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* ''VideoGame/TotalWarWarhammer'': Generally subverted, but some characters are without helmets in and out of battle.
** Wulfrik the Wanderer wears thick plate armor, but forgoes wearing a helmet as a sign of his arrogance in believing himself (and not without merit) to be the worlds greatest warrior.
** Played straight with Legendary Hero, Theodore Bruckner, when he is fighting on foot, but subverted when he is mounted and he goes to battle wearing an ornate winged helmet.
** Wulfrik the Wanderer wears thick plate armor, but forgoes wearing a helmet as a sign of his arrogance in believing himself (and not without merit) to be the worlds greatest warrior.
** Played straight with Legendary Hero, Theodore Bruckner, when he is fighting on foot, but subverted when he is mounted and he goes to battle wearing an ornate winged helmet.
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* ''VideoGame/LoveOfMagic'': Neither the modern-style armor provided by the British Military nor the elegant plate armor worn by characters from Camelot have helmets. When asked about it, Katie says, "Helmets are for pussies."
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** Zig-zagged in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'', at least for the player character, where actually equipping helmets and other headgear is a necessity to make the most out of your gear, but actually having them be enclosed or even visible on your head is strictly optional; there are commands both for making your headgear invisible and for moving its face-concealing parts out of the way, on top of a system to use a glamour prism to make it look like something else entirely, like a simple beret, bandanna, or a feather in your hair. Cutscenes beginning from ''Heavensward'' start to enforce this, as even if you have your helmet visible, it will be toggled off for certain cutscenes. A particular standout is in the Grand Melee about halfway through ''Heavensward''[='=]s post-release story, where your current outfit is temporarily glamoured into a set of Ishgardian armor -- minus any sort of helmet, even if you toggle it visible -- while, in an inversion, [[spoiler:Raubahn]] wears a helmet with a face-concealing visor for the first time in his fight against you.
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** Zig-zagged in In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'', at least for the player character, where actually trope is up to the player's choice; although equipping helmets and other headgear is a necessity to make the most out of your gear, but actually having them be enclosed or even visible on your head is strictly optional; there optional. There are commands both for making your headgear invisible and for moving its face-concealing parts out of the way, on top of a system to use a and the glamour prism to system can make it any piece of armour look like something else entirely, any ''other'' piece of armour that can be used by the same job, like a simple beret, a bandanna, or a feather in your hair. hair.
*** The "Meteor Survivor" in the CGI trailers [[ZigZaggedTrope zig-zags]] this. He starts off with no helmet in the 1.0 opening; the ''End of an Era'' cinematic has him in full Warrior plate complete with helmet, but gets it knocked off of his head by the enemy. He remains helmless in his Warrior plate for the ''Heavensward'' cinematic, but when he switches to Dragoon armour, he puts on the helmet of that set. The ''Stormblood'' cinematic depicts him as a Monk in Ala Mhigo and a Samurai in the Far East, wearing neither job's headgear. ''Shadowbringers'' depicts him as a Dark Knight, and though he lacks the helmet in the cinematic, he is wearing it fully in the expansion's logo. ''Endwalker'' depicts him as a Paladin, again without the job's circlet. Finally, ''Dawntrail'' depicts him as a Viper, whose job-specific outfit is InTheHood; although he does wear a hooded cloak to start with, he takes it off in the fight scene to reveal the job gear, and doesn't wear ''that'' set's hood.
*** Cutscenes beginning from ''Heavensward'' start to enforce this, as even if you have yourhelmet headgear visible, it will be toggled off for certain cutscenes. A particular standout is in the Grand Melee about halfway through ''Heavensward''[='=]s post-release story, where your current outfit is temporarily glamoured into a set of Ishgardian armor -- minus any sort of helmet, even if you toggle it visible -- while, in an inversion, [[spoiler:Raubahn]] wears a helmet with a face-concealing visor for the first time in his fight against you.
