Five in-game deaths that actually made us sad

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Death in games is cheap. Here are some bereavements that really mattered

Game: Lost Odyssey
The deceased: Lirum Argonar

 The first time the player actually gets to meet Lirum Argonar in the 'flesh', as it where, is when she's lying on her death bed. Until that point she's only glimpsed using flashbacks, which is the way Lost Odyssey reveals the backstory of its 1000 year-old immortal protagonist, Kaim Argonar. Lirum is Kaim's daughter - a daughter he thought he'd seen perish several years earlier. So it's a particularly cruel twist of fate that the two are only reunited as Lirum is drawing her last breaths. Press play to watch an edited version of the emotional reunion.

But while the death scene is moving and tragic and affectively glum-inducing, it's the subdued post-mortem preparations and 'sending off' ceremony that really make Lirum's death so sadly poignant and memorable. We can't recall any other game that has actively involved the player in a character's religious funeral or, indeed, dwelled so ponderously upon it...

For that you would need to have played the game from the start, where your character, Ed (Will in the US), is rescued by O'Brian. The Captain becomes Ed/Will's mentor and the narrative quickly establishes O'Brian/Brenner as a heroic, humane and compassionate soldier that follows an unwritten code of honour on the battlefield. The Captain's penultimate action before his death halfway through the game is a characteristically chivalrous one, effectively sacrificing himself so Ed/Will and the rest of his men can escape a certain crushing defeat at the hands of a merciless enemy.

And while the picture of a beaten O'Brian/Brenner slumped against a wall (which was displayed using both the DS' screens) was the only visual tool for illustrating his demise, it was an incredibly poignant image, and made us realise - with a touch of surprise - that we were properly sad about the Captain dying. Testament surely to the game's great characters and affecting narrative.

Matt Cundy
Matt Cundy
I don't have the energy to really hate anything properly. Most things I think are OK or inoffensively average. I do love quite a lot of stuff as well, though.