10 More of the Best Beards in Gaming

By Jack Shaw (Guest Post) | Last updated 18th December 2024

Sergey Galyonkin from Raleigh, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

How a video game character looks can significantly determine the audience’s perception. These personas often engage in battles or gunfights, so they need to look stronger than their opponents.

How can they project toughness? A beard is an excellent starting point. Some of the greatest video games ever have included guys with incredible facial hair.

What characters stand out? Here are even more of the best beards in gaming.

Which Characters Have the Best Beards?

Facial hair comes in all different shapes and sizes, even in video games. Here are the 10 best beards in the gaming industry’s history.

1. Gordon Freeman - Half-Life

Modern games have better graphics and more detailed beards. However, Half-Life started the facial hair party in 1998 with its protagonist, Gordon Freeman. The man doesn’t speak in the game, and you don’t get to see him often. However, his beard looks solid for a late-1990s game.

With numerous Half-Life games, you get plenty of different Gordon looks throughout the series. That said, his beard remains consistent. The brown goatee is strong in each title, while the scruff on his sides varies among games. Half-Life’s protagonist doesn’t age much in the games, so this consistency is expected.

2. Arthur — Ghosts ‘n Goblins

Kids these days don’t know about Ghosts ‘n Goblins and this masterpiece of a game. Released in 1985, it was one of the best titles of its time and has held up well. Capcom says Ghosts ‘n Goblins has sold over 4.6 million units in the last 40 years. One reason to love this game is its protagonist, Arthur, and his beard.

Sir Arthur defeats demons, cyclopes and zombies with his mighty sword. In each game, the knight boasts a marvellous beard covering the entire lower half of his face. His facial hair has the same length and style throughout the games, with only the shade changing in each instalment within the franchise.

3. John Marston — Red Dead Redemption

Arthur Morgan has one of the best beards in video games. However, John Marston came before him in the first Red Dead Redemption. In this game, you follow Marston as he gets revenge on his former gang. While you try to find his wife and son, you don’t have much time to shave your scruff and look nice.

The Red Dead Redemption protagonist has an interesting beard with scars disconnecting the hair on his cheeks. As it turns out, running from the law takes a toll on your facial hair. In Red Dead Redemption 2, you can grow his beard out longer because the game gets more realistic with hair growth.

4. Trevor Philips — Grand Theft Auto V

Trevor Phillips is another Rockstar Games character who can grow a great beard. While his default setting only has stubble, you can add facial hair at any barber shop in San Andreas. You can embrace the true Trevor by growing a massive beard or getting his version of the handlebar moustache.

Michael and Franklin also have facial hair options, but the unorganised beard fits Trevor the most because of his wild personality. At any point, the protagonist could be running away from the police or causing trouble in Sandy Shores. It’s hard to imagine the man consistently grooming his beard.

5. Kratos — God of War

Pick up a copy of God of War if you want to see the most detailed beard in video game history. Kratos’s facial hair is a sight to behold because it’s realistic and well-groomed. The franchise’s protagonist has looked stellar since 2005, regardless of how many pantheons he encounters in the stories.

When you see the Kratos beard, you think of Zeus and the other legendary figures of Greek mythology. While his facial hair looks great in most games, his entire face has evolved since the first instalment. Kratos sported a goatee in the 2005 title and grew a full beard by its 2022 release with the same name.

6. Thamur — God of War

While Kratos is impressive, he has stiff competition with Thamur in the God of War series. This Jötunn has an even bigger beard than Kratos, though the latter is arguably better at grooming. Thamur’s sizable facial hair reaches his chest and has braids hanging from the bottom in the series.

Thamur is one of the most enormous characters in any video game, as the creature can make skyscrapers look small. By default, he has one of the largest beards in video games. Kratos comes across his corpse and nearly loses his life upon touching the chisel in Thamur’s head.

7. Victor Chevalier — Tekken 8

Arena fighters aren’t renowned for their facial hair. In fact, most characters have clean-shaven faces to follow the standards in East Asian cultures. However, Victor Chevalier breaks tradition in Tekken 8 by sporting a full grey beard. His stylish looks make him stand out in an otherwise stacked fighting roster.

