Summary
Like all good mediums of fiction, video games explore complex relationships, ranging from allies to enemies and everything between and beyond. However, games tend to cultivate a “kill or be killed” environment for players, and characters that inhabit these spaces often take on that vicious kind of dynamic, even ones that are supposed to be on the player’s side.
Whether for the sake of melodrama or tragedy or as a convenient device toramp up a revenge arc, video game worlds are dotted with toxic relationships, at least for those who know how to spot them. Beware of incoming spoilers ahead for these games, and remember that true love and self-respect always start from within.
At a glance, Michael de Santo appears to have it all: fast cars, a beautiful home with a pool, and a tight nuclear family. However, as the events ofGrant Theft Auto 5play out, it is evident that the family is in a perpetual meltdown state. Michael is constantly disrespected by his kids and resented by his spouse, Amanda.
Michael, in turn, allows his anger, narcissism, and pettiness to take over, resulting in a disastrous downward spiral between himself and his wife. Although Michael and Amanda seem to have a semi-stable open marriage, it frequently tears open in a dramatic way, with Amanda seemingly seeking out infidelity as a way to get back at Michael wherever possible and Michael going to excessive and destructive lengths to satisfy his ever-wounded ego.
Toxic relationships don’t just stop at romance.Toxicity thrives between dysfunctional familiesas well. The Mishima family feud, starting all the way back in 1996, is the stuff of legend. Heihachi’s brutal upbringing of Kazuya, which famously included throwing him off a cliff as a child to “test his strength” began a decades-spanning feud that quickly turned intergenerational across theTekkenseries. Even for the strictest, most expectant of parents, throwing a child into molten lava seems a little overkill.
For Heihachi, it was a test to see if he could bring out the “devil gene” that had been present in Kazuya’s mother, whom he killed. In response, Kazuya rose through the Iron Fist tournament and dropped Heihachi into a volcano at the end ofTekken. Heihachi promptly returned the favor by dropping him in the volcano at the end ofTekken 2. This violence exploded outward to Heihachi’s grandson, Jin, and inTekken 5, even back to his own honorable father, Jinpachi, who returns from the dead.
In the dog-eat-dog America ofGrand Theft Auto, it’s impossible to know who to trust, what with everyone adopting themindset of a psychopath, murdering people for quick cash left and right, and clawing every shred of wealth through gratuitous violence. The antagonist ofGrand Theft Auto 3, Catalina, demonstrates these traits immediately by betraying Claude and leaving him for dead after almost a decade into their relationship.
Catalina is “all business” and decides to leave her “small-time” lover behind when it potentially means going up in the world. InGTA: San Andreas, Catalina has a brief but intense love affair with CJ before leaving him for everyone’s favorite silent, cargo-pant-rocking criminal, who was shown to be interested in racing before. It is possible that Catalina had a violent influence on him, but in all likelihood, he was probably a bad dude before the cross-country robberies. Who knows what kind of fights they had during this time?
Some may say that therecan be honor between thieves, as the titular character fromSly Racoonmight say. However, there can be no honor between those who are easily corrupted with the promise of power and wealth, as, it turns out, is the case with Penelopy, a world-class pilot, engineer, and thief, and Bentley’s love interest.
During the events ofSly Cooper: Thieves in Time, Bentley’s relationship with Penelope takes a dark turn when it’s revealed that she’s been working against the team, specifically by trying to separate Bently from the gang and destroy his confidence and self-respect. Thankfully, Bentley eventually manages to break free and defeat her, but their one-sided relationship and its demise is a stark reminder that even love can be manipulated into a weapon.
Lies and manipulation are major themes in theMGSseries, but this might be the worst example. The big reveal at the end ofMetal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Painwas that the character players had witnessed pulling offstealthy miracles against all oddsacross Afghanistan and Africa was not Big Boss but his body double, whom he had dubbed the “Ahab” to his Ishmael. This body double, known as Venom Snake, had worked for Big Boss and his outfit for years as a combat medic, and Big Boss clearly admired his skill on the battlefield.
However, after their Mother Base was destroyed in an attack, the two were put in comas. The medic was transformed into Big Boss with plastic surgery and induced hypnagogia, all without his consent. It is unclear who knew about the deception besides Big Boss, but the fact that Venom was left in the dark about his identity long after their escape from Cyprus, and the fact that Diamond Dogs overtly uses some form of brainwashing on its field procured “recruits,” should make it obvious who the toxic partner in the relationship is, even if Venon “chooses” to embrace his new identity.
Over their long (and often in-kannon, timeline-retkonned) lifespans,Mortal Kombat’s combatants have developed complex relationships with one another. Before the events ofMortal Kombat 10, Sonya Blade and Johnny Cage got hitched and had a daughter. However, this never stops them from beating the snot out of each other in that game and all subsequent games.
Toxicity in relationships can be subtle, but there is hardly anything subtle about ripping a hole through your spouse’s chest or putting two bullets through your husband’s eyeballs after crushing his (admittedly chiseled) jaw.
Once a king in ancient Skyrim, Lord Harkon grew fearful of his own mortality and sought out a way to extend his life. His solution was to sacrifice “thousands of innocents” to receive the gift of true, pure vampirism from Malog Bal. However, according toSkyrim’s lore, only women can become “Daughters of Coldharbour” through an unspeakable ritual with the Daedric Prince of domination.
This means that Harkon was willing to subject his wife and daughter, Valerica and Serana, to the worst suffering women can experience in order to further his own thirst for power. Even after this, Harkon continued to view his family as tools in fulfilling a prophecy known as the “Tyranny of the Sun,” in which the ultimate vampire bane could be blotted out forever. However,Valerica was able to thwart his plansby hiding Serena and her Elder Scroll and vanishing to the Soul Cairn.
