Protagonists are a tricky thing in gaming. While games can offer plenty of interesting characters, main characters can often take a bit of a back seat, narratively. This is due to us being in control of them, so they really can’t act on their own as characters. Even as games have gotten more cinematic, many main characters are still rather basic due to simply having to be a vehicle for gameplay.

RELATED 10 Emotional Indie Games That Might Make You Cry

But, while the many games in the industry aim for recognizable archetypes, indies once again act as a bastion of creativity with unexpected heroes who are developed in new and interesting ways. From the flawed yet interesting, to the absolutely adorable and the more enigmatic, here’s the best heroes indie games have to offer.

10 Hat Kid - A Hat In Time

Hat Kid from Hat in Time

Video game protagonists have much less asked of them than other mediums, as the game itself will usually do the heavy lifting, narratively, and side characters can facilitate the story moving along. Sometimes just playing into this and throwing in a little charm can make for a great protagonist such as with Hat Kid from A Hat in Time.

Hat Kid is the epitome of adorableness in an already absolutely adorable game, being a little alien girl exploring a strange world. While she doesn’t get many actual words to say, she has plenty of personality through animation, and the few quips we get highlight her chaotic and mischievous nature -- all while still being utterly adorable.

9 Sunny - Omori

Sunny from Omori

Some games hold their protagonists back due to one simple fact: they're silent. This is done for numerous reasons, but it can be rather hard to build up an actual character when they never say a single word. Through creative methods, however, it can still be done such as with Sunny, the protagonist of Omori.

Sunny is both mute and yet one of the most complex characters within this RPG. Most of the game takes place within his dreams and through the imagery and characters you see there vs how things are in the real world, you get a good idea of what Sunny thinks about a lot of things and what kind of person he is. Not to mention his inner turmoil and the story you get to see with him.

8 Vi - Bug Fables

Vi from Bug Fables

Game protagonists are often made to be very good people, as that’s what players wish to be most of the time. They can be snarky, cold, or a little rude here and there, but most protagonists are ultimately selfless people who care for others. Vi from Bug Fables takes this 'rule' and chucks it out the window.

Vi is one of the main three protagonists of Bug Fables. She's an adventurer who, rather than being in it for answers or justice, is just in it to get paid. Vi is rude, incredibly sarcastic, and selfish to the max, and rather than making her annoying, it makes her an absolute riot to watch due to the game’s excellent writing. Plus, seeing that greed melt away to be replaced by genuine care for her friends is really touching.

7 Zagreus - Hades

Zagreus Posing From Hades

Supergiant Games has always had an interesting style of crafting their protagonists, leaving them both voiceless for most or all of the game yet still letting them have incredible stories like Red from Transistor and The Reader from Pyre. So, when they finally got to fully write and voice their main character, Zagreus immediately stole the show in Hades.

Zagreus is the son of Hades himself and is not at all like his father, taking being a rebellious teen to the absolute extreme by trying to break out of the underworld itself. Zagreus has a lot to say throughout the journey and so much personality to go along with it, having enough sass for every one of the gods and people he meets. He’s sarcastic, brash, and just a joy to watch, making each run so much fun with his endless number of lines.

6 Niko - OneShot

Niko from Oneshot

Making an audience feel truly emotionally connected to a character is a tall order, and to do that in a game with less dialogue than other mediums is an even taller order. OneShot decides to take a more direct approach in order to leave players feeling like they actually know the main character of Niko.

OneShot makes you immediately attached to Niko by having her talk to you directly, connecting with the player by asking you questions and bonding over certain silly things. Niko herself is really loveable as well, being a very naive but goodhearted kid who gets crushed by the weight of things around her, but she pulls herself up with optimism.

5 Brad Armstrong - Lisa The Painful

Brad Armstrong from Lisa the Painful

It’s always important to remember that protagonist and hero aren’t the same thing. Stories can see us following horribly flawed and messed up people going on the wrong path. While many games stray away from this for player comfort, some games offer this more interesting type of main character such as Lisa the Painful’s Brad Armstrong.

Brad is a man just barely making it in a cruel post-apocalypse without women when he gets the chance to raise a baby girl -- humanity’s last hope. And he screws it up. He screws it up so badly. Brad is a horribly selfish and flawed man willing to sacrifice others and cause so much pain. This is what makes him so fascinating as we get to slowly understand why he is the way he is because of his traumas and watch his slow descent. He’s a fascinating tragedy and easily the best part of Lisa.

4 The Bard - Wandersong

Bard from Wandersong

Most games are built with their protagonists to make you feel special, like the destined hero of your story. It’s a good formula to create very engaging and empowering stories, though it can make the protagonists feel basic at times. Wandersong turns this on its head by making a character thrown to the wayside with the Bard.

RELATED Underrated Indie Titles Every Gamer Needs To Play

The Bard is not the hero of Wandersong -- at least within the narrative. He isn’t the center of the grand prophecy you see unfolding and instead is told there’s nothing he can do as the world ends around him. Despite that, The Bard takes it upon himself to try to save the world in his own way -- with unending kindness and joy. This dichotomy between his optimism and hope and the world trying to crush him makes for a really interesting story and character that’s hard to forget.

3 Harry Du Bois - Disco Elysium

Harry Du Bois from Disco Elysium

One problem that keeps video game protagonists feeling like a fleshed out character is choice -- especially in dialogue. When you let the player decide who they want to be, it’s hard to craft a fully formed character. Despite this, Disco Elysium managed to do the impossible with tons of player choice alongside one of the most fascinating protagonists in gaming, Harry.

RELATED Best Choose Your Own Adventure Games

Harry is kept as somewhat of a mystery through Disco Elysium since part of the main plot is that he's struggling with amnesia. He’s even more an enigma due to players deciding who they want this cop to become. Even with this, Harry’s true personality shines through as everything he tries is marked with the same brashness and overall air of stupidity that makes him so lovable. Harry is a screw-up, but he’s a screw-up you understand and can truly root for.

2 Mae Borowski - Night In The Woods

Mae from Night in the Woods

Just like real people, protagonists can just be complicated people with lots of layers to them. In terms of being complicated, no game does it better than Night in the Woods and its protagonist, Mae. Mae is a lot of things: a college drop out, an aspiring artist, a so-so bass player, an absolute mess, and a caring friend.

Mae is a character who can go from being annoying to loveable and back to annoyance in the span of five minutes. She’s complicated, and it’s fascinating to watch as the game slowly shows us more aspects of her and her journey to figure out what she wants to do with her life.

1 Madeline - Celeste

Madeline from Celeste

The power of a protagonist in a game is that the interactive nature of the medium allows for you to be more directly put into the character’s shoes. Through the gameplay, you can be put into the state of mind or emotions they’re currently feeling to be more emotionally connected to their story. And no game uses this better than Celeste with the story of Madeline.

Madeline is a young woman running from her problems -- both physical and especially mental -- as she tries to climb Celeste Mountain. Madeline herself is fun with a stubborn nature mixed with sass that makes her so lovable. But the best part comes in how the game tells her story. It shows us her mental health struggles in an interesting way by splitting it into the character of Badeline, and it also shows this through challenging gameplay. By offering these tough-as-nails challenges, Celeste puts you into the headspace of Madeline. Initially, it all feels hopeless, but eventually you manage to persevere and come out the other side stronger -- just like her.

NEXT Most Successful Indie Games