Heroes come in various shapes and sizes, often beginning the game as someone inexperienced who develops their combat and teamwork skills through the game's runtime. And one of the enormous things a protagonist has to accomplish is to go up against others despite the odds not being in their favor. Of course, this is true for all heroes but crops up much more in specific video game outings.

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Some heroes have very little chance of actually accomplishing the goal they're striving towards, only being able to complete their mission through the assistance of others or through pure grit of never giving up the fight. Not every character has the ability to fight back, instead choosing to rely on intelligence or tactics to take down the more skilled opponent.

Note: beware of spoilers for various titles.

8 Sora - Kingdom Hearts

Kingdom Hearts Sora

For a game aimed at a younger audience that many seasoned gamers now remember from their youth, the Kingdom Hearts series has its fair share of brutal battles and optional bosses to fight through. For the player, this can be achieved by practice and understanding enemy attack patterns, but for the hero of the story, every battle win seems just out of reach.

During the original Kingdom Hearts events, Sora has to fight people with much more experience than himself, and old friends turned foes. Fighting Riku is difficult enough, but it isn't until taking on Ansem with Sora alone that you'll realize just how much this young character has to go up against.

7 Ripley - Alien: Isolation

Alien: Isolation - Amanda Ripley in a spacesuit - The alien in the reflection of the glass

Somehow managing to invoke terror even more so than its film counterpart, Alien: Isolation is a fantastic example of a horror game with minimal means to defend yourself. Ripley spends most of the game hiding from Aliens and Androids alike using tools like noisemakers, the shotgun, and flamethrower to stun or distract enemies temporarily. While you can defeat the androids with enough firepower but can't deal any real damage to the Alien.

It's a miracle Ripley does escape the space station by the game's end, with all the threats present throughout the game. No one else in Alien: Isolation is ever as lucky as Ripley, showing just how fragile these characters are next to this burly sentient being.

6 The Protagonist Against Any Boss - Soulsborne Games

Elden Ring Tree Sentinel Boss

Soulsborne games might just be the perfect example of a game where the hero doesn't stand a chance since it's unlikely you will beat any of the main bosses without dying at least once. However, FromSoftware games are intended to be difficult, which is what makes the combat so satisfying, even if the concept doesn't click for everyone.

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There are so many possibilities for specific bosses that could've made this list, from Bloodborne, Dark Souls, Demon's Souls, Sekiro, Elden Ring, and you get the point. There are unyielding bosses in all of these games. Any Soulsborne title will test skill and endurance, with Elden Ring possibly being the best one to jump into for new-time players.

5 Wander - Shadow Of The Colossus

screenshot of Shadow of the Colossus where the protagonist faces off with Colossi 3, Gaius

It won't be until the final moments of the game that you come to see that Wander isn't actually the hero of the story at all, but since you may spend the entire game believing so and his intentions were well-intended, he deserves a place. Wander doesn't stand a chance, but it isn't in the typical sense since most of the bosses in Shadow Of The Colossus are simple to beat once you understand the basics of taking down Colossi.

Wander doesn't stand a chance because his story was never going to have a happy ending for him. In fact, he was never the hero of the story. Tricked and manipulated into killing Colossi in hopes of saving wrongfully slain Mono, Wander commits these unlawful killings with a good intention in mind, but the consequences outweigh the outcome.

4 Miles Upshur - Outlast

Outlast Chris Walker with a grimace on his face. Night vision with camera overlay on the screen.

Unfortunately, there is no happy ending for Miles Upshur, who enters Mount Massive Asylum from an anonymous tip to check out the place. You learn very early on that there is no way to fight back or defend yourself. Your only two tools of safety are to run or hide (which you'll be doing a lot of).

The first thing Miles plans on doing after seeing just how messed up Mount Massive is is to find a way to escape, an uncommon theme for horror protagonists who tend to stay in the super creepy building that will definitely be their grave. Running and hiding and then more running and hiding still isn't enough to save Miles from the fate awaiting him inside that building.

3 Jack - BioShock

Bioshock Player Fighting Big Daddy

Would you kindly stop being manipulated, playable protagonist? Is what we would say if BioShock didn't feature one of the best story twists in all gaming. A star-studded standout for story-driven experiences with horror elements tingling throughout, BioShock's lead Jack is nothing more than a puppet in the city of Rapture.

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Merely a pawn in Fontaine's power grab, Jack never had a shot at unraveling the mystery and coming out the other side unscathed. There hasn't been a game quite like BioShock since its launch, with the game's plot twist still being helmed as one of the best.

2 Aloy - Horizon: Zero Dawn

Aloy smiling in horizon zero dawn

Aloy has the advantage of spending her entire life training with mentor and father-figure Rost, who taught her how to survive in the wilds, use the environment to gain the upper hand, and the many tactics against machines. Still, this doesn't detract from the fact that Aloy had an impossible task ahead of her. Taking on the Shadow Carja, HADES, Glinthawks, Ravagers, Bellowbacks... the list continues.

Even with the classic lone wolf outlook of being able to take on these threats alone, Aloy knows it takes more than one person to save the world. It's these allies and their battle tactics that aid Aloy in her hunt to take down HADES and put an end to the Faro Plague planned to be spread through the machines.

1 Kyoya Suda - Siren

Siren cutscene of protagonist looking past a tree.

Infamously known as a game with next to no pointers on how to progress the story, Siren or Forbidden Siren is a Japanese horror game developed by Japan Studio. Siren follows Kyoya Suda, who traveled to Hanuda, the game's setting, to investigate a mass murder due to his interest in the paranormal. Things get creepy almost instantly as Kyoya soon learns the village is filled with creatures known as Shibito.

While Kyoya is the main character, there are other playable characters, all of whom are just as much in danger as Kyoya himself. No one is safe in this universe, and the Shibito are a deadly threat you'll want to avoid as much as possible. Since Forbidden Siren is a stealth-based game, you'll be sneaking around for the majority of the game, hoping that the Shibito don't spot where you're hiding.

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