10 Best Friend Characters In Gaming History
These ride-or-die companions have got your back.
Because video games can't solely be about blasting unending waves of enemies to bits - as cool as that is - they're also often about the relationships between the central characters.
And in rare cases, a central friendship might actually strike a sharp emotional chord or two with players at large.
Truly meaningful friendships in video games are few and far between, though those that hit can help define the franchise in question for its entirety.
And that's absolutely true of these 10 video game series, each of which served up one of the most potent and affecting friendships the medium has ever seen, courtesy of these loyal, heroic, and downright awesome besties.
From childhood friends who stuck their neck out for you, to surprise sidekicks who graduated to franchise mainstays, and even a certain loveable psychopath, these are the most likeable, entertaining, and memorable video game friends who categorically proved they'd do anything for you.
We should all be so lucky to find a friend in real life who's half as committed to us as this lot, their bond with the protagonist only deepening across the franchise...
10. Dom Santiago - Gears of War
The Gears of War franchise's drab aesthetic and testosterone-fuelled action belie the fact that the original trilogy of games are centered around a surprisingly affecting bromance between protagonist Marcus Fenix and his best friend to the end, Dominic Santiago.
Marcus' childhood bestie will do anything for him, as he proves in Gears of War 3 when he sacrifices his own life to save him and the other Gears during an intense standoff.
As likeable as Dom might be, his life is defined by so much tragedy - the death of his brother and wife, the latter especially setting him down a dark, devastated path.
But through it all, Dom's bond with Marcus is unbreakable.
Mercifully the upcoming prequel game, Gears of War: E-Day, will take place 14 years before the events of the first Gears of War, focused around a younger Marcus and Dom as the Locust first descend upon Sera.