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Essays 21 November 2020, 21:28

author: Jakub Mirowski

Twelve Most Memorable Deaths in Video Games

Death is almost stunningly prevalent in video games, but it's usually void of emotional charge. There have been "a few" games, though, which weren't afraid to do away with some really significant characters. Here's a list of the most memorable of them.

Table of Contents

Vesemir – The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Game: The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Cause of death: killed by Imlerith during the Battle of Kaer Morhen

Last words: "You were always an unruly child. I adored that about you. Now FLY!"

How we will remember him: as the adoptive father of Geralt and grandfather Ciri, a man extremely awkward in the presence of sorceresses, an excellent swordsman and owner of a hat envied by all the younger witchers (especially Lambert)

Although according to general opinion, witchers are mutants devoid of higher feelings, both the book saga and the game trilogy have repeatedly proved that they are capable of heroic acts. One of them is the sacrifice of Vesemir, who turns out to be one of the key supporting characters in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. It is with him that Geralt departs to search for Yennefer, it is with him that he hunts the Griffin, and finally it is with him that he takes part in the defense of Kaer Morhen against the Red Riders. During the desperate attempt to save the crumbling castle, Vesemir tries to protect Ciri at all costs. For this reason, his death, when the king of the Wild Hunt tries to convince the girl to surrender in exchange for letting the old witcher go, is not a particular surprise. Yet it is witnessed with true pain.

After an absence since the first part of The Witcher, Vesemir returns as Geralt's companion on the search for Yennefer. - Twelve Most Memorable Deaths in Video Games - dokument - 2020-11-21
After an absence since the first part of The Witcher, Vesemir returns as Geralt's companion on the search for Yennefer.

Vesemir, knowing full well that Ciri cannot fall into the hands of the red riders, stabs Imlerith with a dagger, while being held in an iron grip, and although it is by no means a fatal blow, it is enough for the general of the Wild Hunt to break his neck in a fit of rage. However, this sacrifice is not in vain: the shocked girl goes berserk and unleashes her tremendous power, chasing away enemies and almost destroying Kaer Morhen. But how can we blame her?

In the third game, Vesemir became one of the characters to whom it was difficult not to feel affection – through his paternal attitude towards Geralt, a weak spot for Ciri and being old-fashioned in an elegant way. So if you shed a tear during the scene of his funeral, you're in good and numerous company. And if you felt satisfaction when you burned Imlerith to ashes and smashed his head with a club, you are not psychopaths – it's a completely normal reaction.

Even after his death, Vesemir – or rather his medallion, Ciri's only memento of her adoptive grandfather – may be an important part of the story. During the fight with Ladies of the We, the girl kills two witches, but the third one escapes with the witcher's mark. If Ciri dies in the final confrontation with the Wild Hunt, in the epilogue, distraught Geralt returns to Crookback Bog to retrieve the memento of his mentor. However, this journey does not end well-the White Wolf recovers the medallion, but he himself apparently faces death from the hordes of swamp monsters.

Jakub Mirowski

Jakub Mirowski

Associated with Gamepressure.com since 2012: he worked in news, editorials, columns, technology, and tvgry departments. Currently specializes in ambitious topics. Wrote both reviews of three installments of the FIFA series, and an article about a low-tech African refrigerator. Apart from GRYOnline.pl, his articles on refugees, migration, and climate change were published in, among others, Krytyka Polityczna, OKO.press, and Nowa Europa Wschodnia. When it comes to games, his scope of interest is a bit more narrow and is limited to whatever FromSoftware throws out, the more intriguing indie games and party-type titles.

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