James Sunderland, And Other Horror Game Protagonists Who Have Been Through Hell

This list contains minor spoilers

Summary

Horror protagonists are ordinary people dragged into relentless trauma.
Their suffering fuels courage, guilt, or spirals into vengeance and madness.
Player empathy grows as leads endure loss, hallucinations, monsters, and impossible choices.

Horror game developers usually want players to feel genuinely terrified and immersed in a nightmare. Therefore, it wouldn’t make sense for the main character to be cheerful and carefree throughout a frightening story. While it’s expected that horror protagonists will struggle, some face incredibly difficult circumstances, leading players to wonder how they can possibly survive to the end after everything they endure.

Players often find characters truly inspiring when they overcome immense hardship and remain strong. However, extreme stress and fear can also break a character, turning them into someone who isolates themselves from others. Let’s examine some of the main characters in popular horror games – characters who have faced incredibly terrifying experiences and, in a way, gone through hell.

James Sunderland

James’ Actions Plunge Him Into A Guilt-Ridden Nightmare

At the start of the game *Silent Hill 2*, James Sunderland receives a letter seemingly from his deceased wife, who asks him to meet her at a place that was special to them. While this gives James a glimmer of hope, he quickly finds himself in the terrifying town of Silent Hill, a place filled with disturbing creatures and haunting scenes that are sure to frighten even experienced horror fans.

In *Silent Hill 2*, the story centers on James confronting his own guilt, which manifests as a series of frightening monsters. Throughout the game, his troubled mind struggles to understand the present horrors and the events surrounding Mary’s death from years ago. Unlike many protagonists, James isn’t a trained hero; he’s an ordinary man tormented by his past. Whether he survives, and what he becomes, depends on the player’s choices and the ending they achieve.

Isaac Clarke

What Should Have Been A Simple Rescue Mission Ends Up Going Horribly Wrong

The original *Dead Space* begins with Isaac Clarke, an engineer, responding to a distress call from the mining ship USG *Ishimura*. When the crew arrives, they quickly discover the ship is silent and Isaac is soon separated from his team. He’s then forced to fight terrifying creatures called Necromorphs while trying to survive. Adding to the danger, Isaac is desperately searching for his girlfriend, Nicole, believing she might still be aboard. As he investigates a strange artifact called the Marker, Isaac starts to experience hallucinations and lose touch with reality.

Isaac Clarke’s ordeal continues in the next chapter, where he’s thrown back into a terrifying fight against more Necromorphs. On top of the physical danger, he’s also struggling with severe psychological trauma from the events of the first game. Facing such intense horror while fighting for survival is a terrible situation, and even though Isaac survives, it’s doubtful he’ll ever fully heal from what he experienced on the *Ishimura*.

Ellie Williams

Losing So Much In A Short Period Took A Heavy Toll On Ellie

Ellie has faced incredible hardship for someone so young, and it’s difficult to summarize all she’s been through. After losing her best friend, Riley, to a deadly infection, Ellie became incredibly valuable because she was immune. In the world of The Last of Us, Joel was tasked with transporting her, treating her almost like a package, with the hope of finding a cure.

Ellie and Joel develop a close, father-daughter bond, but this is tragically cut short when Joel is killed before her eyes at the start of the second game. The intense grief and pain from this loss fuel Ellie’s desire for revenge, leading her down a dangerous and destructive path. Considering everything she’s endured from a young age, her reaction is, in many ways, understandable.

Clementine

Clementine Is Forced To Learn How To Survive When She Is Only A Child

Okay, so surviving a zombie apocalypse is hard enough as an adult, but imagine being a kid! That’s Clementine’s deal. She gets separated from her parents right when everything goes crazy, which is terrifying. Luckily, she meets Lee, who’s a lifesaver. He basically teaches her everything she needs to know to protect herself from the zombies, and honestly, she has to grow up *fast*.

Their bond tragically ends when Lee becomes infected, leaving Clementine with the heartbreaking choice of either leaving him chained up or ending his suffering before he transforms. Clementine will face many more difficult decisions as she grows up in the following games, but her path is incredibly challenging, marked by the loss of numerous people she cares about.

Alan Wake

Alan’s World Is Turned Upside Down When He Loses Alice

It’s understandable why bestselling author Alan Wake seems so troubled and unkempt when we first meet him in the second game. Anyone would be deeply affected by what he goes through after being separated from his wife. What began as a relaxing vacation quickly becomes a terrifying ordeal when Alan’s wife, Alice, vanishes from their cabin. He soon discovers that the nightmarish world around him – including the dark creatures pursuing him – is actually a result of the story he was writing coming to life.

Wake’s situation doesn’t improve, and he quickly finds himself trapped in the Dark Place, which begins to consume his mind. While Alan was stuck in a painful limbo for years, it’s uncertain if he’ll ever be able to live a normal life, or if he’s destined to spend the rest of his days writing on his typewriter.

Sebastian Castellanos

A Cop Who Is Thrown Into A Nightmarish World Of Another Person’s Creation

Sebastian Castellanos, the hero of *The Evil Within*, is thrown into a terrifying situation when he’s pulled into the mind of a disturbed man named Ruvik. Ruvik’s troubled past has created a nightmarish world filled with gruesome horrors, and Sebastian must fight to survive and understand what’s happening. One minute he’s running from a chainsaw-wielding attacker, and the next he’s blasting burning barrels at a ghostly monster determined to kill him.

Sebastian faces more trouble in the second game when he discovers his daughter, Lily, is trapped within the STEM program. Though he’s excited at the chance to reunite with Lily, who he thought was gone, his journey is filled with dangerous encounters. He’s pursued by various villains, including a wildly eccentric artist determined to defeat him with flair.

Ethan Winters

The Latest Protagonist Of The Resident Evil Series Just Can’t Catch A Break

Characters like Leon Kennedy and Chris Redfield have faced dangerous situations before, and they usually had some preparation. However, Ethan Winters, first appearing in *Resident Evil 7*, is different. He’s an ordinary person suddenly thrown into terrifying circumstances while trying to save his family. It begins when he goes to the Baker House to find his wife, Mia, and quickly finds himself battling a horde of creepy, mutated creatures-including the horrifying Baker family themselves.

Seriously, just when I thought things were finally calming down as a player, they threw another wrench in Ethan’s life! His daughter, Rose, gets snatched by some creepy cult, and I’m back to fighting everything under the sun – werewolves, vampires, even massive trolls! It’s almost ridiculous how much bad luck this guy has just trying to protect his family. But honestly, it makes me really feel for him because he didn’t ask for any of this supernatural craziness. I’m playing as him, and it’s exhausting!

2025-09-25 02:21