We all have our favorite video game characters. We’ve grown up with them, seen them at their best, and suffered with them through their worst. However, there comes a point in time where things start to get weird: they start wearing cowboy boots, their new girlfriend needs steam cleaning, and they claim they have a new side hustle, but you don’t really want to pry too much…

Anyway, sometimes they need a little tough love, and you just have to tell them enough is enough. Out of the entire realm of digital entertainment, what video game character should just pack it up and retire?

The amount of factors that can influence a decision like this means literally every character invented, designed, or even scribbled on a cocktail napkin is eligible. Age can be the biggest factor, as no character gets a 30 year history without making some missteps. Of course, if you’ve never liked the attitude of a franchise, that puts them directly on the chopping block. I’m looking at you, Leisure Suit Larry.

I know that nostalgia becomes the end-all-be-all shield that protects most characters from a lot of blame. Yes, Duke Nukem was cool, but you were 8 years old and thought that pixelated strippers and low quality sound bites were edgy. Trust me, though, many early first person shooters were basically developers throwing anything and everything against a wall just to see what sticks; very few of those FPS games of the 90’s stand the test of time.

For me, in a somewhat dark horse pick, I’m telling Jak and Daxter to stay on the bench. My whole thing against them is the fact that they weren’t trend-setters. To go from a light-hearted Crash Bandicoot-style exploration adventure, to full “mature” GTA style gameplay, complete with guns, attitude, and Jak’s first spoken lines being “I’m gonna kill Praxis!”, basically means those characters weren’t strong enough by themselves to do another island romp; they switched to what everyone else was doing.

Tell us what you think! Who deserves a gold watch and a kick in the butt? Leave a comment below or let us know in the Boss Rush Discord. 

Featured Image: 2K Games