Paying Homage to Easter: Here Are 3 Video Game Franchises Steeped in Religious Themes
Whether you’re a believer or not, it’s impossible to deny the power of the story of Easter.
Strip away the specifics, and you’re still left with the ultimate underdog story of redemption and salvation.
Jesus Christ, the voice of the voiceless and natural leader of men, so threatened the powers that be that he was literally crucified for it. But death wasn’t the end and Jesus was ultimately resurrected on Easter Sunday.
Again, it’s just a powerful story at its core, so it should come as little surprise that so many key tenets of the story of Jesus Christ, as well as other parables from the Bible, have been referenced in video games.
And it’s not just decidedly Christian video games like “Captain Bible in Dome of Darkness” that dip into this storytelling.
Some of the largest AAA franchises in existence make judicious use of the Bible to fill out their universes and are all the better for it.
Here are three prime examples of AAA franchises steeped in religious themes:
WARNING: All following entries include videos that the viewer may find disturbing.
3. The “Halo” franchise: As if the actual name of the video game itself wasn’t a dead giveaway, the beloved first-person shooter from Microsoft isn’t exactly subtle about wearing its biblical inspirations on its sleeve.
Yes, the name of the franchise clearly invokes angelic iconography, but the rest of the game makes an even clearer reference to the Bible.
One such example is the main protagonist’s name. While he is known as “Master Chief,” his government name is John-117. That’s a clear reference to a Bible passage, John 1:17, which states: “For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”
Given the messianic nature of Master Chief (a common theme in all three of these franchises), that’s certainly a bit on the nose.
But perhaps not nearly as on the nose as the fan theory/observation that much of the plot of “Halo 2” and parts of “Halo 3” seem to be lifted almost identically with that of Daniel 11:21-45.
If you haven’t looked into that, it’s a deep rabbit hole.
2. “The Legend of Zelda” franchise: Two immutable parts of Nintendo’s popular Zelda franchise are lifted rather directly from Christianity.
First and foremost, the inherent tale of Zelda is a simple one of good versus evil, a decidedly Biblical issue. The protagonist of the series, Link, is a mute, selfless knight protecting Princess Zelda, and is clearly an embodiment of goodness and courage.
Conversely, Link’s primary adversary, Ganondorf, is the embodiment of pure evil and rage. There are no gray areas, or attempts to humanize Ganondorf or make him hip and cool. The man is pure, unadulterated evil, and must be vanquished.
The second key aspect of Zelda is the MacGuffin that drives most of the games forward: the Triforce. The triangular symbol of power from the Zelda universe seems like it was rather clearly derived from the concept of the Holy Trinity.
The Christian themes in the Zelda franchise are no secret. An image from the 1992 Japanese guidebook to “A Link to the Past” contains an officially licensed image of Link worshiping Jesus Christ in a church, per Polygon.
1. The “Fallout” franchise: Bethesda Softworks’ post-apocalyptic masterpiece might not be a game series that most people think of when it comes to heavy religious themes, but few games better fit that bill than “Fallout.”
Perhaps most glaringly: The entire franchise hinges on the historical what-if of nuclear Armageddon. And the end of days is a decidedly Biblical concept.
But perhaps even more notable than that, and fitting for a day like Easter, is how every mainline game effectively starts. You, the protagonist and savior of the irradiated wastelands, emerge from a cave or “vault” at the start of each Fallout, which is a rather clear allusion to Jesus Christ being resurrected and leaving the cave.
“Fallout” also deals heavily with the binary concept of good and evil, not unlike “Zelda,” but offers the player far more agency when it comes to acting good or evil than its Nintendo counterpart.
Both “Halo” and “Fallout” games are readily available on PC and virtually any modern Xbox system. “Zelda” games are exclusively found on Nintendo consoles.
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