The most memorable video game monologues

Key recommendations

• Iconic video game monologues have a lasting impact on players, evoking speech and emotional responses.
• Powerful speeches like G-Man's in Half-Life 2 and Shodan's in System Shock 2 resonate because of unique characterizations.
• Monologues in games like Max Payne 2 and Silent Hill 2 delve into character motivations and emotional themes.

From theater, to film, and finally video games, the monologue has always been utterly captivating. It allows us to see inside the characters: their hidden depths, their conflicts and where their convictions lie. A good monologue can make a legendary hero, a likable villain, and an emotional ending. As video games have evolved to become more cinematic and story-filled, the grand speech has grown in importance.

The impact of these speeches shows not only how they affected the game, but also the people who played it. You can see it in online discourse: people quote these discourses, make meme templates out of them, or bring them up as they reflect on the game. Here are some of the most powerful.

8 “The right man in the wrong place can make all the difference in the world. So, wake up, Mr. Freeman. Wake up and smell the ashes.”

Half-Life 2

There's a lot that makes G-Man's opening speech great. First, it's a welcome back to the world of Half-Life. On the other hand, it almost defies belief how good the graphics and facial animations are for a game from 2004.

But what really sells this monologue is G-Man's strange cadence. One of Half-Life's most mysterious characters, he speaks in a way that just isn't correct. The G-Man needs Gordon Freeman to pick up his crowbar once more, but with Half-Life 3's release still standing as a holy grail to this day, you'll just have to speculate as to his motives.

7 “My caprices shall become lightnings that ravage the mounds of mankind. . . . I am drunk with this vision. God: The title suits me well.”

System shock 2

When most scoundrels claim to be God, they do so in spite of themselves, seeking a vision they have not yet realized; Shodan is different. Amid the hisses and distortions of circuits, Shodan waxes poetic about how she can create whatever she wants and do whatever she wants. From her perspective, humans are little more than insects, running for shelter and begging for mercy. She is essentially a real god.

This game launched NightDive Studios' career in video game preservation: the team indeed he wanted to unleash this cognitohazard on us. As artificial intelligence is no longer relegated to science fiction and becomes a real human concern, Shodan's monologue in System Shock 2 is all the more haunting.

6 “There are no options. Nothing but a straight line. The illusion comes after that, when you ask “Why me?” And 'What if?'”

Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne

For a man whose life has been filled with pain, it's easy to see why Max ruminates on the choices he does. Sam Lake's shooter hero gets metaphysical with one of his many great monologues: There are no options. Only in hindsight can you wonder how you did things differently. But if that happened, you wouldn't be the same person.

Set in the penultimate chapter of the game, it's easy to see why Max has to tell himself this. With his family gone, revenge incomplete, and dozens of corpses behind him, this tortured protagonist has passed the point of no return. One could argue that being a different version of himself might not have been such a bad thing, but for Max, putting everything down to fate is the only way he can move on.

5 “In my restless dreams I see that city…James, you made me happy.”

Silent Hill 2

In the late 90s and early 2000s, video game voice acting often suffered from poor performances. Monica Taylor Horgan's narration of Mary's letter in Silent Hill 2 is still spectacular and heartbreaking. When read in bits and pieces throughout the game, it takes on an accusatory tone: James never takes Mary to visit Silent Hill, where they spent their honeymoon. All she can do is lie in her sick bed, feeling ugly and unwanted.

When read in its entirety, however, it turns out not to be a resentful letter: it was a farewell and a thank you. Despite the difficulties during her illness, Mary wouldn't trade her few years of happiness with James for anything. The letter is meant to be delivered only after her death. One of his most moving and profound sentences is: “I can't tell you to remember me, but I can't bear you to forget me.”

4 “Life is not just about passing on your genes. We can leave behind much more than just DNA. Through speech, music, literature and movies… What I saw, heard, felt… These are the things we will pass on.”

Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons Of Liberty

If it weren't for this speech, Metal Gear Solid 2 would have ended on a very harsh note. Raiden kills Solidus, but only because he is forced by the Patriots. Essentially, the bad guys win: Solidus is the antagonist, but he's not the villain. The Patriots are, and Raiden has been forced to be their pawn.

But this monologue turns it into a more hopeful ending, one where Raiden internalizes Snake's message. Through art, literature and emotions, Snake hopes that we can let our children see our history and avoid repeating it. Snake himself expresses an understanding of the will of the boss, much better than what his rival Big Boss did: to let the world be.

3 “This is what you chose. To live in fear… Like a tiny nation stripped of its fangs to defend itself. Try to defend this country, my home, with only those frail arms.”

Valkyria Chronicles 2

Wargame narratives often suffer from depicting a black-and-white morality; Valkyria Chronicles 2 does not. The story divides a lot of fans, but it's arguably better than the first game. For all the atrocities he committed, Baldren Gassenarl's final speech shows that he was as sincere in his motives as the G-Team was in theirs. Unlike his father, who was willing to let Gallia be annexed by the Federation for political power, Baldren truly believed.

Defeated and humiliated, Baldren scorns his enemies one last time. They would see Gallia fighting as a small nation caught between giants, lacking Valkyrie power for self-defense. The epilogue of the first game shows that Gallia prospered after the events of VC2, so the land that Baldren loved so much turned out well.

2 “Forgetting pain is convenient. Her memory, her agony. But recovering the truth is worth the suffering. And Wonderland, though damaged, is safe in memory… For now.”

Alice: Madness Returns

A sequel to one of the best horror-fantasy titles ever, Alice: Madness Returns ends on a deep note. After a lifetime of abuse and pain from her supposed therapist, Alice finally gets her revenge. There is no fanfare, no deus ex machina. Alice works things out in a dirty subway without a single person to testify. The Cheshire Cat's final speech expresses sympathy for her plight.

As Alice takes to the streets, she discovers that Wonderland and London have merged into one entity. The Cheshire Cat's voice comes as a soothing goodbye. No one will know how much Alice suffered except herself, and probably no one will believe her. But to keep his mind—Wonderland—intact, it was worth recovering the truth.

1 “The innocent! The innocent, Mandus! Trampled and bled and gassed and starved and beaten and killed and enslaved. This is your coming century!”

Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs

A Machine For Pigs is often seen as a lesser sequel to Amnesia: The Dark Descent; indeed, it wasn't even developed by Frictional Games. The game relies heavily on pig metaphors throughout its runtime and simplified gameplay compared to its predecessor. However, in none of the friction-driven Amnesia games has there been a passage as chilling, beautiful, and moving as the Machine's final speech in this one.

The car saw all the horrors of the 20th century: wars, genocides, assassinations and atrocities. On New Year's Eve, 1899, he begs Mandus to let him stop all these events from happening: to let him end humanity before death becomes industrialized. Unfortunately, every one of the Machine's fears came true.