What Video Game Grandmas Can Teach Us About Life
Whether they’re offering sage advice, nurturing the protagonist, or revealing hidden powers, gaming grandmas have valuable lessons to teach.
In Hearthstone, there’s a common hunter minion card from the One Night in Karazhan set called Kindly Grandmother. The story is similar to the classic fairytale Little Red Riding Hood, with the player playing the role of Red Riding Hood, who will end up revealing herself as being The Big Bad Wolf in disguise. The grandma also has a similar appearance in World of Warcraft (WoW) in the dungeon of Karazhan, where players can talk to her to kick off an epic boss fight. That said, the disguise The Big Bad Wolf has on in Hearthstone isn’t as convincing as the one in WoW.
There’s an old woman in Celeste that Madeline, the main protagonist of the game, eventually grows close to, calling her “granny” at one point. The granny is the epitome of elderly wisdom, offering the player (a.k.a. Madeline) valuable insights and knowledge about the mountain. She also serves as Madeline's agony aunt to vent her frustrations, which in turn helps us players learn more about Madeline’s character. Players eventually discover that Granny had traveled up the mountain when she was younger, hence, explaining the wealth of knowledge that she has and is willing to impart to Madeline.
Despite what many would believe, family isn’t just all about blood relations. This is very well shown in Yuriko’s storyline in the Ghost of Tsushima. She was the elderly caretaker of Jin Sakai, the protagonist of the game, despite not being genetically related to him in any way. She decided to take on the role after the untimely death of Jin’s mother, taking both young Jin and his father under her wing. Due to her kindness and love, Jin grew to see her as a second mother and considered her a member of his family.
This is probably one of our favorite gaming grandmas of all time. Despite being 69 years old, having amnesia, and partial narcolepsy, Nana from Far Cry New Dawn is truly an impressive individual. Not only does she put The Security Captain (the protagonist of the game) through a sniper course, which can be pretty ballsy, to be honest, but she also happens to be both a crack shot and very sharp-witted and a true survivor since she is one of the last surviving grannies in Hope County. Of course, being able to recruit her as a Gun for Hire after you’ve successfully completed her sniper course is an excellent bonus as well, especially considering that she is one of the strongest companions to use from early to mid-game.
Video game grandmas come in many forms, be it nurturing caregivers or scary villains, but they all have something in common – they teach us valuable life lessons that remind us that age brings experience and that elders, despite their age and appearance, can surprise us with their strength, wit, and most of all resilience. That said, which of these video game grandmas stand out to you the most?
Grandmas in video games often serve more than just being background characters. Not only are they often interwoven into the lore of the games they are in, but they are usually the best non-player characters (NPCs) from which to learn valuable lessons. In this article, we thought we should go through some of the most memorable video game grandmas that we know of and recall the important lessons they imparted to the player.
1. Looks can be deceiving
In Hearthstone, there’s a common hunter minion card from the One Night in Karazhan set called Kindly Grandmother. The story is similar to the classic fairytale Little Red Riding Hood, with the player playing the role of Red Riding Hood, who will end up revealing herself as being The Big Bad Wolf in disguise. The grandma also has a similar appearance in World of Warcraft (WoW) in the dungeon of Karazhan, where players can talk to her to kick off an epic boss fight. That said, the disguise The Big Bad Wolf has on in Hearthstone isn’t as convincing as the one in WoW.
2. With age comes wisdom
There’s an old woman in Celeste that Madeline, the main protagonist of the game, eventually grows close to, calling her “granny” at one point. The granny is the epitome of elderly wisdom, offering the player (a.k.a. Madeline) valuable insights and knowledge about the mountain. She also serves as Madeline's agony aunt to vent her frustrations, which in turn helps us players learn more about Madeline’s character. Players eventually discover that Granny had traveled up the mountain when she was younger, hence, explaining the wealth of knowledge that she has and is willing to impart to Madeline.
3. Family isn’t just about blood
Despite what many would believe, family isn’t just all about blood relations. This is very well shown in Yuriko’s storyline in the Ghost of Tsushima. She was the elderly caretaker of Jin Sakai, the protagonist of the game, despite not being genetically related to him in any way. She decided to take on the role after the untimely death of Jin’s mother, taking both young Jin and his father under her wing. Due to her kindness and love, Jin grew to see her as a second mother and considered her a member of his family.
4. Age is just a number
This is probably one of our favorite gaming grandmas of all time. Despite being 69 years old, having amnesia, and partial narcolepsy, Nana from Far Cry New Dawn is truly an impressive individual. Not only does she put The Security Captain (the protagonist of the game) through a sniper course, which can be pretty ballsy, to be honest, but she also happens to be both a crack shot and very sharp-witted and a true survivor since she is one of the last surviving grannies in Hope County. Of course, being able to recruit her as a Gun for Hire after you’ve successfully completed her sniper course is an excellent bonus as well, especially considering that she is one of the strongest companions to use from early to mid-game.
Video game grandmas come in many forms, be it nurturing caregivers or scary villains, but they all have something in common – they teach us valuable life lessons that remind us that age brings experience and that elders, despite their age and appearance, can surprise us with their strength, wit, and most of all resilience. That said, which of these video game grandmas stand out to you the most?