*** The "Meteor Survivor" in the CGI trailers [[ZigZaggedTrope zig-zags]] this. He starts off with no helmet in the 1.0 opening; the ''End of an Era'' cinematic has him in full Warrior plate complete with helmet, but gets it knocked off of his head by the enemy. He remains helmless in his Warrior plate for the ''Heavensward'' cinematic, but when he switches to Dragoon armour, he puts on the helmet of that set. The ''Stormblood'' cinematic depicts him as a Monk in Ala Mhigo and a Samurai in the Far East, wearing neither job's headgear. ''Shadowbringers'' depicts him as a Dark Knight, and though he lacks the helmet in the cinematic, he is wearing it fully in the expansion's logo. ''Endwalker'' depicts him as a Paladin, again without the job's circlet. Finally, ''Dawntrail'' depicts him as a Viper, whose job-specific outfit is InTheHood; although he does wear a hooded cloak to start with, he takes it off in the fight scene to reveal the job gear, and doesn't wear ''that'' set's hood.
*** Cutscenes beginning from ''Heavensward'' start to enforce this, as even if you have your
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* ''Videogame/WeWhoAreAboutToDie:'' Definitely the case InUniverse: Helmets ''work'', but they're also up there with shields in terms of cutting into your Fame earnings: They're BoringButPractical and the crowds can't see a recognizable face, just another heavily-armored lug. And Fame is a ''vital'' currency, not to mention the only way for certain Aspirants to retire. The more protective and face-hiding your helmet is, the more you will need to make a show of things to compensate and make your name properly.
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* ''Videogame/WeWhoAreAboutToDie:'' Definitely the case InUniverse: InUniverse. Helmets ''work'', but they're also up there with shields in terms of cutting into your Fame earnings: They're BoringButPractical and the crowds can't see a recognizable face, just another heavily-armored lug. And Fame is a ''vital'' currency, not to mention the only way for certain Aspirants to retire. The more protective and face-hiding your helmet is, the more you will need to make a show of things to compensate and make your name properly.
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* ''Videogame/WeWhoAreAboutToDie:'' Definitely the case InUniverse: Helmets ''work'', but they're also up there with shields in terms of cutting into your Fame earnings: They're BoringButPractical and the crowds can't see a recognizable face, just another heavily-armored lug. And Fame is a ''vital'' currency, not to mention the only way for certain Aspirants to retire. The more protective and face-hiding your helmet is, the more you will need to make a show of things to compensate and make your name properly.
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* Every soldier you recruit in ''VideoGame/XCOMEnemyUnknown'' goes bare-headed on a battlefield full of plasma weaponry that can melt their faces off, poison they can inhale, and other such hazards that would warrant a fully-enclosed helmet or at least a gas mask. The game really goes the extra mile in regards to this trope, however, in that it was only in the DLC that helmets were added. They're purely aesthetic head decorations, however: the actual protective items are InformedEquipment.
** The original ''VideoGame/XComUFODefense'' played it both ways. Your troops initially went into battle wearing ordinary military fatigues and no helmets, but that was justified because until you could capture and reverse-engineer some alien tech, any existing helmets or body armour were [[ArmourIsUseless so much dead weight]] versus the [[PlasmaCannon plasma weaponry]] your enemies were toting. The first set of armour you can hand out has some rather goofy-looking protective headgear that still leaves the wearer's face and eyes exposed but is probably better than nothing, and the more advanced sets upgrade to a full-face helmet.
* Inverted by ''VideoGame/{{Xenonauts}}'', which is very much a spiritual remake to the above game, which uses much the same justification for not giving your troops any armour but for some reason the in-game art always shows your soldiers wearing a regular steel helmet.
** The original ''VideoGame/XComUFODefense'' played it both ways. Your troops initially went into battle wearing ordinary military fatigues and no helmets, but that was justified because until you could capture and reverse-engineer some alien tech, any existing helmets or body armour were [[ArmourIsUseless so much dead weight]] versus the [[PlasmaCannon plasma weaponry]] your enemies were toting. The first set of armour you can hand out has some rather goofy-looking protective headgear that still leaves the wearer's face and eyes exposed but is probably better than nothing, and the more advanced sets upgrade to a full-face helmet.
