Death is part of life, even in video games. Narrative experiences and story-driven titles often feature shocking moments, among which is the passing of beloved heroes and iconic characters. These deaths are not purposeless or result from cynical writing at any cost.

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Sacrifices and honorable departures concur to dignify the greatness of these characters. In this article, we've mentioned some of the most famous franchises and their protagonists, so you are going to relive sad memories at your sole risk. Even if some characters could have deserved a spot, to diversify this top ten and include as many IPs as possible, certain deaths had to be remembered at any cost.

10 Vesemir - The Witcher 3

Vesemir, Geralt's beloved mentor, is the first hero that will salute you. Throughout the game series and Sapkowski's books, Vesemir has been a father figure for the most famous witcher and one of the main characters in the story arc narrated in the third installment of the main series of the franchise.

The oldest witcher, head of the School of the Wolf, and protector of Kaer Morhen sacrificed his life in a strenuous defense of the old and beloved keep and her pupil, Ciri. He gets his neck snapped by Imlerith of the Wild Hunt.

9 Noble Six - Halo: Reach

Halo Reach Death Scene

Halo: Reach — Bungie's farewell to the franchise created more than twenty years ago — is one of the most heart-touching installments of the franchise. The fireteam squad of elite supersoldiers, Noble Team, faced the Covenant threat and witnessed the fall of Reach.

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One after another, every member of the Noble Team gave his life in an emotional chain of sacrifices. Jorge died killing a Covenant Blockade, Kat got shot in the head by a sniper, Carter died taking down a Scarab, and Emile got stabbed in the back. Six died in a last and heroic stand with the iconic broken helmet frame that still hurts.

8 Soap - Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

Soap Death Call Of Duty Modern Warfare 3 Price

John MacTravis, a recurring character in the Modern Warfare franchise and known under the name of Soap, died like an honorable soldier. After sensing the trap and the assassination attempt, in the mission set in Prague, Makarov detonated the bomb in the church where Yuri and Soap were covering Price with a sniper rifle.

The explosion was devastating and Soap, in a heroic reflex, pushed Yuri away, buying him some time before his eventual death. Soap, critically wounded because of the fall, passes away in a heart-touching scene with Cpt. Price on the side of his deathbed.

7 Aerith Gainsborough - Final Fantasy VII

Final Fantasy VII 7 Aerith Death water

Aerith, the last of the Cetra, is a playable party member of the legendary Final Fantasy VII, and her death is probably the most well-known and talked-about in the history of video games.

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Whether you witnessed this pivotal scene with the super-deformed Sephiroth stabbing and piercing her with his Masamune in beautiful early three-dimensional graphics or experienced this moving execution through Final Fantasy VII Remake, Aerith's death burst you into tears. Cloud, after laying her body to rest, is ready to chase him all over the world — and you would have done the same.

6 Sarah Miller - The Last Of Us

Joel Sarah Death Scene The Last Of Us

The death of Joel's Daughter is poignant in every form, even in the HBO adaptation. In The Last Of Us, Naughty Dog manages to portray the pain of a father and lets you strongly empathize with him in a sad and masterly manner. And everything is so well written that you are on the same wavelength as Joel and get shocked as he does just after fifteen minutes of gameplay.

In an escalation when everyone loses his humanity, a soldier executes the orders from upstairs and has no qualms about killing Sarah, a twelve years old innocent girl.

5 John Marston - Red Dead Redemption

Red Dead Redemption John Marston Death

John Marston is the tormented anti-hero that is part of the RDR franchise, the best western story ever told. Blackmailed by Edgar Ross and Archer Fordham, he must get on the trails of his former friends and take down the outlaws of the Dutch van der Linde gang to let his family live.

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After getting rid of them without leaving any trace, he eventually reunites with his family and his friend, Uncle. However, he is forbidden from a quiet life because he is betrayed by Ross and shot by a firing squad. In his strenuous resistance in a moving but useless Dead Eye moment, John left every single player in tears.

4 Dominic Santiago - Gears Of War 3

Dominic Santiago Death Gears Of War 3

Dominic Santiago, a Gear soldier of the COG and beloved friend of Marcus Fenix, is one of the most famous second leads of all time. In Gears Of War 2, during Operation Hollow Storm, after witnessing the results of the torture experienced by his wife, Maria, and euthanizing her in a heart-touching scene, Dominic fell into depression.

He died like a legend in the following chapter of the franchise during the Mission To Mercy. With the whole team overrun by the locust threat, he sacrificed himself to let his friends live — driving a truck at full speed in an explosion on the notes of Mad World.

3 Lee Everett - Telltale's The Walking Dead

Lee Death Wakling Dead Telltale Clementine

Lee Everett, the main character of the spin-off of the most famous zombie franchise in the world, although a murderer and forced to do things he wouldn't be proud of, managed to be one of the greatest father figures ever seen in this media.

He showed humanity and compassion in a world on the edge of being deprived of good values in the struggling pursuit of survival. In a heart-touching story-driven experience, Lee Everett taught Clementine, the girl who will inherit his mantle of the main character of the game franchise, how to survive and be a good person (and to keep her hair short).

2 Joel Miller - The Last Of Us Part II

Joel The Last Of Us Part II

Joel Miller is a character that gifted us with one of the best dramas ever created in video game history. Joel went through a life made of sorrow that deprived him of his daughter Sarah, his friends, and his humanity, and forced him to decide between a theoretical glimpse of hope for the future of mankind and her new daughter, Ellie.

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In the very first hours of The Last Of Us Part II, he met his death, which had the face of Abby Anderson, another victim of this cruel world that puts everyone against each other.

1 Arthur Morgan - Red Dead Redemption 2

Arthur Morgan overlooking the cliffside (Red Dead Redemption 2)

Arthur Morgan is the lone rider that gazes at life's big sunset, alone, brooding over its shady past, smiling faintly with sadness, somehow proud of his redemption. The prequel of the legendary game that witnessed the deeds of John Marston is a timeless masterpiece that follows the steps of a dead man walking, condemned by tuberculosis, a disease that had no cure at the time.

Arthur was no good man throughout his life, but he managed to do a little good in the end, saving his brother John and part of his own soul.

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