With Father’s Day upon us, we at the Zombie Chimp wanted to reflect upon the video game dads that really stood out to us. For better or for worse. From the nerdy to the powerful, we’ve seen it all. But, what do we really want in a father figure? Caring? Compassionate? Constantly yelling “Boy!” to get your attention? There are so many reasons to love dads. So, in this post, I will be picking the top 5 video game dads that we secretly want as our own dad. (Disclosure: I don’t want to replace my real dad. He is awesome and I love him. I just also love these guys too).
1. John Marston – Red Dead Redemption
Often when people think of great video game fathers, John Marston is a name that will come up often. A man of (mostly) honour, he wants nothing more than the peaceful life. In fact that whole point of Red Dead Redemption is for John to get home to his loving wife and adoring son.
Of course, the reason we want John to be our dad is because of how blatently bad-ass he is on his quest for peace. There aren’t many fathers I know of who would get blind drunk then go killing bandits. But, good ol’ John would. All to be with his family. God bless ya’ John.
2. Kratos – God of War
Okay, hear me out on this one. “Are you crazy?” I hear many of you cry. Well, yes, but that is beside the point. Kratos would actually make a great dad. Think about it for a second. He can lift insanely heavy objects without so much as breaking a sweat. He has super intimidating so no-one would ever bully you when he’s around and he can punch a dragon to death. I mean, what more do you want? Seriously. He may seem all moody and grumpy but what dad isn’t? The fact is, he would be there for us when we need him. And, that’s a true dad. Much love to you Kratos.
3. Eli Vance – Half Life 2
Eli was honestly the coolest and most loving dad. Sure, he spent most of his time working on something sciency and nerdy. But, despite being super busy, he still found time to build his daughter a pet robot aptly named Dog.
How awesome is that? I know I would want my dad to build me something that cool! Plus, when it comes down to it, he only every has his daughter’s interests in mind. Not every dad can be there every second of the day, but the best ones are the ones that make it count. And, that is Eli.
4. Harry Mason – Silent Hill 1 and 3
If you don’t know Harry Mason, you haven’t lived. In the first Silent Hill game, he literally walked through hell and back to find his daughter. Okay, so he lost her in the first place but the fact that he searched high and low in Silent Hill for her…I think he deserves a medal!
Harry is as bad-ass as they come. Nothing fazed him. Creepy bat creatures. Not a problem. Zombie children with knives. Bring it on. There wasn’t anything Harry Mason wouldn’t fight in order to save his daughter. Now, that sounds like a good guy to me. Where can I sign up for adoption? In Silent Hill you say? Okay, I’ll pass.
5. Joel – The Last of Us
I don’t think I’m alone here when I say that Joel would make one hell of a dad. In fact, he did until his daughter was horribly murdered at the start of The Last of Us. However, Joel’s journey of basically becoming a father to Ellie is exactly what broke our hearts so much. It was both beautiful and horrific. But, Joel is one hell of a guy. He goes out of his way to protect Ellie so he never has to repeat what happened to his daughter. I’m just getting teary eyes thinking about it. We love you, Joel!
Those are my top 5 video game dads that I would definitely want as my own father (again, I don’t want to replace my real dad but I will happily have 6 dads). Are there any more you can think of? Let us know!
If you think Good dads are all very well, but you want to check out our list of bad Dad’s for this Father’s Day, go here