* Inverted by ''VideoGame/{{Xenonauts}}'', which is very much a spiritual remake to the above game, which uses much the same justification for not giving your troops any armour but for some reason the in-game art always shows your soldiers wearing a regular steel helmet.
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* ''VideoGame/XCom''
** Every soldier you recruit in ''VideoGame/XCOMEnemyUnknown'' goes bare-headed on a battlefield full of plasma weaponry that can melt their faces off, poison they can inhale, and other such hazards that would warrant a fully-enclosed helmet or at least a gas mask. The game really goes the extra mile in regards to this trope, however, in that it was only in the DLC that helmets were added. They're purely aesthetic head decorations, however: the actual protective items are InformedEquipment.
** The original''VideoGame/XComUFODefense'' played ''VideoGame/XCOMUFODefense'' plays it both ways. Your troops initially went go into battle wearing ordinary military fatigues and no helmets, but that was justified is {{justified|Trope}} because until you could capture and reverse-engineer some alien tech, any existing helmets or body armour were [[ArmourIsUseless so much existing helmets and body armour are dead weight]] versus the [[PlasmaCannon plasma weaponry]] your enemies were the invaders are toting. The first set of armour you can hand out has some rather goofy-looking protective headgear that still leaves the wearer's face and eyes exposed exposed, but is probably better than nothing, and nothing; the more advanced sets developed later upgrade the headgear to a full-face helmet.
* Inverted by ''VideoGame/{{Xenonauts}}'', whichis very much a spiritual remake to the above game, which uses much the same ''UFO Defense'' justification of "body armor doesn't help against these weapons and only slows down the wearer" for not giving your troops any armour but armour. And yet, for some reason reason, the in-game art always shows your soldiers wearing a regular steel helmet.
** Every soldier you recruit in ''VideoGame/XCOMEnemyUnknown'' goes bare-headed on a battlefield full of plasma weaponry that can melt their faces off, poison they can inhale, and other such hazards that would warrant a fully-enclosed helmet or at least a gas mask. The game really goes the extra mile in regards to this trope, however, in that it was only in the DLC that helmets were added. They're purely aesthetic head decorations, however: the actual protective items are InformedEquipment.
** The original
* Inverted by ''VideoGame/{{Xenonauts}}'', which
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** [[VideoGame/MegaManLegends Mega Man Volnutt]] is the only Mega Man incarnation who doesn't wear a helmet by default. While he ''can'' wear one in both ''Legends'' games, his artwork and crossover appearances (such as in ''VideoGame/TatsunokoVsCapcom'' or ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U'') often depict him without one.
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** [[VideoGame/MegaManLegends Mega Man Volnutt]] is the only Mega Man incarnation who doesn't wear a helmet by default. While he ''can'' wear one in both ''Legends'' games, his artwork and crossover appearances (such as in ''VideoGame/TatsunokoVsCapcom'' or ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U'') the ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' series) often depict him without one.
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* [[VideoGame/{{Medievil}} Sir Daniel Fortesque]] was once a [[BlatantLies "gallant]] [[FakeUltimateHero knight"]] of Gallowmere who led the kingdom's armies against those of the EvilSorceror Zarok. He elected to not wear a helmet for the battle, and, [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome rather predictably]], [[EyeScream died horribly in the first arrow volley]].
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* [[VideoGame/{{Medievil}} ''VideoGame/{{Medievil}}'': Sir Daniel Fortesque]] Fortesque was once a [[BlatantLies "gallant]] [[FakeUltimateHero knight"]] of Gallowmere who led the kingdom's armies against those of the EvilSorceror Zarok. He elected to not wear a helmet for the battle, and, [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome rather predictably]], [[EyeScream died horribly in the first arrow volley]].
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* In ''VideoGame/Greedfall'', one of your party members, Siora, cannot be equipped with head armor, likely due to the tree roots growing out of her head.
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* In ''VideoGame/Greedfall'', ''Greedfall'', one of your party members, Siora, cannot be equipped with head armor, likely due to the tree roots growing out of her head.
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If anyone remembers if Odyssey lets you make equipment invisible, please add that.
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* ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedValhalla'' has equippable armor pieces, and you can toggle the visibility of any piece of equipment at any time, helmets included.
