Video games give players plenty of opportunities to take charge, from defeating powerful enemies to building entire civilizations. Yet some of the most memorable characters are the ones you can't directly control, whose decisions remain their own and whose survival isn't always guaranteed. You might spend hours worrying about a companion who occasionally wanders into trouble, even though your only real contribution is to keep moving forward.
This emotional connection isn't an accident. Game designers can use movement, dialogue, shared tasks, and limited control to make relationships feel personal rather than something you simply watch unfold. When a game asks you to protect someone, cooperate with them, or rely on their help, caring about that character can become part of the gameplay itself.
You have the ability to hold hands with Yorda throughout most of the game while playing as the boy known as Ico. This mechanic alone can describe the whole plot of Ico. I know it may seem like you're doing nothing but holding a girl's hand; however, after doing it many times, you start to develop that bond with her.
Brothers allows you to play as both brothers at once. Each brother has his own controls, and it is up to you to learn what each can do and get them through obstacles. The more you get used to controlling the two, the more you start to feel their bond. It's almost like you're developing that relationship as well.
Protection Creates Responsibility
A game doesn't need to give you complete control over a companion to make you feel responsible for them. When a character follows you through dangerous areas, needs assistance, or depends on your actions to move forward, you begin paying attention to their safety. The game has effectively turned concern into a task, and suddenly getting someone across a room feels more important than simply reaching the next checkpoint.
A companion who only stands around waiting for instructions can feel more like a piece of equipment than a person. Research into companion characters in games highlights how these allies can support gameplay, contribute to immersion, and influence the player's experience through their ongoing presence. Characters who act independently can feel more convincing because they aren't merely extensions of the player's decisions.
Talking can allow you to grow attached to someone when traveling with them. Ellie travels with you for most of The Last of Us. Talking to her allows you to see how she differs from you in age, temperament, experience, and so on. Whether you're traveling through levels or experiencing story events, you can converse with Ellie and learn more about her without having to halt gameplay each time she feels the need to speak up about something.
Companions don't have to share the same mindset as the character you're playing. They can ask why you're doing something, crack a dumb joke, or react to a situation because it's what they want to do. This shows that there's more to them than just another helpful character you have on your team. This makes you view them more as a person traveling with you.
Turning Shared Experiences Into Attachment
A character relationship can grow through the ordinary activities that fill the time between major plot events. Traveling together, solving puzzles, gathering supplies, and escaping difficult situations create a shared history that players experience firsthand. These small interactions may not seem especially important individually, but together they give later story moments more meaning because you remember what the characters have been through.
There are games where you're not able to dictate what will happen with someone and can still develop an attachment to them. The Last of Us gives you very little choice over Joel's decisions throughout the game. You still control him through most of the game and travel through the world with Ellie. So, having an attachment to a character doesn't always mean that you're choosing what they'll do.
Developers cannot program for everyone to love a character. In one study about The Last of Us Part II, researchers looked at whether there were any changes in attachment when players switched characters. They found that some people didn't enjoy the change because they already had a connection to the previous character. This leads me to believe that while we can allow players to form a connection, we can't force it.
Ultimately, games can make us care about characters we barely control by giving us meaningful ways to share their journeys. A hand held through a dangerous passage, a conversation during a long walk, or a companion's independent response can communicate a relationship without requiring players to dictate every detail. The clever part is that the game doesn't need to hand you control of another character's heart; it only needs to give you enough time and shared experience to become invested in what happens to them.
