Top 10 Video Game Characters That Always Get Hurt

“Mortal Kombat” series (1992-)



It’s easily one of the most violent video game franchises out there, where brutally pummelling your opponents to death is pretty much your only goal. With a dazzling array of grisly fatalities varying from character to character, newcomers are bound to get hooked trying to discover all the awesome ways to kill and be killed. The injuries are so gratuitous that they’ve led to many of the titles to be banned, or at least censored, in a dozen different countries – it’s almost sad to think that there are people who will never have the satisfaction of watching Sub-Zero rip out somebody’s spine.

“Space Quest” series (1986-95)



He’s probably the galaxy’s unluckiest janitor, scouring the known universe in search of “truth, justice, and really clean floors” but keeps getting himself killed in a hilarious fashion along the way. In his mission to save mankind, he's ended up dead as a result of beginner’s traps, powerful enemies, or just doing something stupid like walking out of an airlock without a helmet on. But it’s hard to stay mad at the game for these often cheap tactics, since with every death a new unique and sarcastic message will appear on-screen, comedically berating Wilco for his unending stupidity.

“Dead Space” series (2008-13)



A gory sci-fi spectacle that prides itself on the amount of horrifying endings it can dish out to its protagonist, this poor engineer has suffered some of the most inventive expirations to date. Whether it’s getting ripped apart by a surprise boss or sucked through a hull breach and accidentally chopped in half by the emergency shutters, these deaths are so viscerally captivating that just seeing them is worth having to start over from the nearest save point. And who could forget the nail-biting moment where Isaac needs to have a needle inserted into his eyeball, in a scene which can end with the machine drilling right through his skull?

“The Wolf Among Us” (2013)



The more famous a Fable is, the easier they can recover from wounds that would prove fatal to any “Mundy.” That’s why the Big Bad Wolf can go through so many traumatic injuries and still come out relatively okay. Despite his Wolverine-like regenerative abilities, the most memorable wound this sheriff suffers isn’t the most lethal, but it's certainly not pretty. After yet another fight Bigby ends up with a severely broken arm, the bloody bone sticking a good few inches out of his skin. With Dr. Swineheart busy removing bullet fragments, it becomes the player’s responsibility to brutally re-set Bigby’s arm in a painful scene you’re not likely to forget.

“Uncharted” series (2007-17)



This treasure-hunting rogue is one of gaming’s most beloved heroes, but that hasn’t stopped Naughty Dog from really putting Nate through his paces. His plane got shot down over a South American jungle, he was in another plane crash that landed him in the middle of the Rub’ al Khali desert, then there was that one time he had to escape a sinking ship, and of course we can't forget about the exploding mummies. Of course, we can't forget about his most iconic injury from Among Thieves, where the game opened with Nate bleeding from a gut shot in a train carriage hanging off the edge of a mountain!

“The Walking Dead” series (2012-)



If you thought Lee had it rough in the first season, just wait until you see what Clemy had to go through in what has to be one of the worst childhoods in all of gaming! Forced to treat a vicious dog bite on her arm by sewing it up with fishing line, that optional scene in A New Frontier where she had a car door slammed on her fingers until they shattered, seriously along with all the emotional trauma she’s endured, it really can't get much worse for the poor girl. Oh wait, she got her leg chopped off with an axe right at the end of the Final Season...

“Dragon’s Lair” (1983)



In this notoriously difficult arcade game, you’re going to fall victim to more cheap deaths than you can shake a stick at, all hand-drawn by ex-Disney animator Don Bluth; the legend behind The Rescuers and The Secret of NIMH. This means that despite the incredible frustration felt by anyone and everyone who's played this classic, you can't fault the animation. It certainly made the countless horrors Dirk had to endure all the more entertaining, though you have to wonder if Daphne is worth all the effort. Do you know how many times he's had his skin melted off?

“Resident Evil 7: Biohazard” (2017)



The course of true love never did run smooth. In his desperation to find his missing wife, Mia, Ethan heads on down to Louisiana, seemingly frees her from her imprisonment...only to find she's now monstrous and homicidal, going as far as to cut off his hand with a chainsaw. While he finds the means to get it reattached, it's not long before the game unloads a treasure trove of bodily harm his way! Jack Baker cut off his leg with a shovel, his wife Marguerite peppered him with killer insects, while their psycho son Lucas threw him into a home-made deathtrap like something out of Saw! Till death do us part indeed...

“Tomb Raider” (2013)



Despite being one of the most iconic heroines in gaming, famous for her ability to brush off any kind of danger flung her way, the 2013 reboot to the series put Lara through the ringer! She’s shipwrecked, kidnapped, tortured, beaten, and seemingly has no end to her bad luck. While her game over animations are gory enough, the worst injuries are the ones she goes through for the sake of the story - such as getting set on fire. impaled by a metal rod, as well as stepping in a bear trap and nearly drowning in a river of human blood.

“Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus” (2017)



While Terror-Billy has gotten into his fair share of scrapes with his Nazi overlords in in previous Wolfenstein games, it’s in The New Colossus that this habit really came to a head – literally. For most of the game this all American badass is barely clinging onto life, which is eventually severed when he's captured by the Nazis and publicly decapitated. That's got to be a harrowing experience. No worries though, since his allies retrieved his severed cranium and attached it to a new body so he could continue to kick ass! The wonders of modern medicine.