7 Video Game Character Deaths That Carried Real Weight

7. Andrew Ryan - Bioshock

Ryan may not be the final boss of Bioshock, however make no mistake, he is most definitely meant to be an antagonist. In his own words, "It is only when we struggle in our own interest does the chain pull society in the right direction."

In a sense, Ryan makes the argument that greed is not only good, but necessary for the benefit of all. Of course, the decaying and splicer-infested corpse of Rapture shows just how well that worked out for him.

Once confronted, Ryan lays bare the motivation the player has - namely that the player was told to do things and did them without thinking for themselves because that was how they were programmed. A sleeper agent sent to Rapture by Atlas to take down Ryan. All using a simple question that doubles as a trigger phrase to strip the protagonist of will:

Would you kindly?

Ryan then proceeds to demonstrate his power over the character in a chilling sequence as Rapture bursts at the seams around him. With one last order he commands the player to kill him, and the player character obeys without input.

In essence, Ryan won. He chose his own death and forced you to do it.

After all, a man chooses. A slave obeys.