The Most Badass Lines From Video Game Characters In 2016

2016 was a great year for games, wasn’t it? Nearly every genre – shooters, sports, puzzlers, everything – had standout entries. The writing for a lot of these games wasn’t half bad either. At GI, we really enjoy one-liners. Both those that are delectably cheesy and the legitimately badass ones that cut you to the core. From testy rebukes to threats and gentle mocking, here are our favorite lines from 2016’s video game characters. 

Warning: Spoilers ahead.

Mafia III
Mafia III goes to great lengths to show why protagonist Lincoln Clay is filled with all-encompassing fury and hunger for revenge. For all its flaws, the game still ended up having a well-written story headed by characters you could care about. And man, Lincoln can wield words just as well as he can shotguns and knives. Here are some of his best: 

“Family isn’t who you’re born with, it’s who you die for.” 

“This isn’t about bringing them back or exacting some street justice. It’s about making that b*stard feel what it’s like to lose everything and watch as I take it all away from him.” 

“You are who you are. Ain’t no point in arguing with yourself about it.” 

“It ain’t personal.”

Dishonored 2
Dishonored 2 is a game that hinges on payback – lethal or otherwise – and whether you play as Corvo or Emily, it’s often pretty satisfying to hear one of them deliver a zinger right before their targets gets their comeuppance.

“Welcome to the final mystery, Jindosh.” – Corvo, putting everyone’s least favorite egomaniac in his place: the grave.

“Goodbye you entitled b*stard.” – Emily, putting the blade to a lowly traitor with big aspirations.

“What’s one more pile of bones?” – Emily, near the end of the game and weary of all the killing, adding one more body to the pile.

“For your crimes, Anton.” – Corvo, turning an old friend into a cadaver.

“That’s what my father taught me, cretin.” – Emily, putting her father’s lessons to use.

Overwatch
Overwatch owes much of its success to its diverse and lovable roster of characters, each with their own set of animations and declarations to countless players. We don’t have enough space here to go through every character’s badass line, but here are some of our favorites.

“Nerf this!” – D.va, as she rams a mech bomb into your team, killing all of you and clearing the control point.

“Ryuuga wagateki wo kurau!” –  Hanzo as his ephemeral dragon chows down on you and any other fool who doesn’t get out of the way in time.

“Justice rains from above!” – Pharah, unleashing her silo of missiles on the payload escort beneath her, decimating everyone in sight.

“Heroes never die!” – Mercy, reviving everyone that Dv.A bomb just wiped out in a game-saving move that demonstrates why she’s one of the most important characters in the game.

“Let’s drop the beat!” –  Lucio as he gives everyone on the team the armor buff they need to storm the control point and take the game.

"I am on fire...but an extinguisher is not required." –  Zenyatta, taking everything in stride per usual.

Continue on to page 2 for more of The Good Stuff.

Uncharted 4
Uncharted 4, unsurprisingly, had a lot of great, witty writing reminiscent of the Indiana Jones films. Though the gunplay and puzzle gameplay were solid enough, Uncharted 4 truly shines when characters are having a conversation, especially when newcomer sorta-antagonist Nadine was involved.

Nadine: “Hand me the artifact.”

Drake: “Do you know how many artifacts I’ve collected over the years? You’re going to need to be more specific.”

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Drake: “You’re just leaving us here to die?”

Nadine: “Oh I’m just leaving. I don’t really care if you live or die.”

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“You want the treasure, Rafe. You can have it.” – Drake before cutting a rope holding a bundle of treasure suspended over his enemy’s head.

The Best Of The Rest

Some games didn’t necessary have stacks of zingers and barbs tucked way, but the majority of them still had one or two.

Fire Emblem Fates
“You’re about to be served!” – Jakob, a butler, getting ready to annihilate an enemy in battle.

"I spy a corpse!" – super bubbly Nina right before she decimates an armored knight.

Final Fantasy XV
“Wuss,” – Gladiolus shutting down Final Fantasy XV’s biggest whiner, Prompto, after the latter complained about his feet hurting.

Gears of War 4
"Ah, sh*t. They're gonna mess up my f*cking tomatoes!" – Marcus Fenix, embroiled in a gun battle with robots in his soon-to-be-demolished greenhouse.

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Kait: "Uncle, you're still obviously a little hungover."

Oscar: "Actually...I'm still a little drunk."

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"Uh...bye?"  – JD, watching a problem disappear in a storm of screws and springs before his eyes.

DOOM
[Sound of shotgun cocking] – Doom Marine, a man of few words but many bullets.

What about you, readers? What zingers did we miss? Let us know in the comments below.