There are plenty of video games where superpowers take precedence but disabled video gaming characters suddenly – where the rules of being human are shoved aside in favour of characters who rocket through the skies, blasting away at enemies with their heat vision.
What you don’t find a lot of, however, are games that feature a character with a disability – superpowered or otherwise.
Whether they live with a physical ailment or a mental illness, these characters are severely underrepresented in games. But at that time these characters was popular like Mesa prime build in Warframe, Let’s take a look at some of gaming’s most daring do-gooders – and ne’er-do-wells – who happen to live with a disability.
Bently, Sly Cooper
Bently, Sly Cooper Don’t let his adorable appearance fool you: Bently is a turtle with a gritty voice and a bit of a mouth on him. “Do you even know what I’m saying to you?
Or are you too stupid to understand the words coming in through your earholes?” But that’s not all. He’s also paralyzed and requires the use of a wheelchair to move around the world he and his Sly Cooper crew exist in.
He’s also an explosives expert and handles most of the planning for Sly Cooper and his gang’s missions in Bently wasn’t always paralyzed.
His injuries came at the hands of Clock-Lain Sly Cooper 2 after the Clockwerk Jaw fell on him. But he learned how to live with his condition, outfitting his wheelchair with weapons, booster rockets, and even a “pick-pocket arm” capable of stealing from nearby enemies.
And in Thieves of Time, players can even attach “hover pack” to Bently’s wheelchair, giving him the ability to float over bad guys and attack them from above. Bently is proof that is having a disability doesn’t stop you from kicking butt and taking names with the best of them.
Senua, Hellblade
Senua, Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice The titular heroine from Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice suffers from a disability that differs from many others depicted in videogames.
Senua’s is not a physical disability, but rather, a mental one. She experiences what is called psychosis, a condition categorized by a blurred line between delusion and reality.
Senua’s condition plays a major part in the game, as players – assuming control of Senua – are haunted by the same voices she hears and views the same hallucinations she’s witnessing.
Extensive research went into Hellblade to ensure the game represented psychosis in a way that accurately depicted it while not adding to the stigma of mental illness.
The team behind the game even interviewed a teen girl who has psychosis and consulted healthcare professionals to understand the disorder better. The result is a game that dares to tackle disability; not many other games have – one that won a Games for Impact award for its effort.
“This was a game about people, real people. Some people still using it as one of the funny steam names.
People with severe mental illness who helped us over the two years of making this game.” Big Boss, Metal Gear Solid While the Metal Gear Solid franchise boasts a whole batch of badass characters living with disabilities,
There’s one takes the cake of biggest bamf in Outer Heaven – we’re talking, of course, about Big Boss. If you’ve only played the final main release in the Metal Gear franchise,
Metal Gear Solid V
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, you may have wondered why Big Boss wears an eye patch in the game. It’s because Big Boss suffered a loss of vision in that eye due to an injury that can be traced back to Metal Gear Solid 3: SnakeEater.
In Snake Eater, Big Boss, known then as Nakd Snake, diverted a bullet intended for the shy Tatyana. While he managed to save her, he didn’t escape the ordeal unscathed. He was on the receiving end of a muzzle burn from the fired shot – a burn that rendered him blind in his right eye.
The eyepatch he wore in later Metal Gear titles became such a part of Big Boss’s identity that his pet, DD, also wore an eyepatch as a sign of solidarity. Not that the patch slowed him down any: BigBoss continued to be the best fighter in the world, despite the loss of stereoscopic vision.
And even after his younger, two-eyed clones showed up, he still proved he could hold his own – and that’s pretty freaking cool. Lester Crest, Grand Theft Auto V Grand Theft Auto V is one of the best-selling video games of all time and the most profitable entertainment product ever.
It’s a pretty impressive feat for a game that first released in 2013. And while players have found fun in the games story, open-world adventures, and online component, there’s another reason to like – or at least respect – GTA V: One of its most interesting characters is disabled.
Lester Crest is a central character in the main Grand Theft Auto V campaign and a major part of GTA Online. He’s also disabled, using a wheelchair and cane due to a “wasting disease” that affects his mobility.
While he’s not able to run and gun like some of the other characters in the game, he’s still able to stir up trouble, assisting other characters by planning heists and acting as a scout.
While he’s considered a “genius” in the GTAV world, he’s also kind of a huge jerk – and he has no problem reminding the player every chance he gets. “Don’t let me down on this. I’m putting my neck on the line – and I like my neck. It’s my best feature.”
Durban
Durban, Xenoblade Chronicles A Xenoblade Chronicles fan favourite, Dunbanis best known for using a mythical sword called the Monado to fight back an invasion of enemy forces in a time before the game’s story.
Unfortunately, Monaco’s devastating power was also harmful to Durban, and wielding it for too long caused his right arm to become paralyzed. The Durban that players encounter once they enter the world of Xenoblade Chronicles has no use of his right arm.
He can still carry a weapon; however, he’s forced to use it with his left arm. Despite the disability he’s forced to cope with, Durban is a more than capable fighter. And as players progress through the story, Durban once again takes hold of the Monado, wielding it with his left arm to assist his allies in battle.
Joker
Joker, Mass Effect Joker, who Seth Green voices, is one of the more entertaining characters in the Mass Effect universe. His wisecracks, sarcasm, unparalleled piloting skills, and affection for his ship’s artificial intelligence is endearing.
“I was thinking of installing some lava lamps. Maybe Christmas lights for ambience? What do you think?” But it’s his ability to persevere, even thrive, despite a bone disease called Vrolik Syndrome that makes him a real killer comrade.
“OK, I’ve got Vrolik Syndrome – Brittle bone disease. The bones in my legs never developed properly- they’re hollow. Too much force and they’ll shatter.”
Joker was born with fractures in his legs, and as an adult, still has a hard, painful time walking around without the use of crutches or braces. So other than an agitated moment in MassEffect 2 when he is forced to travel to the Normandy’s AI core, Joker’s rear end is usually planted firmly in his chair.
And when your pilot was the top of his class in flight school like Joker was, that’s exactly where you want him. “This is all Joker’s fault. What a tool he was. I have to spend all day computing pi because he plugged in the Overlord.”
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