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** This continues in ''2018'' and ''Ragnarok'', which has multiple suits of armor you can find and equip along your journey. Since they have a third-person camera, this is likely to avoid covering up Kratos' distinctive pale skin and red stripe.
* In ''VideoGame/Greedfall'', one of your party members, Siora, cannot be equipped with head armor, likely due to the tree roots growing out of her head.
* In ''VideoGame/Greedfall'', one of your party members, Siora, cannot be equipped with head armor, likely due to the tree roots growing out of her head.
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* In ''[[Creator/GamesWorkshop Chainsaw Warrior]]'', while the titular cyborg SuperSoldier has an option to get a helmet (which has the very useful benefit of making him immune to venom from zombie attacks) the only time he's shown wearing a helmet was in a flashback where an old South America mission goes wrong and a tank shreds him with a burst from its heavy machine gun. The sequel game even dispenses with the helmet option entirely.
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* ''VideoGame/GearsOfWar'':
** In ''VideoGame/GearsOfWar1'', the protagonists don't wear helmets, and doing so seems to doom you to an untimely death. The helmet design makes it difficult to spot snipers with only two small spots for your eyes to look out of.
** ''VideoGame/GearsOfWar2'' has a couple instances where the protagonists and Ben Carmine (who wears a helmet at all times) point out situations where wearing the helmet would have been incredibly useful.
** [[PlayingWithATrope Played with]] and ultimately [[SubvertedTrope subverted]] in ''VideoGame/GearsOfWar3'' with Clayton Carmine, who is shot in the head by a friendly sniper mistaking him for a hostile... but the poor angle of the impact causes the round to glance off his helmet, leaving him stunned but unhurt. If he had not been wearing the helmet, it would have killed him. Clayton's tattoo he got in memorial of his fallen brothers shows their helmets. For the Carmine family, their helmets ''are'' their real faces. Each of them even wears a unique helmet design.
** In ''VideoGame/GearsOfWar1'', the protagonists don't wear helmets, and doing so seems to doom you to an untimely death. The helmet design makes it difficult to spot snipers with only two small spots for your eyes to look out of.
** ''VideoGame/GearsOfWar2'' has a couple instances where the protagonists and Ben Carmine (who wears a helmet at all times) point out situations where wearing the helmet would have been incredibly useful.
** [[PlayingWithATrope Played with]] and ultimately [[SubvertedTrope subverted]] in ''VideoGame/GearsOfWar3'' with Clayton Carmine, who is shot in the head by a friendly sniper mistaking him for a hostile... but the poor angle of the impact causes the round to glance off his helmet, leaving him stunned but unhurt. If he had not been wearing the helmet, it would have killed him. Clayton's tattoo he got in memorial of his fallen brothers shows their helmets. For the Carmine family, their helmets ''are'' their real faces. Each of them even wears a unique helmet design.
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* ''VideoGame/GearsOfWar'':
**In ''VideoGame/GearsOfWar1'', the ''VideoGame/GearsOfWar'' series, none of the protagonists don't wear helmets, and doing so seems to doom helmets. In fact, wearing one marks you as a RedShirt doomed to an untimely death. The die horribly.
** In the first game, Anthony Carmine dies in the first act after barely getting two lines of dialogue. What's more, he gets sniped in the head, which his helmetdesign makes provided him no protection from despite that presumably being the entire purpose of wearing it difficult to spot snipers with only two small spots for your eyes to look out of.
** ''VideoGame/GearsOfWar2''in the first place. Later in the first act, a Gear literally named "Redshirt Gyules" in the credits has less than a couple instances where minute of screentime before getting mauled to death by a [[TheBerserker Berserker]] offscreen.
** ''Gears of War 2'' has Benjamin Carmine, younger brother of Anthony from the first game. While traversing the underground caves, the protagonistsand complain about all the dust making it hard to breathe. Ben Carmine (who wears a helmet at all times) point out situations where cheerily suggests that they should really be wearing the helmet would helmets like him, since they have been incredibly useful.
built-in dust filters. Dom snarkily shoots back that, if he did, [[ContinuityNod he wouldn't be able to see snipers as well]], to which Marcus gives him a DudeNotFunny. Ben survives quite a bit longer than Anthony, but this is made up for with a much more painful and prolonged death of being digested alive by a giant monster's stomach acid.
