Witches in Video Games

 

    Throughout the semester, our class has taken a look at a variety of depictions of witches in popular media. However, our discussions have mostly been limited to television shows and movies. Perhaps one of the most popular digital mediums for my generation is video games. Technology has developed far past the pixelated graphics of pong, and even past the basic geometric character models of the early 2000s. Now, video games tell emotional stories, graphics are more realistic than ever, and gameplay immerses players into an entirely different world separate from reality. There are video games that cover every genre imaginable, and video game characters represent people from all walks of life. This includes witches.

    Witches have been in video games for years, and as you might have guessed, they often play the role of the villain. In the Gameboy Advance game Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga (2003), a witch named Cackletta steals Princess Peach's voice and it is up to Mario, Luigi, and Bowser (who is usually the villain) to thwart her plans and save the day.

Cackletta from Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga

    Sometimes game developers don't spend any time at all developing the character traits of witches in their games. Sometimes they are just meant to be scary enemies that the player fights as part of missions on the way to complete larger goals. This is the case for witches in the video game series Left 4 Dead (2008) and wizards in the Destiny (2014) series.

Witch from Left 4 Dead (2008)

Wizard from Destiny (2014)

   Just like we talked about in class, witches are not always evil. In the popular video game, The Witcher III (2015), many of the main character's love interests, companions, and friends practice magic and consider themselves witches or sorceresses. The player also hunts a variety of mythical creatures including characters called "water hags" and "crones," which could also be considered witches.

    Even if there are not any witches actually present in the game, the belief and fear of witches can. In class, I talked about a quest in Fallout 4 (2015), the player visits the Museum of Witchcraft in the greater post-apocalyptic Boston area in the year 2287. When the player enters the building, the music becomes ominous and the player must investigate something making scary noises upstairs. The game leads the player to believe that there may be a witch upstairs, but another menace (a creature called a Deathclaw) awaits the player inside. 

Museum of Witchcraft in Fallout 4 (2015)

    Witches exist in all kinds of media. The depictions of witches in video games ensures that the next generation of people will continue to circulate stories and images of witches in the future. I hope you learned something in this blog post. Here is a link to a list of the "10 Best Witches in Video Games, Ranked by Power." Top 10 Witches, Ranked by Power.