10 Video Games Where You Unexpectedly Swap Characters

The only character-swap that can even begin to match the controversy of Metal Gear Solid 2's infamous protagonist change is The Last of Us Part II's highly divisive switcharoo.

Though most players understandably assumed they'd spend most of the game playing as both Ellie and Joel - with Ellie this time taking the lead - Naughty Dog pulled the rug out from under players early on and never let up.

A mere half-hour into the game, we're given control of new character Abby for a brief spell, after which the remaining first half of the game is played as Ellie.

But at the mid-point, Ellie finds herself attacked by Abby, with the majority of the game's remainder playing out from Abby's perspective in the lead-up to this confrontation. Only in the game's final hour do players once again regain control of Ellie.

Though many fans took umbrage with this decision, it was a bold and smart move on the part of Naughty Dog to ensure that players didn't merely view Abby as a two-dimensional "villain" but rather someone with an equal claim on revenge.

The game's central thematic is focused entirely on the notion of perspective, so it was certainly a clever way to get players thinking differently about Joel's shocking death at Abby's hands, no matter how they felt about it in the end.