As today is Father’s Day, I found myself reflecting on all the best video game dads. There have been a ton of good ones, with Kratos from God of War being a close second place for me. Despite a rocky history with Atreus and a horrifying history of unforgivable acts, Kratos begins warming up to Atreus throughout their journey. The way that we can see Kratos begin to come around and genuinely care for Atreus was one of the most memorable relationships in all of gaming for me. While some want to put Joel from The Last of Us at the top of the list as well, I could never fully get behind the selfishness in his decision making with Ellie.
But the true MVP that I would like to write about today is Geralt of Rivia, as I have always absolutely adored his relationship with Ciri. From the endearing snow fight when Geralt is trying to cheer Ciri up to the scene where they’re both wrecking stuff together to lift the mood, I could not get enough of those moments while I played. Their reunion scene was so moving that it actually brought me to tears, which doesn’t happen often when I play games. Geralt takes Ciri in when she is around 12-years-old, and he becomes a father figure for her from then on.
It gets a little complicated, in a way, if we were to discuss Geralt’s actions towards Ciri in The Witcher 3, considering most of them are actually up to the player. So, when talking about what type of father Geralt is, we’d have to take into account which choices you’ve made regarding Ciri. It basically boils down to a couple of decisions in which you can choose to try to stop Ciri in order to protect her, or you can allow her to tackle stuff on her own. Believing that she is capable and allowing her to handle stuff on her own leads to the best ending, in which Geralt and Ciri meet up and will seemingly live happily ever after.
What I like about Geralt’s character though is that no matter which options you choose, he’s still a great father to Ciri. Parents often don’t know the correct decisions to make when it comes to their kids, so they must try to do the best that they can, and the options Geralt has in the game capture that phenomenon perfectly. Without relying on guides, it’s unclear if the “better parenting decision” is to try to protect her or to allow her to handle it. Both options suggest that Geralt truly has Ciri’s best interest at heart and displays his immense care for her though.
So, here’s to you, Geralt, for being both a kickass father and a badass warrior whose voice I will never, ever get sick of listening to. Cheers to one of the strongest and emotionally complex people from any video game series, who is able to prioritize Ciri over himself and be one of her only guiding lights in a dark world. I can’t imagine playing another game that could include a better father figure, but I’d love to find another that could give Geralt a run for his money.
And of course, I must drop some honorable mentions to Big Daddy from BioShock and Harry Mason from the Silent Hill series. Happy Father’s Day to all the great dads out there!
