8 Emotional Video Game Deaths (We Couldn't Help Laughing At)

6. Jason (Heavy Rain)

Heavy Rain Jason
Quantic Dream

It takes a special breed of creative insanity to direct a child's death scene in a way that's funnier than it is tragic.

In the prologue of David Cage's much-anticipated PS3 thriller Heavy Rain - a game which promised to re-write how we considered interactive narratives - architect Ethan's perfect middle-class life crashes down following a fateful day at the mall.

With his mind wandering, probably in the direction of a Bon Iver 'masterpiece' or an avant-garde fusion tea concoction, the world's worst dad loses track of his ten year old son Jason. Despite stalking the trail of a telltale red balloon (keep in mind he's supposed to be ten, not five), and shouting 'JAA-SOON!' repeatedly, in a range of entertainingly melodic ways, Ethan can't locate his lost boy.

Sides are already splitting by this point, as players are encouraged to tap the "Jason" button and wander around the mall in a panic.

Somehow it only gets worse in the next cutscene, where Ethan spots his son across the road. In the most over-edited scene in gaming, Jason is splattered by a car despite his dad's best Matrix-esque attempts, while everyone continues to repeat his name over and over again.

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Josh has over 11 years of experience as a published writer, having worked nine of those years as a full-time content producer at WhatCulture. In that period he has created hundreds of articles, videos and podcast episodes for multiple WhatCulture channels, specialising in gaming, horror and film & TV. He now primarily works as a senior content producer and presenter on WhatCulture Gaming where he co-hosts the WhatCulture Gaming Podcast, a top 3 UK most listened to gaming podcast that he co-created in 2018. Over the years he has reviewed several high-profile gaming releases, covered industry events with on-site reporting, opined on breaking news, and even kicked off his interviewing career by chatting to childhood hero, Tommy Wiseau.

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Editorial Team

Benjamin was born in 1987, and is still not dead. He variously enjoys classical music, old-school adventure games (they're not dead), and walks on the beach (albeit short - asthma, you know). He's currently trying to compile a comprehensive history of video game music, yet denies accusations that he purposefully targets niche audiences. He's often wrong about these things.