8 Video Games Where You Played As The Wrong Character

6. Halo 4 - A New Protagonist

Halo 4
343 Industries

At the end of Halo 3, series protagonist Master Chief enters cryonic sleep and is left drifting through the endless void of space, seemingly forever.

Whilst a little bit on the gloomy side, this could have been a fitting and poignant ending for the central character of an epic universe-spanning trilogy. The next two instalments, Halo 3: ODST and Halo: Reach, focused on original characters and explored different events in Halo's timeline - a welcome change.

However, Microsoft felt that their faceless, personality-devoid tin soldier needed a comeback and formed 343 Industries, a division dedicated solely to wringing as much cash out of the franchise as possible in the form of unnecessary sequels and endless remasters.

Thus, Halo 4 was born, Microsoft made loads of money and the franchise didn't budge one solitary inch.

While the game itself was enjoyable enough, the reintroduction of Master Chief was a step back for the franchise.

A new protagonist would have breathed some new life into the series, and would have had more character than the Chief (which is any at all), but 343 Industries ploughed on with Master Chief's story, resulting in a franchise which feels like it's refusing to move on or innovate where its narrative is concerned.

Contributor

A self-taught video editor with nearly 25 years of experience, Joe worked in freelance videography for many years before joining WhatCulture in 2018. During that time, he has expanded his work to include both writing and presenting, and has been at the forefront of several new channel launches including WhatCulture Horror and WhatCulture Star Wars, largely defining their visual identity through the design and curation of their bespoke assets. As a dedicated WhatCulture Gaming staff member, he has spearheaded numerous new content strategies and formats, and has taken the lead on various charitable projects that have raised large sums of money for charities close to his heart. Bluesky and Instagram: @jjpinwheel