** [[PlayingWithATrope Played with]] and ultimately [[SubvertedTrope subverted]] in''VideoGame/GearsOfWar3'' ''Gears of War 3'' with Clayton Carmine, who Carmine. This older Carmine brother is shot in ''[[HeroicBuild extremely ripped]]'' (but still has [[VocalDissonance the head by a friendly sniper mistaking him for a hostile... but exact same high-pitched voice as the poor angle previous two]]), implied to be a result of wanting to make extra sure that the impact causes the round same thing that happened to glance off his helmet, leaving him stunned but unhurt. If he had not been wearing the helmet, it would have killed him. Clayton's tattoo he got in memorial of his fallen brothers shows wouldn't happen to him. There is a RunningGag throughout the game where he repeatedly has brushes with death only to survive, the first of which being a sniper shot to the head... which just harmlessly dings off his helmet like it's supposed to, to which he remarks that it's a good thing he was wearing one. Thanks to [[AudienceParticipation an audience poll that decided whether he lived or died]], he ultimately ends up surviving the game. Clay also has memorialized his brothers with a tattoo on his arm... of their helmets. For the Carmine family, Carmines, their helmets ''are'' their real faces. Each faces, and each of them even wears has a unique distinct helmet design.design.
** ''Gears of War 4'' brings the trope back into full swing. The Prologue has you play through three historic battles in the role of a faceless Gear in a helmet. First, you fight the UIR to secure the [[KillSat Hammer of Dawn]] schematics during the Pendulum Wars, only to die to mortar fire just before you make it to the evac chopper. Second, you fight the Locust on Emergence Day in front of the House of Sovreigns (the exact same place Anthony will get sniped 14 years later). You have the use of the Hammer of Dawn, wich allows you to mow them down by the dozens... at least until the satellite moves out of range, leaving you totally screwed. Finally, you fight the Locust at Anvil Gate at the same time the final act of ''Gears of War 3'' happens elsewhere... as a ''medic'', who isn't supposed to be fighting at all, but the COG are just that desperate. You get blown up mere ''seconds'' before the protagonists trigger the WorldHealingWave that wipes out all the Locust. Act 1 then has Gary Carmine, presumably the son of either Clay or the still-unseen fourth Carmine brother. He has ''zero'' lines and is only addressed once before a [[MechaMooks DeeBee]] drop pod falls on him. Also, since he is an Outsider and not COG, he doesn't wear a helmet, but still covers his entire head with a combination of an ushanka with the flaps down, a pair of goggles, and a bandana over his mouth, so the effect is the same. He was later released as a multiplayer character, which actually gave him some lines. One of which being, when he is put into a downed state, to say that this sort of thing runs in his family.
** ''Gears 5'' has Lizzie Carmine, daughter of the fourth Carmine brother and the first female Carmine we've seen. She has a likable personality and is shown to be a total badass in her own right, but not even she is safe from the Carmine family curse. At the end of Act 1, a haywire Hammer of Dawn begins firing randomly, getting closer and closer to her transport vehicle with each blast. Her vehicle is stuck and she can't get the door open because a previous impact left a huge dent in it. JD tries desperately to rescue her as she pleads for help, but he is ultimately unsuccessful and is left with severe burns on his arm from the vehicle's explosion. The game also features the return of Clay, still alive and kicking after the 25-year TimeSkip between ''3'' and ''4'', and he survives this game too. He's even apparently built up a reputation as "The Unkillable Carmine", according to the trailer announcing his arrival to multiplayer.
