I was talking to the other guys in Respawning this past couple of weeks about The Evil Within 2 (LOADS, I’m literally obsessed with this game), and one thing that stuck out to me was when we were discussing the game’s numerous characters; one quote in particular stuck out to me like a sore thumb:
“Sebastian is such a dumb guy though, like such an idiot.”
…So I am here to explain why this loveable idiot is such a perfect character.
Firstly the dude isn’t SUPPOSED to be a super smart deus ex machina character that can figure everything out in a few moments; he’s an ex-cop who’s also an alcoholic and has full tunnel vision turned permanently on, as all he cared about is saving his beloved daughter, whom he thought to be dead. He isn’t this amazing engineer like Isaac Clarke, or even a special forces agent like everyone and their mum in the Resident Evil series, he’s simply a dude that has been thrown into some shit he doesn’t understand, and can shoot pretty well (Unless I’m controlling him that is…), and I honestly believe this adds to the tension and fear that makes The Evil Within games so great for me. I too am not an incredibly smart person, so I’m loving figuring things out alongside the main character.
Point Number 2: What he lacks in book smarts he makes up for in pure testosterone. Seriously – One of my favourite things about Sebastian is that his first instinct to coming across anything new is to just shoot it in the face; dude’s been put into this nightmare town where everything is just out to kill him so I love the fact that his first instinct is to (Rightly) just kill everything that moves. These days I feel that gaming is plagued by characters who are just a little TOO smart – Whilst a few are some of my favourite characters, I often feel that they are punching a little above their weight in the old brain department… Don’t believe me? Here are a few examples:
Nathan Drake:
Seriously… The guy ran away from an orphanage at about 12 and was brought up on the road as a thief and an explorer – Yet the guy knows literally EVERYTHING about history ever AND can climb rock faces and temple walls, figure out various ancient puzzles and mechanisms, and can fire guns with the accuracy of an SAS officer? I call bullshit on this one.
Every Protagonist in Resident Evil:
Right bear with me on this one – Yes they’re all special agents and unique in their own ways, but are they scientists? No? THEN WHY DO THEY ALL KNOW HOW TO MIX VOLATILE CHEMICALS IN EVERY SINGLE RESIDENT EVIL GAME. Chris Redfield punching a boulder is the most perfect example of his level of intelligence I have ever seen.
You
EVERY time you are tasked with roleplaying a new silent protagonist your character has a level of smarts way beyond the realms of any in-world person ever.
Yeah, yeah, yeah I GET IT – It’s a video game, and we don’t want hyper realistic characters that are deep footed in reality. Except… I do when it comes to survival horror – I don’t want to be a perfect character who can do everything, figure everything out in minutes and also kill everything ever.
I want someone who is as scared as me and has the same reactions to kill everything that moves. I want flaws, weaknesses and fears. To me, that is why Sebastian Castellanos is the perfect character.