Videogames take place across so many worlds, in so many genres, with so many characters. Do you want to recreate the mundane aspects of just walking? You've got Death Stranding. Climb mythical beasts with a random selection of party members? Dragon's Dogma! The possibilities are practically endless.
Yet with all of the amazing worlds that games inhabit, all these characters you can play as, none hit quite as hard as, well, a little guy. That doesn't exactly mean that they're genuinely small; it's more of a feeling. Sometimes you're the only little guy in the world, or maybe it's a whole world of little guys. It gives life a whole new perspective!
8/8 Fez
Released back in 2012, Fez was a breakout hit. With our main character donning a fez, it is revealed that their world has so much more depth than expected. Literally. What was once only two dimensions is revealed to have three. You spend the game solving various puzzles, most of them based on perspective.
There are plenty of aspects of Fez that make it an incredible game, but it's hard to deny that the main character, Gomez, is an adorable Little Guy. Sure, he's comparatively the same size as everyone else, but being so tiny running across a world that's just gained a new dimension makes him seem all the smaller, but no less capable.
7/8 Animal Crossing
Animal Crossing has occupied the gaming scene since the days of the Nintendo 64, with its own little niche that got rarely challenged. Just live your life daily with your friendly (and in the earlier games, outright rude) neighbors. It's calm, with no pressure, and was clearly a sorely wanted game after the massive success of New Horizons.
Of course, there's a reason Animal Crossing dominates its niche so well. It's not just managing your village or the damn capitalist Tom Nook. No, it's all about the Little Guys. You're all the same size (roughly), but seeing your teeny little limbs potter about the village is so cute, and seeing everyday animals walking about is just great. They're just Little Guys; of course you would want to spend your day with them!
6/8 Spore
Originally advertised as a game that fully simulated the dynamic evolution of a species, Spore is truly anything but realistic in that regard. But it's also one of the most bizarrely creative things EA has made. You start off as a tiny little spore, an amoeba, before evolving over the eons into something brand new, eventually capable of space travel.
Very rarely are the creatures created in Spore small, but by all means, they are Little Guys. With the first foot on land for your species, you likely look akin to something Lovecraft struggled would have to comprehend, a being that simply should not exist. Yet, all the same, there's something so endearing about the endless striving to exist that these Little Guys love to do.
5/8 Hollow Knight
Metroid and Castlevania may have been the birthplace of the Metroidvania genre, but they are not its successors. Castlevania has fallen to the wayside, and Metroid is only recently making a resurgence. Instead, it's indie games that have taken the reins, with Hollow Knight as one of the greatest.
Right off the bat, you're the Knight, one of the littlest Little Guys there is. In a world so tremendously overbearing in themes and scale, the Knight feels like a sign of hope. No matter how little a guy you are, no matter how large the trials you face, you can persevere. Plus, they've got the indie game protagonist cloak, which adds extra Little Guy points.
4/8 Shadow Of The Colossus
Released to acclaim back in 2005, Shadow of the Colossus is a groundbreaking game that showcases the incredible art form that gaming is. Wonderful works have come and gone, but Shadow of the Colossus has a special glimmer to it that makes it timeless.
Now Shadow of the Colossus is an interesting entry in that you may question: what part of any of it exactly gives off 'Little Guy' vibes? Well, we're going a bit more literal with this one. Undeniably, the Colossi are indeed colossal, though Wander and Agro are comparatively not. In fact, they're downright minuscule. Little Guys, if you will.
3/8 Tunic
Originally revealed way back in 2017, Tunic was finally released in 2022 to rave reviews. It felt like a callback to early Zelda games and the like, though it wasn't afraid to introduce plenty of new conventions of its own. One of the most striking aspects of the game was the manual: a veritable manuscript that was just as essential to the game's experience as anything else.
Of course, people were originally pulled into the game for a very good reason: the protagonist. An adorable little fox dressed like classic Link? That's a certified Little Guy right there. Exploring dungeons and discovering the story of the world while playing as this adorable fella? Grade-A Little Guy, no denying it.
2/8 Binding Of Isaac
The Binding of Isaac is, in the simplest terms possible, a religious game. It might seem odd to call it such at first glance, but the Binding of Isaac is literally a biblical story, and there are just so many bible references within the game. That said, it's also one of the greatest roguelikes out there, a real testament to the act of penance.
That said, our protagonist Isaac is not of the cute variety of Little Guys. He's just a scared little child trying to make sense of the very real religious trauma all around him. He puts on a brave face while defeating his fears with his own tears. Of course, even Little Guys would feel true horror before the Wrath of God.
1/8 Katamari Damacy
The Katamari games are truly unlike anything else out there. On top of the wonderfully out-there visuals and means of storytelling, the gameplay is tremendously simple and gratifying. You push your sticky little ball and pick up literally everything you can, getting bigger and bigger as it rolls on.
'Tis the role of a Prince of the Cosmos, after all. Now, this is a rather obvious one, but the Prince is one of the greatest Little Guys out there. He fits almost all the criteria. Adorable to look at, slightly incomprehensible, and is literally small. You may think there are greater Little Guys, though the Prince will simply absorb them into their rolling mass, and then there is no Little Guy to compete against them anymore.
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