10 Tired Video Game Plots Everyone Is Sick Of Seeing
4. Evil Cults
Fanatical cultists may not have the impressive weaponry and shiny uniforms of an alien army, but they still show up frequently enough that game characters really should learn to take them seriously. Whether theyre kidnapping Lara Crofts roommates or terrorising Silent Hill, cultists normally only have one agenda: sacrificing someone the player knows to either resurrect, or serve as a vessel for, some demon or dark god. Whats most remarkable about this plot is that, despite how often it occurs, the main characters never seem more than slightly fazed by the revelation that the cultists are actually well, right. Normal people would rightly get a bit excitable when faced with proof that most of the worlds major religions are either wrong or have left their pantheons woefully incomplete. Thats modern society completely overturned - but video game heroes dont just shrug this information off, no, they actively set out to destroy the nascent god-ling before it can be reborn. Thats a bit arrogant, frankly, even if the demon turns out to be easier to stop than the cultists were. Occasionally its possible to rescue the hapless sacrifice, but usually youll be slightly too late to the party and have to fight the possessed body of your former friend. Theyll almost certainly gain the powers of telekinesis, levitation and the ability to summon undead soldiers. Youll gain a boatload of angst and an unquenchable desire for revenge after their humanity briefly resurfaces and they beg you to finish them off. Once thing you wont see, though, is your character becoming a reclusive pariah after the game is over, unable to deal with the theological implications of killing a god and what it might mean for their immortal soul. Press X to repent, perhaps?
