1. Damsel In Distress
However, no video game plot is as trite and tired as the "save the princess!" one, which was most famously introduced in classics like Super Mario Bros and The Legend of Zelda, but these games, specifically Zelda, have plagiarised their own plot so much that it basically borders on self-parody, and if one of these games
didn't require the player to save Peach or Zelda, fans would probably actually get riled up. It's one trope that pervades pretty much all genres, from the RPG (Zelda), the platformer (Mario), the shooter (Time Crisis), and the survival horror (Resident Evil 4). In the latter instance, the plot even encroaches perniciously on the gameplay, as once you find the damsel, you have to spend the vast majority of the game's remainder keeping her out of trouble and rescuing her when the villagers run off with her. It's an archetypal plot and one which should be deployed in a more ironic manner; not only does it in a modern age deny female characters their own agency, but it's just incredibly tiresome. Whenever I start a new game and I have to rescue a helpless woman, I just let out a groan, remove the disc and relegate it to being my beer mat for the next few months. Which video game plots do you find the most overused? Let us know in the comments below.