10 Video Game Deaths You Were POWERLESS To Stop (But Kept Trying Anyway)

2. Sam - The Last of Us

Two of the most memorable supporting characters in The Last of Us are brothers Henry and Sam, and during one mid-game set-piece, players must provide cover for Sam, Henry, and Ellie with a sniper rifle as they traverse perilous terrain.

Clickers eventually attack the group, at which point Henry and Sam are both tackled to the ground, and players will be prompted to offer assistance, but you've only got time to shoot the Clicker attacking one of the brothers.

Shortly after this sequence, it's devastatingly revealed that young Sam was actually bitten and has become infected. When he attacks Ellie, Henry shoots him dead before turning the gun on himself out of grief.

There's enough ambiguity in the gameplay here that you might assume if you went back and sniped the Clicker attacking Sam instead of Henry you can save his life.

But The Last of Us isn't that type of game - no matter which Clicker you shoot, the outcome is set in stone, Sam's fate sealed and in turn his brother's also.