The Hero’s Journey, also known as the Monomyth, is a timeless narrative structure that has been the backbone of countless myths, legends, and stories across cultures. At its core, it represents the universal path of growth and transformation that a hero undergoes in pursuit of a grand quest. In the world of video games, this journey not only shapes the narrative but also deeply influences the player’s experience, allowing them to embody the hero and live out the adventure.
The Stages of the Hero’s Journey
The Hero’s Journey typically unfolds in several stages:
The Ordinary World: The hero’s normal life before the adventure begins.
The Call to Adventure: The hero is faced with a challenge or problem to undertake.
Refusal of the Call: The hero hesitates or refuses the call due to fear or reluctance.
Meeting with the Mentor: The hero encounters a mentor who provides advice or training.
Crossing the Threshold: The hero leaves the ordinary world and enters the world of adventure.
Tests, Allies, and Enemies: The hero faces challenges and meets friends and foes.
Approach to the Inmost Cave: The hero prepares for the significant challenge in the special world.
The Ordeal: The hero confronts death or faces their greatest fear.
The Reward: After surviving the ordeal, the hero takes possession of the treasure or reward.
The Road Back: The hero begins the journey back to the ordinary world.
The Resurrection: The hero is severely tested once more on the threshold of home.
Return with the Elixir: The hero returns home transformed with the elixir or treasure to help the ordinary world.
The Legend of Zelda Series
In The Legend of Zelda series, players take on the role of Link, a young hero called to save the kingdom of Hyrule from the clutches of evil. The games often start in Link’s ordinary world, a peaceful village, before he receives the call to adventure, usually in the form of a message from Princess Zelda or the appearance of a dark force. With the help of mentors like the wise old man or the princess herself, Link crosses the threshold into a world filled with dungeons, puzzles, and enemies. Each game in the series sees Link undergoing trials, obtaining powerful artifacts, and ultimately facing the main antagonist, Ganon, in a final battle. The reward is the restoration of peace to Hyrule, and Link returns to his ordinary world, transformed by his experiences.
Mass Effect Series
The Mass Effect series follows Commander Shepard, a military officer who becomes humanity’s last hope against an impending galactic threat. The call to adventure is the discovery of an ancient alien warning about the Reapers, a race of machines intent on wiping out all organic life. Shepard’s journey takes them across the galaxy, gathering allies, facing numerous trials, and uncovering the truth about the Reapers. The ordeal comes in the form of the final battle against the Reapers, with the fate of the galaxy at stake. The reward is the survival and unity of the diverse species within the galaxy, and Shepard’s return is marked by the legacy they leave behind, forever changing the course of galactic history.
Elden Ring
Elden Ring presents a more open-world approach to the Hero’s Journey, where players create their own character, the Tarnished, called back to the Lands Between to restore the Elden Ring and become the Elden Lord. The game’s vast open-world design allows players to experience the stages of the Hero’s Journey non-linearly, facing trials and enemies at their own pace. The lore of Elden Ring, often cryptic and obscured, challenges players to piece together the game’s vast history and mythology, making each player’s journey unique.
