The wonderfully written characters and stories in video games have the power to elicit emotions from you as performances in film or television would. When it comes to the action-adventure genre, you expect to have a lot of intense set-pieces and violent shootouts, but not so much an emotional scene between characters.
A story with all action and zero emotion wouldn't make for a great gameplay experience, and it wouldn't be as satisfying of a payoff to be engaged with it. The action-adventure games here show some of the best examples where emotional beats go hand-in-hand with the premise.
Major spoilers for the games below.
9 Hitman: Absolution: A Rare Heartwarming Moment From Agent 47
Agent 47 is a killing machine programmed to live up to his reputation of showing no remorse and being devoid of any human emotion carrying out his hits, especially in the reimagined Hitman trilogy. However, this moment from Absolution shows a more tender side to Agent 47 rarely seen, even though it doesn't have the most profound emotional effect.
In 2012's Absolution, he must protect Victoria, a young girl that was also a genetically engineered asset like him being hunted after. 47 carries a sickly Victoria in his arms across the hospital wards of the Rosewood Orphanage as orchestral music is playing. He empathizes with her situation, even softly reassuring her that "No one will harm you ever again."
8 Shadow Of The Tomb Raider: Lara Getting To See Her Mom and Dad Again
The reboot of the Tomb Raider series brings more gory action and traumatic violence into Lara Croft's adventures. But their more cinematic focus and character-driven storylines lead to some powerful moments, like the unexpectedly poignant finale of Shadow of the Tomb Raider. Lara's parents have passed away, but she gets to relive a moment with them alive through a childhood memory.
This is triggered after you defeat Dominguez in the final boss battle and gain the power of Kukulkan from the dagger, which allows Lara to reshape the past and have her parents live. The cost would be the apocalypse, so Lara resists, but it's still a bittersweet and touching moment of her getting to say goodbye and seeing them happy.
7 Assassin's Creed Odyssey: The Tragic Loss Of Phoibe
To feel the genuineness of this emotional moment in Assassin's Creed Odyssey, it's better to play as Kassandra rather than her brother Alexios. Melissanthi Mahut's performance believably transcends Kassandra's parting moment with Phoibe, and it's definitely one of the moments that led her performance to get nominated for a Bafta and Game Award.
Like many Assassin's Creed games, the story tends to get emotional in parts, bloody action aside. The storyline of Odyssey is an emotional one already with rescuing your sibling from the corrupt control of the Cult of Kosmos. Along the way, you develop another sweet sibling bond with the young Phoibe, who's gone too soon because of them.
6 Red Dead Redemption 2: Arthur Coming To Terms With Death
While Red Dead Redemption 2 is an open-world action-adventure game about a band of outlaws, it certainly doesn't hold out on emotional moments. Between all the shootouts and robberies, Arthur Morgan's health is gradually getting worse from tuberculosis. There's an unexpected moment in the game where he confronts his fate and all that brought him to this point.
Arthur talking with Sister Calderón at the train station sees him in his rawest and most vulnerable form. There's a complete shift in Arthur from his usual stern demeanor and sarcastic jokester personality. He's candid about dying, opening up about his grief and hopelessness, and feeling scared about what's to come. It's impactful to Arthur's character and helps with the development thereon.
5 Marvel's Guardians Of The Galaxy: Star-Lord Seeing His Mom Die All Over Again
In both the video game and MCU films, Guardians of the Galaxy showcases a lot of heart, comedy, and heartbreaking moments. It's an intergalactic action adventure about a dysfunctional group of heroes, but the character's backstories and bonds often come with a wave of emotions. Peter Quill experiences a surprisingly brutal one with his mom while under the influence of Nikki's Promise.
Having just lost his daughter Nikki to the Church, he's now manipulated by her Matriarch form into thinking he can have a future where his mother is still alive. As much as Peter wants it to be real, he needs to break free of her Promise. It means seeing Meredith die all over again, but this time by his own blasters. Peter's hand shaking as he aims, the opportunities to hug, and his mom's pleas are exceptional details building the intense emotion.
4 God Of War Ragnarok: A Viking Funeral For Brok
In a single scene, God of War Ragnarok pulled off one of the series' most daring twists and heartbreaking deaths. It's, of course, the moment where Tyr revealed himself as Odin, playing them this entire time and killing Brok due to his suspicions. Brok's death was more of a shocking twist than an emotional send-off, but that comes after completing the story in a surprise sidequest called "A Viking Funeral."
Ragnarok isn't complete without this quest, which gives the game its true ending and final credits. Everyone gathers along the shores of the Sverd Sands, and you can place Brok's body onto a boat that Freya will then burn with a flame arrow. It's a very solemn moment, especially Sindri's parting goodbye and the powerful score playing in the background.
3 Star Wars Jedi: Survivor: The Unimaginable Loss Of Cere
As you might've predicted, Darth Vader makes yet another appearance in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. However, this time you don't fight him as Cal but as Cere. It all happens very suddenly. Bode betrays Cal in the Jedi Archives and kills Eno Cordova, leaving Cal to pursue him while Cere stays to fight off Vader.
Darth Vader becomes quite weakened, and Cere appears to have won but then gets stabbed by his lightsaber and soon falls into Cal's arms. She claims to see Trilla, indicating she's passed, and the visuals from here of the room turning black and gray, the overwhelming music, and Cal's display of emotion all make it moving. BD running to comfort and hug Cal in the next scene is also powerful to see.
2 Spec Ops: The Line: The Civilian Victims
Spec Ops: The Line certainly isn't your standard third-person shooter war game experience, as it's an unexpectedly disturbing spin on the genre to begin with. It has you feel the disgust and guilt of the atrocities you commit as a soldier. One of the most shocking scenes in the game reveals the aftermath of your squad using the white phosphorus chemical agent, which also unknowingly killed innocent civilians.
As Walker, you move past the burned white phosphorus soldiers on the battlefield to vault over toward a bunker used as a camp for civilians, which you didn't know existed. Inside the bunker are the horribly burned bodies, reduced to flesh, and Walker stares at a young girl being held by her mother. The music, the close-up framing of the gruesome bodies of the mother and daughter, cut with Walker's shocked, torn expression, makes you feel every emotion in this scene.
1 Marvel's Spider-Man: Peter Choosing Others Over Aunt May
You probably didn't think you'd pick up a Spider-Man game and be left in tears, but Insomniac brings you to such a state with its story. The performance in this scene is Oscar-worthy and will have you bawling along with Peter. The music, Yuri Lowenthal's emotional delivery, Peter's facial animations, and the heartbreak of it all creates the most devastating moment in video game history.
Aunt May has been infected with the Devil's Breath bioweapon unleashed by Mister Negative and Doctor Octavius upon New York. Spider-Man recovered an antiserum to cure May but was told they'd need more time to develop more quantities to save everyone. Therefore, Peter stopped himself from saving Aunt May so that others infected by Devil's Breath would live, making an unbelievably difficult sacrifice.