“Get the hell away from me!” 5 of video games’ most annoying characters!

For every Mario, Sonic, Snake, Lara Croft or Niko Belic the gaming world has thrown at us down the years, there’s been an Eric Sparrow, Micah Bell or Slippy Toad to throw a spanner in the works!

Whether it’s a dastardly villain who’s secretly plotting your downfall under the guise of helping you, a sidekick who always gets in your way or even a super nice character who just can’t dial back the intensity, game developers sure now how to come up with characters who know exactly how to push our buttons. 

So, this week, we’re paying homage to those characters who are so irritating that they make you want to rage quit whenever they appear on screen!

Contents:

1. Conrad Verner - Mass Effect

2. The Adoring Fan - Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

3. Mr. Popup - Travers Saves the Universe

4. Preston Garvey - Fallout 4

5. Ashley Graham - Resident Evil 4

Conrad Verner - Mass Effect

We kick things off with none other than President of the Commander Shepherd fan club, Conrad Verner, a name that will no doubt fill those who’ve played any of the first 3 Mass Effect games with dread.

Chances are if you looked up “bootlicker” in a dictionary, then Conrad’s picture would be there. Such is his adulation of your character that you sometimes get the impression you could do literally anything and he’d tell you it was the best thing since sliced bread. He even thanks you for shoving a gun in his face as it taught him what it’s like “to be extreme” for Pete’s sake!

Fortunately, there are quite a few ways to put an end to his brown nosing and he does eventually stop bothering you when he finally gets the message that you don’t want him to become a spectre.

The Adoring Fan - Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

However, as obnoxious as Conrad can be, he’s a distant second in the “ultimate bootlicker” stakes to our next character, The Adoring Fan from Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.

Although you’d expect to be handsomely rewarded for achieving the rank of “Grand Champion” in the arena, Oblivion takes an entirely different approach. Instead of being showered with untold riches, you’re instead greeted with proclamations of “By Azura! By Azura! It’s the Grand Champion!” by an elf with an incredibly grating high-pitched voice, who keeps following you around.

Luckily, you can tell him to go away, but be warned as his annoying declarations of your greatness will haunt your dreams forever more.

Mr. Popup - Travers Saves the Universe

Speaking of intense characters, there are arguably few characters who are as consistently annoying as Mr Popup from 2018’s Travers Saves the Universe. 

Although he does come out with a few funny sarcastic quips from time to time, as his name suggests he keeps popping up ALL THE TIME as he wants you to help him kill his sadistic neighbour, Michael.

Eventually, you’re handed the choice of killing Michael, Mr Popup or both of them. Truth be told, we’ve gone for the third option every time!

Preston Garvey - Fallout 4

We shift our attention to the world of Fallout for this week’s penultimate entry and none other than the Master Delegator himself, Preston Garvey from Fallout 4.

Whilst Preston isn’t a bad guy per se, he has one key character flaw - he expects you to be his personal errand boy, who’s forever at his beck and call. What’s more, he seemingly always greets you with the phrase “I’ve got word of a settlement that needs our help”, whilst doing precisely nothing to help.

Maybe you could meet us halfway at least once, Preston? It’s not like we’ve got to track down our son and see if he’s still alive or anything!

Ashley Graham - Resident Evil 4

Last but not least, we round things off this week with Resident Evil 4’s Ashley Graham, who’s no doubt prompted quite a few rage quits down the years.

In the interests of fairness, it’s worth noting that Ashley isn’t a bad person. In fact, her personality arguably brings an air of light-heartedness to proceedings. 

However, much like Preston Garvey, she has one huge flaw that makes dealing with her absolutely infuriating - her AI. In fact, her AI is so bad we’re convinced that it’s capable of giving ChatGPT nightmares.

Ashley seemingly always runs in the middle of your aim to deny you what would be nailed on kills, thus, adding an extra layer of difficulty to navigating the zombie-infused chaos that you encounter at every turn in this title.