Traditionally, single-player games place you into the shoes of a protagonist, provide you with some supporting characters, and pit you against at least one antagonist. Yet, many titles have proven that you don't need to stick to that formula. Sometimes developers will provide you with multiple playable protagonists. In these instances, the game either lets you freely switch between them or forces you to swap at various intervals in the narrative.
The inclusion of more than one playable character adds some variety to the game as you're not playing as the same person for the entire adventure. More importantly, though, it can be used for storytelling because it allows you to see a narrative from multiple perspectives. Whatever their reason, the developers of the following titles included at least two playable characters.
7 Watch Dogs: Legion
The third Watch Dogs title takes a unique approach with the protagonist role. You have a team of characters, and you control one of them at a time. They're not established people, either. You pick a starting operative, then recruit more along the way. You can acquire the services of pretty much anyone, as you can simply recruit civilians off the street.
They all come with different skills and equipment, so you're encouraged to pick the right one for the right situation. The one thing they all have in common is the ability to hack, as you're a hacking group called DedSec. Your goal is to free the people of London from the tyranny of several groups.
6 Assassin's Creed Syndicate
Technically, the Assassin's Creed games always have more than one protagonist. You have the present-day character and the one whose memories they're living. Syndicate goes a bit further as you're witnessing the memories of two characters.
They're Assassin twins named Jacob and Evie Frye, who operate in 19th century London. Their goal is to loosen the Templar's grip on the city. Even though they're a team, they generally work individually. And you're able to switch between them at will. Most of the side content can be tackled by either character, but both have their own main missions.
5 Resident Evil Revelations
The Resident Evil games typically contain more than one playable character. Yet, in the first two entries, you only play as one per playthrough. In the underrated Revelations, you control a few different people throughout the narrative.
Series favorites Jill Valentine and Chris Redfield are the main ones as you switch between their perspectives a lot. Chris tends to have action-filled moments, while Jill deals with some scares. You also play a few sections of the campaign as newcomers Parker and Keith. All of them find themselves involved in a horror-filled situation where not everything is as it seems.
4 Tales From The Borderlands
TellTale's narrative adventure in the Borderlands universe serves as one of the best episodic games of all time. Much of its greatness comes from its compelling story and very witty dialogue. As you make your way through the said story, you will be playing as both Rhys and Fiona.
At the beginning of the tale, the two characters live very different lives. Fiona pulls scams on the residents of the dangerous Pandora while Rhys works for a giant corporation. They're both very likable, and seeing how their relationship develops throughout the story is one of the most enjoyable parts of the game.
3 The Last Of Us Part 2
Aside from a small section where you control Joel, you mainly play as Abby and Ellie throughout the second Last Of Us. The interesting thing is that these two characters certainly aren't friends. In fact, they're pretty much mortal enemies, and the entire narrative revolves around their conflict.
However, they spend most of the game apart, dealing with their own dramas and trying to survive in the title's post-apocalyptic world. When they're together, they're always fighting, and the game chooses who you're controlling for these confrontations. It creates an unusual scenario where both the protagonists are also antagonists at times.
2 Grand Theft Auto 5
Micheal, Franklin, and Trevor serve as the three protagonists in Grand Theft Auto 5. Each of them has their own safehouses and personal vehicles. More importantly, though, they each get their own set of missions. There are plenty of crossovers as the characters regularly team up, and they're all involved in the overall story. Still, it feels like the three characters are all living their own lives.
During missions that include more than one of them, you can often switch between the characters you want to control. You can also do this in the open world, even when the protagonists are on the other side of the map to each other. It's a neat feature that works really well.
1 Yakuza 0
While Kazuma Kiryu is arguably the face of the Yakuza series, he's not the only protagonist. There is often more than one playable character in the games, and in Yakuza 0, he's joined by Goro Majima. Majima serves as Kiryu's main rival for many of the other entries. However, Yakuza 0 takes place before all those events.
The game shows you how Kiryu became a legend and how Majima transformed into the mad dog. Both are embroiled in the war for the extremely valuable Empty Lot. Yet, each character has their own engaging plotline.