**
** In the first game, Anthony Carmine dies in the first act after barely getting two lines of dialogue. What's more, he gets sniped in the head, which his helmet
** ''VideoGame/GearsOfWar2''
** ''Gears of War 2'' has Benjamin Carmine, younger brother of Anthony from the first game. While traversing the underground caves, the protagonists
** [[PlayingWithATrope Played with]] and ultimately [[SubvertedTrope subverted]] in
** ''Gears of War 4'' brings the trope back into full swing. The Prologue has you play through three historic battles in the role of a faceless Gear in a helmet. First, you fight the UIR to secure the [[KillSat Hammer of Dawn]] schematics during the Pendulum Wars, only to die to mortar fire just before you make it to the evac chopper. Second, you fight the Locust on Emergence Day in front of the House of Sovreigns (the exact same place Anthony will get sniped 14 years later). You have the use of the Hammer of Dawn, wich allows you to mow them down by the dozens... at least until the satellite moves out of range, leaving you totally screwed. Finally, you fight the Locust at Anvil Gate at the same time the final act of ''Gears of War 3'' happens elsewhere... as a ''medic'', who isn't supposed to be fighting at all, but the COG are just that desperate. You get blown up mere ''seconds'' before the protagonists trigger the WorldHealingWave that wipes out all the Locust. Act 1 then has Gary Carmine, presumably the son of either Clay or the still-unseen fourth Carmine brother. He has ''zero'' lines and is only addressed once before a [[MechaMooks DeeBee]] drop pod falls on him. Also, since he is an Outsider and not COG, he doesn't wear a helmet, but still covers his entire head with a combination of an ushanka with the flaps down, a pair of goggles, and a bandana over his mouth, so the effect is the same. He was later released as a multiplayer character, which actually gave him some lines. One of which being, when he is put into a downed state, to say that this sort of thing runs in his family.
** ''Gears 5'' has Lizzie Carmine, daughter of the fourth Carmine brother and the first female Carmine we've seen. She has a likable personality and is shown to be a total badass in her own right, but not even she is safe from the Carmine family curse. At the end of Act 1, a haywire Hammer of Dawn begins firing randomly, getting closer and closer to her transport vehicle with each blast. Her vehicle is stuck and she can't get the door open because a previous impact left a huge dent in it. JD tries desperately to rescue her as she pleads for help, but he is ultimately unsuccessful and is left with severe burns on his arm from the vehicle's explosion. The game also features the return of Clay, still alive and kicking after the 25-year TimeSkip between ''3'' and ''4'', and he survives this game too. He's even apparently built up a reputation as "The Unkillable Carmine", according to the trailer announcing his arrival to multiplayer.
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* Every soldier you recruit in ''VideoGame/XCOMEnemyUnknown'' goes bare-headed on a battlefield full of plasma weaponry that can melt their faces off, poison they can inhale, and other such hazards that would warrant a fully-enclosed helmet or at least a gas mask. The game really [[UpToEleven goes the extra mile in regards to this trope]], however, in that it was only in the DLC that helmets were added. They're purely aesthetic head decorations, however: the actual protective items are InformedEquipment.
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* Every soldier you recruit in ''VideoGame/XCOMEnemyUnknown'' goes bare-headed on a battlefield full of plasma weaponry that can melt their faces off, poison they can inhale, and other such hazards that would warrant a fully-enclosed helmet or at least a gas mask. The game really [[UpToEleven goes the extra mile in regards to this trope]], trope, however, in that it was only in the DLC that helmets were added. They're purely aesthetic head decorations, however: the actual protective items are InformedEquipment.
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** The original ''VideoGame/XCOMUFODefence'' played it both ways. Your troops initially went into battle wearing ordinary military fatigues and no helmets, but that was justified because until you could capture and reverse-engineer some alien tech, any existing helmets or body armour were [[ArmourIsUseless so much dead weight]] versus the [[PlasmaCannon plasma weaponry]] your enemies were toting. The first set of armour you can hand out has some rather goofy-looking protective headgear that still leaves the wearer's face and eyes exposed but is probably better than nothing, and the more advanced sets upgrade to a full-face helmet.
to:
** The original ''VideoGame/XCOMUFODefence'' ''VideoGame/XComUFODefense'' played it both ways. Your troops initially went into battle wearing ordinary military fatigues and no helmets, but that was justified because until you could capture and reverse-engineer some alien tech, any existing helmets or body armour were [[ArmourIsUseless so much dead weight]] versus the [[PlasmaCannon plasma weaponry]] your enemies were toting. The first set of armour you can hand out has some rather goofy-looking protective headgear that still leaves the wearer's face and eyes exposed but is probably better than nothing, and the more advanced sets upgrade to a full-face helmet.