Tekken 8 uses Unreal Engine 5 to make the human characters look even more realistic. With the advanced graphics, you can see nearly every follicle on Chevalier’s face. The Frenchman’s Tekken debut is in the eighth game, and he certainly adds style to the UN’s independent forces.

8. Mario and Luigi — Mario Franchise

Some video game faces are instantly discernible. If you saw a silhouette of two chubby video game characters with only moustaches, you might guess Mario and Luigi. These brothers don’t have any hair on their cheeks, but the facial hair above their lips is among the most iconic in gaming history.

Facial hair is what makes these two characters so recognisable. If you see photoshopped images of them without the moustaches, they just look plain wrong. Mario and Luigi sport facial hair, and their enemies are just as notable. Wario and Waluigi have unmistakable moustaches that are tough for real people to emulate.

9. Joel Miller — The Last of Us

The Last of Us is one of the best video games in recent memory. Its success led to a TV series on HBO. Joel Miller is the protagonist, as he leads Ellie in a post-apocalyptic world. His beard is among the cream of the crop in video games because it’s realistic. While some animators go over the top, Miller looks like an actual human.

Joel constantly travels the country with his cohorts, but it’s not a fun road trip by any means. Despite lacking time to shave and focus on his face, the protagonist keeps an attractive beard on his cheeks. That said, there is some ruggedness to make his appearance more accurate for these trying times.

10. Cranky Kong — Donkey Kong

Mario didn’t get his start in his own game — he needed the Donkey Kong franchise to get the ball rolling. Within this series, you find the large ape and his father, Cranky Kong. Cranky is often forgotten, as he doesn’t appear in many games. However, he returned in “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” in 2023.

Cranky Kong demonstrates wisdom with his long beard as he guides his grandson, Donkey. While his name suggests an attitude problem, this paternal figure has been an essential Nintendo character since the early 1980s. His full beard doesn’t change much from one Donkey Kong game to the next.

What Do Beards in Video Games Represent?

Beards matter more than you think in video games. Without them, your favourite characters would look significantly different. Plus, they’d have a lot less aura. Facial hair represents numerous characteristics in video games, including the following:

• Strength: When your character has a beard, he’s much more ready for battle. His facial hair represents strength with a heroic and rugged accent to the rendering.

• Rebellion: Video game characters aren’t exactly known for conforming to the laws. With scruffy facial hair, they embody the spirit of rebellion even more. Whether Red Dead Redemption or Skyrim, beards are integral to these games.

• Survival: When a character has a long beard and dirt on their face, you know they’ve been through a lot. Facial hair can tell stories of survival and add layers to the presentation. During an apocalypse, a well-kept appearance is the last thing on their minds.

• Eras: Some video games take you back in time, whether decades or centuries ago. When researching, the video game designers ensure the characters accurately fit the setting. For instance, a game set in ancient Greece will likely depict men with beards to emphasise masculinity.

• Mentorship: A great protagonist could use a bearded leader to teach them a few lessons. With their large, white beards, these side characters can help you along your journey. Some examples include Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule from The Legend of Zelda or Dr. Thomas Light from Mega Man.

How Do Video Game Developers Design Beards?

Creating characters with beards isn’t as easy as it seems. The game designers require a lot of time to ensure that humans and other creatures have well-animated facial hair. For example, the entire GTA 5 production required five years before releasing the game. You can bet they spent time animating the beards.

You must be careful when animating beards in video games and movies. This body part moves as the character walks, so producers could give them procedural bones to make the graphics easier. Some movies — such as “How to Train Your Dragon” — have given animators fits because of the intricate details.

Overall, hair is challenging to animate because of the polygonal ribbons. Due to the follicle complexity, game designers need help animating bearded characters when changing their shirts or performing other simple tasks.

The Best Beards in Video Game History

Facial hair can make or break a character, so it’s not surprising to see the effort put into their creation. When done correctly, the game designers can significantly elevate the character and their entire persona.

How would Sir Arthur or Thamur look without their beards? With stellar facial hair, video game characters can more easily cement their place in the industry’s history.

Jack Shaw is a writer, editor and grooming enthusiast. His explorations of men’s health, fitness and fashion can all be found on Modded, a men’s lifestyle publication on which he serves as the senior writer. Reach out to him via LinkedIn or see more from him by subscribing to the Modded Minute.