The Rogueies: Best New Character

Gaming is full of some of the most iconic characters in all of art. We wanted to pick our favorite new one, be it from an existing IP that's added someone new in a sequel or an expansion, or a brand new game with a fresh cast.

Below, we've listed out our favorite character of the year and our four runner-ups.

Nate from Baby Steps

Even the Steam description of Baby Steps describes unemployed, sweaty, schlubby, barefoot Nate as a "failson." Nate isn't a hero. Nate isn't even particularly likeable.

But Nate is such a loveable doofus that he makes this list. Baby Steps is a silly game by design, but there's such an earnest awkwardness in every moment Nate's on screen. Whether it's just when he's learning to (literally) put one foot in front of the other like some portly baby bird, or each and every full-body-cringe-inducing interaction he has with another human being, Nate is perfect. An unemployed, sweaty, schlubby, barefoot, perfect failson who I love.

— JP

Robbie from Dispatch (& Invisibitch & Chase)

Dispatch is so character based that the entire cast really feels like it deserves this nomination. The main focus here is on Robert, who I’ll get to in just a second. But first it’s worth touching on two other standouts: Chase and Invisibitch.

Chase has this amazing backstory and fascinating character development with his fast aging, which makes him this fun younger guy in this really old man’s body. He has a lot of great moments (I mean, Jeffrey Wright KILLS it here), but he has a pretty public freakout at one point, chastising another character. But after very little time has passed in-game, he then risks his life for that same character. With other writing and other actors, that might feel forced and too quick. But the team that brings Chase together in Dispatch makes it work in such an incredible way.

Invisibitch is a pretty standard “ah she’s mean because she’s insecure” kinda character. But the Dispatch team does a really nice job fleshing her out. She’s a character that’s easy to lose faith in as a player, and that’s the intention. I kept the faith the entire time, but I definitely had times where I worried I was making the wrong decision. A really big chunk of why she works is her writing, but it’s Laura Bailey’s performance that really sells her. She does some incredible work here, and if there was even more of here, it would be pretty easy to argue that she gives the best performance in the game – which is saying something, considering the rest of the cast.

But ultimately Robbie, the protagonist played by Aaron Paul, is the one who really stands out the most in the Dispatch cast. Paul does some great work here, but Robbie succeeds because the Dispatch team avoids a cardinal sin for “the straight guy in a wacky ensemble” characters: Robbie is never boring. Or, when he is bored, it’s thoughtfully done. Making a player character work is really, really hard in games – especially when there are choices. But AdHoc thread the needle so well there, ensuring that Robbie’s attitude shifts based on your choices while never fully giving the player control of the story. The writers have a very good story that they want to tell, and they don’t ever let players get fully in the way of that.

It’s one of Dipsatch’s greatest strengths, and it all stems from the depth and strength of Robbie as a character.

— RG

Sibyl from Look Outside

Oh, poor Sibyl. She’s the helpful next-door neighbor in Look Outside, and all you can see is one big, strange eye. Despite her bizarre appearance, Sibyl is a friend who will chat with Sam about the building and its various inhabitants.

She’s a constant companion, and while her memory is failing, she does her best to help throughout the fifteen day incident happening outside the building. Players who explore every corner and pursue every ending will learn the tragic truth of Sibyl’s story and her connection to the extracosmic Visitor that is irreversibly changing and warping our world. 

Oh, and if you want a secret, extra special ending after you’ve played through a run of Look Outside, start a second game with the name ‘Sibyl’. It’s a fun little treat.

— CM

The Hive Scum from Warhammer 40K: Darktide

Fatshark has added two DLC classes to its four-player co-op shooter Warhammer 40,000: Darktide, a game that relies heavily on its inter-party banter and the personality of each class. The Hive Scum has been part of the 40K fiction since the ‘90s with Necromunda, and Darktide gives them the chance to be the star of the show. Each class has three personalities, and the Hive Scum

The Arbites was a fun addition to the cast, made an outsider by their status of being a space cop. But the Hive Scum are a total riot, and all three of them are an interesting exploration of what life is in the underhive of Tertium. The Outlaw could joined the Guard, if they had only been born a few levels up in the Hive City; they’re the closest thing we have to a classic hero archetype. The Bounty Hunter is dispassionate, cool, and professional. The Anarchist, especially the female version of the personality, is a hilarious whirlwind of spite, homicide, and empty head. (Across several banters, they argue space is fake and the spaceship we’re on is just a psychic projection.) 

Godspeed, Hive Scum, you beautiful idiot. Glad to have you aboard.

— CM

Best New Character winner — Lodi from Destiny 2: The Edge of Fate

In a list of incredibly strong new characters, it’s pretty wild that our winner is the new guy from Destiny 2, of all things. But that’s part of what makes Lodi so good, and why he wins our award. Lodi came into Destiny 2 nearly eight years after it came out, and 11 years into the franchise. He came out in the worst expansion the game has, arguably, ever had. 

But despite all of the gameplay problems with The Edge of Fate, the story is the one thing players almost universally praised. That’s Lodi.

Lodi’s deal is that he’s basically a 50s G-man pulled out of his time and into the far, far future of Destiny. Everyone he’s ever known is gone, and he is never going back. He’s a linguist who has been chosen to channel 9(ish) gods and become their new emissary. And he’s fascinated, and depressed, and confused, and grieving, and excited. And he’s kind.

I have loved Destiny for over a decade, and I will straight up tell you that its story has not always been worth following. But in recent years, it’s become one of the highlights of every expansion. The Edge of Fate stands out not only because of how many things it broke, but because of how it sets up an exciting new story. And if the writing team didn’t absolutely crush it with Lodi. If his voice actor, Brian Villalobos, didn’t nail the assignment, the community would only know Edge of Fate as an expansion that ruined a lot of their favorite things about Destiny.

But through the power of a good story, talented performers, and brilliant writers, Bungie saved at least part of the expansion’s legacy. That’s not all on Lodi, but those who brought him to life carried the hardest.

It’s hard enough, I imagine, to introduce new ideas and characters into a franchise as old as Destiny. But I’m not sure I’ve ever seen one this good come this late in a franchise’s lifecycle. And that’s why he, and people who birthed him at Bungie, deserve our Best New Character of 2025.

— RG