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* Headgear in ''VideoGame/XenobladeChroniclesX'' tends to fall into one of two categories: more like hair decorations than protection, or practical-looking helmets with opaque visors that can make cutscenes look weird -- particularly for [[PlayerCharacter Rook]], who communicates a great deal by [[HeroicMime facial expression and body language]]. Fortunately helmet visibility can be toggled off entirely, or visually overridden by putting something in the Fashion Armor slot. The funny thing about all this (for the human characters anyway) is [[spoiler:they're all robots anyway, and reasonably durable ones at that, so most of them could get away with a lack of face protection in hostile environments]].
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* ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles'' series:
** Headgear in ''VideoGame/XenobladeChroniclesX'' tends to fall into one of two categories: more like hair decorations than protection, or practical-looking helmets with opaque visors that can make cutscenes look weird -- particularly for [[PlayerCharacter Rook]], who communicates a great deal by [[HeroicMime facial expression and body language]]. Fortunately helmet visibility can be toggled off entirely, or visually overridden by putting something in the Fashion Armor slot. The funny thing about all this (for the human characters anyway) is [[spoiler:they're all robots anyway, and reasonably durable ones at that, so most of them could get away with a lack of face protection in hostileenvironments]].environments]].
** Barely any named characters in ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles3'' wear helmets. The Kevesi trio never wears any helmets at all, while the Agnian trio actually wears them in their debut scene. However, after Mio's helmet shatters in combat, the rest of them lose theirs as well. The recruitable [[GuestStarPartyMember Heroes]] (pun not intended) also never wear any helmets, as do their named underlings. In contrast, the antagonistic Consuls are full-blown {{Tin Tyrant}}s, complete with unique, distinctive helmets. In continuation of this trope, one more morally upstanding Consul ends up permanently taking off his helmet upon [[spoiler:joining the party as a Hero]].
** Headgear in ''VideoGame/XenobladeChroniclesX'' tends to fall into one of two categories: more like hair decorations than protection, or practical-looking helmets with opaque visors that can make cutscenes look weird -- particularly for [[PlayerCharacter Rook]], who communicates a great deal by [[HeroicMime facial expression and body language]]. Fortunately helmet visibility can be toggled off entirely, or visually overridden by putting something in the Fashion Armor slot. The funny thing about all this (for the human characters anyway) is [[spoiler:they're all robots anyway, and reasonably durable ones at that, so most of them could get away with a lack of face protection in hostile
** Barely any named characters in ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles3'' wear helmets. The Kevesi trio never wears any helmets at all, while the Agnian trio actually wears them in their debut scene. However, after Mio's helmet shatters in combat, the rest of them lose theirs as well. The recruitable [[GuestStarPartyMember Heroes]] (pun not intended) also never wear any helmets, as do their named underlings. In contrast, the antagonistic Consuls are full-blown {{Tin Tyrant}}s, complete with unique, distinctive helmets. In continuation of this trope, one more morally upstanding Consul ends up permanently taking off his helmet upon [[spoiler:joining the party as a Hero]].
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dewicked Nice Hat
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** The protagonist of the ''Pokémon'' games never wears a helmet or any sort of padding while biking, even in [[VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire Hoenn]] where you are able to perform dangerous tricks. Partly because they don't want to remove their NiceHat.
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** The protagonist of the ''Pokémon'' games never wears a helmet or any sort of padding while biking, even in [[VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire Hoenn]] where you are able to perform dangerous tricks. Partly because they don't want to remove their NiceHat.hat.
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* The remake of ''VideoGame/DemonsSouls'' included an option to make helmets invisible, lest players who took their time in the dramatically-improved character creation tool end up having to cover every recognizably-unique part of their avatar for the sake of defense.
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* ''VideoGame/ShovelKnight'' [[AvertedTrope averts this trope]]; the titular hero wears a blue horned helmet that completely covers his face. It's played straight by his partner Shield Knight, however.
