When it comes to video games, many players actively look for the impressive feats of strength of characters. Whether that’s leaping from rooftops while getting shot at, or striking down invading forces with a samurai sword. However, an underlooked and equally impressive feat of a character is their amazing intellect.
With PlayStation being the home of so many great exclusives, it’s no surprise that there are some franchises in which a character has great intelligence. The smartest PlayStation characters deserve more credit for their impressive quick thinking and inventive nature, for, in video games, it may not always be about the brawn, but about the brain too.
9 The Slayer Of Demons – Demon’s Souls
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The player-created protagonist of Demon’s Souls deserves more credit for their intellect. By no means does Demon’s Souls hold the player’s hand, and from the beginning of the game, it’s up to the player to decide which way to turn, and where to go. Through the genius of the player, the Slayer of Demons becomes one of the smartest PlayStation characters.
The strength of the Slayer of Demons is impressive enough, as they have killed many demons, bosses, and other foes of the like. However, solving puzzles, and successfully navigating the lands of Boletaria cannot be achieved by a lesser intellect.
8 Nathan Drake – Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End
The famed protagonist of the Uncharted series, Nathan Drake’s story concluded in Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End. The game takes place years after the first of Nate’s playable adventure and shows just how far the character has come. There’s more responsibility on Nate’s shoulders, as he tries to balance marriage with the dangerous occupation he can’t help but love.
Nathan Drake is entirely amazing at parkour, shooting guns, and having a witty comeback. However, his ability to solve puzzles from centuries ago is what makes him so impressive. Nate solves puzzles at an impressive and quick rate throughout the Uncharted series.
7 Jin Sakai – Ghost Of Tsushima
As a rising samurai in Japan, Jin Sakai’s life was forever changed when in 1274 the Mongols launched an invasion of the island of Tsushima. Jin survived a battle that killed almost 80 samurai and knew that the only way for Japan to thrive and best the Mongol invaders would be to abandon the samurai code for a new, dishonorable tactic, one of stealth. Ghost of Tsushima is an emotional journey and a beautiful homage to Japanese culture.
Ghost of Tsushima presents Jin Sakai as a philosopher, as well as a high intellectual. He creates and utilizes many tools, from poisons to grapple hooks to traverse his way through his home under siege from a Mongol threat.
6 Aloy – Horizon Zero Dawn
The world presented in Horizon Zero Dawn is beautifully creative. It’s a mesh of advanced technology and nature reclaiming the planet. Mechanical beasts roam the lands, yet the humans that remain are unaware of how this happened, or of the advanced technology that they are witnesses to. However, the protagonist, Aloy, knows the importance of this forbidden technology.
Aloy’s intellect comes into play as she explores the forbidden locations of ancient runes, and furthers her knowledge of the world and humanity’s past. She learns what most could not, and even uses the unfamiliar technology to tame the mechanical beasts.
5 Dr. Neo Cortex – Crash Bandicoot
Featuring in the original Crash Bandicoot, Neo Cortex was quick to become the nemesis to none other than mutated marsupial, Crash Bandicoot himself. Neo Cortex is a genius and a professional evil scientist that has an obsession with world domination. His credits feature an impressive library of gadgets and schemes, all of which become thwarted by Crash.
Neo Cortex’s intellect was his downfall, as he had a huge hand in the creation of Crash Bandicoot, the animal that became his arch-nemesis and sabotaged the many plans for world domination. However, Cortex always finds a way to strike back.
4 Heartman – Death Stranding
Heartman is a member of Bridges who dedicates his time to researching the Death Stranding, the global extinction event that killed the majority of humanity, as well as his wife and daughter. In Death Stranding, Heartman has his life figured out to the most minute detail, as he stops his heart for three minutes, every 21 minutes. This allows him to die, and search the beach for his wife and daughter.
Heartman is resilient in his love for his family and has visited the beach over 218,549 times. Heartman condenses his research, knowledge, and entertainment in spans of 21 minutes, and fitted his room to absorb the impact of his body hitting the floor per death.
3 Peter Parker – Marvel’s Spider-Man
Although technically not PlayStation characters, Peter Parker and Spider-Man had an exclusive depiction in Marvel’s Spider-Man. Peter was different from the one that has been seen in comics and films, as he was an adult, past his college years. Peter Parker is presented as a promising scientist but fails to properly balance his life as Spider-Man and Peter Parker.
For Spider-Man, Peter Parker’s intellect is incredible. His suit, gadgets, and web shooters are of his chemistry and creation and are genius in their own right. As Spider-Man, he has to do math equations in his head to predict the speed and velocity of each swing.
2 Dr. Nefarious – Ratchet & Clank
As far as mad scientists go, Dr. Nefarious takes the cake. This character is the primary antagonist in the Ratchet & Clank franchise and is a self-proclaimed super villain. This robot scientist hates Captain Qwark, but most importantly, all organic life forms. He dedicates his robotic life to war and robot forces to eradicate organic life.
Dr. Nefarious is a great threat to life in the galaxy and will stop at nothing to build and design deadly weapons and robots to fulfill his goal. His intellect is so incredible that he deduced how to control time itself to rewrite history so that the villains always win.
1 Otacon – Metal Gear Solid
Metal Gear Solid is no stranger to intellectual characters. Many of the characters in the Metal Gear franchise have high intelligence, and craft a great number of gadgets and weapons. However, the original PlayStation release of Metal Gear Solid housed the incredible mind of Hal "Otacon" Emmerich.
Otacon assisted Solid Snake throughout the years, providing him with great gadgets, and impressive knowledge of exposition for opponents, areas, and other sorts of equipment needed for the latest tactical espionage mission.