment where speech is now a must, rather than an added extra, it is becoming increasingly rare to play as a silent protagonist. Games on the whole have become much more narrative-driven experiences, which usually requires some degree of interaction with and from the lead character. In essence, they have found their voice.

However, in years gone by there have been plenty of games where the main character is capable of doing amazing things, all without the use of their voice. While some of these have since gone on to speak as the technology has advanced and their respective characters have evolved, there are still those who stand strong, proud and silent as they take on whatever their respective universe has to throw at them.

While some may argue that the silent protagonist is little more than a relic from an era that gaming moved on from long ago, many protagonists are still able to do just as much - or even more - than their more talkative counterparts without uttering a word. 

From the heroic, right through to the downright lethal, these characters simply don't need to talk to get your attention. They'll just let their actions speak louder than words.

10. Doom Guy

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Has there ever been a character in gaming that has faced the sorts of threats that Doom Guy deals with on a regular basis? Whether it's venturing right into the mouth of Hell and then fighting his way back, or taking on the fearsome beasties running riot on Mars, Doom Guy is always happy to just shut up, bust out the biggest guns he can find and blast everything in the vicinity to pieces.

While his silence was understandable in the first two Doom games - given the technical restrictions of the time - when Doom 3 rolled around it seemed like the time was ripe to give Doom Guy a voice.

That didn't happen. Instead, he just got on with what had to get done without ever uttering a word to anybody. As usual, he proved himself more than capable of handing any threat that is thrown his way without the bravado of past contemporaries, such as Duke Nukem.

With Doom 4 on the horizon there is a very good chance that Doom Guy will be given a voice, but until that day comes he stands as one of the most lethal silent protagonists of all time.