7 Worst Uses Of Video Game Plot Armour

Deus Ex Machina, Script Immunity, Character Shield, there’s a few different names for this literary phenomenon, but the most colloquially accepted is that of The Plot Armour.

Appearing in works of fiction through the centuries, it is a trope of the main or narratively relevant characters in a story surviving seemingly insurmountable odds or dangerous situations because, well, the story wouldn’t be able to progress without them.

Creators always try their level best to balance peril with believability, but not all of these attempts come off as skilfully, as the sudden shattering of immersion that such contrivance brings out can often land the trope somewhere between the comically inept and the insultingly lazy

As an art form, video games are no exception. It can be prescribed to the protagonists to give them the edge, antagonists to magnify the challenge to overcome, or even just any old NPC, because the plot wouldn't be the same without them.

Love them or hate them, the games on this list surely are some of the worst when it comes to making their survivors the best.

A cynical or reactionary person might say that GTA is about killing people. Whilst the games, most notably their recent iterations, offer a whole slew of things to do beyond this, we do have to concede that there is a certain amount of validity in that slightly reductive observation.

With machine guns, flamethrowers, bazookas and tanks on offer, it has to be said that murder is a very easy option in GTA, so the developers naturally had to come up with a way to make sure you can’t accidentally obliterate a key character and soft-lock yourself out of the game.

A notable example of this would be Michael's wife Amanda from GTA 5.

Insulting, gold digging, drinking, stealing and a pretty heavy dose of infidelity are just some of the wonderful things that Amanda brings to her marriage with Michael, so when her character model appeared in front of the player's car it was barely a New York minute before players wanted to test her resilience.

Although dialogue makes it clear that Michael is not on board with this, it is completely possible to run down his infuriating wife and begin life as a bachelor. This single life is short lived however, as immediately after leaving the area you'll receive a furious text from your durable wife and a hospital bill for your trouble.

Whilst it's tempting to say that people survive car crashes all the time, this is a character who will survive car crashes all the time. Like it or not, you're stuck with her, so you'd better make sure your health insurance is all paid up.