It’s one thing for agame to feature multiple protagonists, but a story can potentially get even more intimate and tightly-told when only two are involved. It’s like the difference between a party and a date. Both fun in different ways, at least unless you’re an introvert, and it’s not like many gamers are introverts, right?
This isn’t about those games that let you choose one hero while the other ceases to exist or even takes on a different role in the story. No, a proper dual-protagonist story gives both equal screentime and play time, and that format has created some of the most memorable gaming experiences out there.
9Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance
Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance
Kingdom Hearts 3D on Nintendo 3DS features a story full of surprises, stunning new worlds to explore, a host of your favourite Disney friends, and engrossing gameplay elements never seen before in the series. You’ll encounter a cast of beloved characters, from Mickey, Goofy and Donald, to Pinocchio in his Prankster’s Paradise, and Claude, the high-swinging Hunchback of Notre Dame. Whether you’re a long-term fan, or a complete newcomer to the Kingdom Hearts world, you’re guaranteed an adventure beyond your wildest dreams. You’ll join the two heroes, Sora and Riku, as they prepare to be put through their paces by King Mickey and the sorcerer, Yen Sid. A terrifying threat to the world looms on the horizon, and our heroes must take the Mark of Mastery exam to prove they have what it takes to face the challenges that lie ahead. This will entail heading into the dreamy domains known as the Sleeping Worlds, coming face to face with the Dream Eaters, and fighting to wake these realms from their slumber. The gameplay is a thrilling combination of RPG depth and real-time sword-swinging action. Accessing the Command Deck allows you to effortlessly set which special actions (like spells, items or special attacks) you’ll use during combat, meaning you can customise your abilities to suit your particular style of play.
In an interesting departure from the Disney crossover series' usual format, Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance does away with the main trio and opts for something more experimental. If nothing else, it at least prevents every NPC from slowly uttering “Sora, Donald, Goofy” like a cursed robot.
But unlike Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep, which featured three leads, 3D didn’t just let you choose one and run with it. The game featured a constant timer that would ultimately kick you from Sora to Riku or vice versa when it ran out, adding a layer of strategy… or is that frustration?
Assassin’s Creed Syndicate not only included surprising bisexual representation, it also offered you the chance to switch between sister and brother duo Evie and Jacob at will. Aside from a few character-specific missions, the two remain on equal footing for largely the whole game.
The thing is, you probably picked your favorite early on and just stuck with them, as each sibling played slightly differently with their own strengths. But they were both there for the full jaunt through Industrial Revolution London; the other was just slightly off-screen for most of it.
A particularly enjoyable oddity in the Tales series, Tales of Xillia not only offers you a choice of protagonists, but a choice of perspectives as well. Will you play as fresh-faced medical student Jude, or the mysterious and powerful godlike woman Milla? We promise Jude has redeeming qualities too.
While both characters spend most of the game together, there are crucial moments that separate them; that’s where the game’s format shines, as you can later play again as the other to gain that context. Just, maybe set your second playthrough of this 50+ hour game after a break.
Much like Syndicate, Spider-Man 2 features two similar yet unique heroes sharing the player spotlight, but in this case, there’s no picking one and sprinting to the finish. You need to play as them both, and it’s frankly amazing how that structure integrates into the story itself.
It’s Spider-Man, so both Peter Parker and Miles Morales will have their fair share of drama. Thankfully, while you can switch at will, the game picks the perfect times to automatically move you to the other hero as a palate cleanser, much like how Seinfeld expertly cuts away just before a scene gets truly cringy.
Trying to explain Alan Wake 2to someone who hasn’t played it is like describing sound to a hearing-impaired person. This survival horror sequel somehow raises the already surreal stakes of its predecessor, but you’ll be riveted anyway thanks to its alternating leads.
Alan himself keeps things characteristically supernatural while FBI Agent Saga is more grounded in her investigations. You need to complete both sides of the story to finish the game, but their wildly dissonant vibes play off each other perfectly, keeping things fresh, if still wildly confusing.
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart still prominently features the two titular heroes, but now they’ve got friends from another universe. Rivet is a fellow lombax from an alternate reality, and she eventually joins up with her own little robot Kit, both of whom prove charming enough to more than deserve their own spinoff.
While half of the game keeps you playing as Ratchet, you quickly switch over to Rivet as you live through some honestly really cool “what if” scenarios. She helpfully shares abilities and weapons with Ratchet, and the duo even switch out robot buddies occasionally.
Tales from the Borderlands did everything that would usually be a red flag for fans; different studio, different gameplay, and an episodic format. Yet somehow, this point-and-click game manages to be one of the most beloved Borderlands entries to this day, and that’s helped along by its protagonists.
Rhys and Fiona spend most of it telling their respective stories, switching you back and forth between them. This genuinely hilarious game takes full advantage of that framing device, including perfectly timed cutaways and alternating versions of events.
It’s not often you get toplay as both a hero and a villainin the same story, but The Last of Us Part 2 might do it the best of all. The thing is, the meanings of hero and villain in this game are about as blurry as you can get, and that’s precisely why it’s so good.
You start as Ellie, older after the first game and on a revenge quest, but then you find yourself playing as Abby, Ellie’s target. You quickly realize that nothing is as black and white as you thought, and playing through the most difficult and brutal times of both characters' lives masterfully conveys the idea.
Yakuza 0’s split story between (usually)Yakuza series protagonist Kazuma Kiryuand series wildcard Goro Majima makes for an excellent entry point into the Like A Dragon games. It offers a new context for why the two characters are the way they are, much like discovering a video from your dad’s bachelor party.
The game tells the origin stories of both characters, but since they hadn’t met at that point, it had to be tricky about things. So you switch between them, largely in their own cities but occasionally just missing each other; it’s a storytelling marvel, and equally as important, also includes the hostess minigame that definitely should have returned to the series by now.
