by Jessica Thomas (@jakkujessica)
So, you’re about to start a brand new adventure, whether that be in the vast forbidden lands, the unforgiving plains of never ending treasure troves or the destructive landscape of a wasteland. What better way to travel than with a trusty companion! I mean heck, would you want to travel these places alone? I know I wouldn’t. Here I’m going to talk about some of my favourite companions.
The worlds of video games are often huge and at times very unforgiving. One minute you’re panning the camera around to get the perfect angle for a screenshot to show off on Twitter (we all do it), next you’re being attacked by whatever monstrosity comes your way. In my experience it’s always the packs of wolves in Skyrim. Luckily Lydia (voiced by Colleen Delany) is right on hand, ready to kick some butt and unfortunately for her she’s ‘sworn to carry your burdens’ but hey, every adventurer who hasn’t taken an arrow to the knee will have a ton of baggage! How else are you supposed to carry all those sweet rolls and lock picks, huh? Lydia. My hero.
Or say you’re about to break down the door to that obviously ‘abandoned’ Super Duper Mart in Fallout 4. Spoiler alert; they’re never abandoned. You’re either welcomed (usually rather rudely with a gun to your face) by a gang of raiders who want nothing more than to just kill you and loot your body OR a super mutant who again wants nothing more than to just rip you apart limb from limb. Luckily that’s where once again your trusty companion jumps in to play! If you’re like me and fell instantly in love with Piper, the adventurous and often at times rather pushy journalist who will stop at nothing to get her next big scoop (voiced by Courtney Ford) she’s 100% got your back. Give her a laser pistol and use a lock pick here and there and she’ll be your best friend for life, or even a love interest if you’re feeling it.
Or hey, imagine this. You’re one true love has just died (much sad) and the only way she’s coming back is if you take down 16, yes, 16 larger than life Colossi. ‘Wouldn’t that be really hard?’ I hear you ask. Sure, it’s going to be quite the challenge but what better companion than your trusty steed Agro. He’ll take you from point A to point B, no questions asked! (I mean he is a horse so, he doesn’t say anything at all really) but regardless, he’ll be there when you need a quick escape from a Colossus hammer. Sometimes he’ll run off track and you need to shout him back and we all know how annoying shouting someone’s name can be in video games… I’m looking at you Heavy Rain.
This was written by Jessica Thomas, a guest writer for NGB. You can follow her on twitter @jakkujessica.
