Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Here is a simplified version of the story contents: Here is a lighthearted take on the story contents: Explore a different perspective:
Characters don’t always stay dead in video games. So many characters have seemingly died, only to reappear later. Sometimes, this happens in the very same game. That is actually more acceptable, as it means that the writers had already planned for the death to be reversed. When a dead character turns back up in a sequel, though, it often feels more like they’ve been brought back because of their popularity or importance to the series.
After all, when they killed the character off, they may not have thought there’d be a sequel. In these cases, the return is often contrived or makes no sense at all. It can even ruin big emotional send-offs. That said, it’s often nice to see them back. Here are some of the dead characters that have turned back up in sequels.
8 Albert Wesker
Resident Evil Series
Albert Wesker serves as the main antagonist of the first game after he turns on Chris and Jill. However, not long after being revealed as a villain, he gets stabbed in the gut by a giant tyrant. It’s a brutal and gory death that really should’ve been final, especially as the whole mansion he’s in blows up soon after.
Yet, he makes his return in Code: Veronica, looking even cooler than before and boasting a whole host of new powers. The lore is that the viruses in his body regenerated him, but it seems like Capcom just had more stories to tell with the villain.
7 Cortana
Halo Series
Cortana is often regarded as one of the best characters in the Halo series. This makes her story in Halo 4 all the more heartbreaking, as the AI is beginning to lose her mind because of a condition called Rampancy. At the end of the tale, she sacrifices herself after saying one final goodbye to Master Chief in what is among the most emotional moments in the series.
Then, she appears again in Halo 5 as the game’s main villain. This is down to the fact that she’s an AI, meaning she can’t really die. It does take away from the ending of Halo 4, though.
6 Big Boss
Metal Gear Series
The first Metal Gear ends with Venom Snake, posing as Big Boss, dying at the hands of Solid Snake. Then, in Metal Gear 2, Solid Snake faces off against the real Big Boss. The former manages to burn the latter alive using a makeshift flamethrower. At this point, Big Boss definitely seems dead.
That is until he appears right at the end of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots to make amends with Solid Snake. It turns out that the secretive and usually evil corporation known as The Patriots kept him alive.
5 Scarecrow
Batman: Arkham Series
Batman doesn’t kill, so most of the villains survive throughout the entire Arkham series. That said, Scarecrow seems to be a goner in Arkham Asylum. This is because, when he is attempting to poison the Gotham water supply with his fear toxin, he is grabbed by Killer Croc.
Now, Killer Croc is a huge crocodile monster capable of ripping any human in two. By contrast, Scarecrow isn’t a physical threat but uses his fear toxins to mess with people’s minds. He doesn’t have much chance to strike fear into the heart of Croc, though, as the beast grabs him and pulls him down into the sewage water. Therefore, it would be fair to assume that Croc would quickly kill the guy. However, Scarecrow returns as the main villain in Arkham Knight, albeit heavily disfigured.
There’s a post-ending scene in Arkham Asylum where Scarecrow is seen grabbing a box of Titan, showcasing that he’s still alive. Yet, that is one of three possible endings. So, none of them were necessarily canon until Arkham Knight was released.
4 Vaas
Far Cry Series
Most players agree that Vaas is the highlight of Far Cry 3. He is the very unhinged villain that you have to deal with for most of the game. You finally stab him in the chest at the end of what is a very trippy sequence. He definitely seems dead at this point.
However, he returns in a DLC for Far Cry 6, proving that he didn’t die during the encounter. You are drugged up during the fight with Vaas in the third game, so you seemingly hallucinate the whole ordeal.
3 Mileena
Mortal Kombat Series
Because the Mortal Kombat titles are fighting games, you can technically include characters who are dead in the story since there is nothing stopping them from appearing in other modes. That said, after Mileena was killed in Mortal Kombat 10 by D’Vorah, she was excluded from the base Mortal Kombat 11 game.
Therefore, it seems like she was actually killed off. Yet, she returns as a DLC character in MK11 due to fans demanding her inclusion. So, technically, she is still dead as far as the narrative goes, but she has also returned.
2 Leliana
Dragon Age Series
Dragon Age: Origins is a game where your choices matter. That is unless you end up fighting and killing Leliana, as that choice just gets undone. She appears in Dragon Age 2 and plays a major role in Dragon Age: Inquisition, even if she ‘died’ in the original title.
The games never really explain how she lives. They hint at a bit of divine intervention being involved. In reality, BioWare likely just had more plans for her, so they needed to bring her back.
1 GlaDOS
Portal Series
GlaDOS is the tyrannical AI that runs the facility where all of Portal takes place. She puts you through rigorous testing and then attempts to kill you. You escape and end up blowing her up at the end of the game. Finally, the villain is vanquished, and you are free. Unfortunately for you, there is a Portal 2, where you are back in the facility, and GlaDOS has also returned.
She is fully destroyed at the end of the original game, but as she is an AI, she has presumably rebooted or something. In reality, you can’t really have a Portal game without her, as she adds so much personality to the title, which is likely why she was brought back.