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* Non-armor example in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV''. Blasted Tokyo's air is poisonous in the long term, so residents protect themselves with cloaks, gas masks, and goggles. The only ones with visible faces are also the only ones with names; [[TalkativeLoon Kiyoharu]] goes bareheaded and [[OnlySaneMan Akira]] wears his goggles on his head, exposing his face.
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* Inverted in ''VideoGame/UltimaVIII: Pagan'', where the Avatar's in-game appearance, [[InformedEquipment even when he is not wearing any armour at all]], features a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_helm Great Helm]] that [[http://raoow.blogspot.ch/2010_06_01_archive.html completely obscures his features]]. This led to some fans giving him the nickname [[FanNickname Ol' Bucket-Head]]. The Avatar's CrossOver appearance in ''VideoGame/DungeonKeeper'' is modelled after the sprite from Pagan.
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* Inverted in ''VideoGame/UltimaVIII: Pagan'', where the Avatar's in-game appearance, [[InformedEquipment even when he is not wearing any armour at all]], features a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_helm Great Helm]] that [[http://raoow.blogspot.ch/2010_06_01_archive.html completely obscures his features]]. This led to some fans giving him the nickname [[FanNickname Ol' Bucket-Head]]. The Avatar's CrossOver appearance in ''VideoGame/DungeonKeeper'' is modelled after the sprite from Pagan.
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* Generally, a lot of [=MMORPGs=] have helmet visibility options, partially due to this trope and partially to make the choice of the avatar's hair matter.
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* Actually a plot point in ''VideoGame/TheBannerSaga'', where the [[CloudCuckooLander insane spearman Tryggvi]] warns [[PlayerCharacter Rook]] that men who wear helmets can't be trusted. [[spoiler: Sure enough, Ekkill leads your party into an ambush, Onef leads a mutiny, and Dagr in the sequel takes part in a second mutiny ''and'' kills some of your men if you spare him. All three men are wearing helmets, and they're the only party members in the Skogr caravan to do so.]]
* Not a single major character in David Mason's squad in ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOpsII'' wears a helmet, including David himself -- the only member of the squad who does, Crosby, [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse completely disappears from the plot]] after his first mission and only reappears much later in the story to get non-fatally shot. The only time Harper is ever seen wearing one is during the wingsuit sequence in "Celerium" and the jetpack one in "Judgment Day", and even then, he actually ''takes it off'' after landing.
* A weird, villainous version in ''VideoGame/ChampionsOnline''. In ''Champions'', your equipment ''never'' affects your appearance, so you can go naked if you want. However, bad guy organization VIPER have units called [[{{Jetpack}} Air Cavalry]]... and [[AcePilot Air Cavalry Ace]]. The Air Cavs have the standard VIPER full-concealment helmet, but the Aces only wear goggles. Then, eventually, [=VIPER=] subverts it with Viper-X, apparently the leader of the Air Cavalry, who does not appear to wear a helmet (and then it slides into place when he enters combat).
* Inverted in ''VideoGame/ChronoCross'', in which party member Zoah wears a helmet... And pretty much nothing else.
* Most units in the ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquer'' series wear full armor with helmets, but Commando units usually don't. In Tanya's case, she barely wears anything protective at all.
* Taking its cue from ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'', most Imperial squad leaders and heroes in ''VideoGame/DawnOfWar'' fight bareheaded. The only exceptions are Ogryn [=BONEheads=] who wear a horned helmet and some Battle Sister squad leaders. Squad leaders and heroes of other factions vary a good deal: The Chaos Lord is bareheaded (though Eliphas gets a helmet), the Eldar Farseer, Tau commander and Shas'ui (unlike the tabletop) have helmets. A line from the helmetless Force Commander of ''VideoGame/DawnOfWar 2'' "My faith is my shield!...", combined with his somewhat-unlikely [[PrettyBoy chiseled and handsome visage]] has led to the popular MemeticMutation "My face is my shield!"
* In ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'' if you equip a helmet on any character, it shows whether you like it or not, but is magically removed during all dialogue scenes. [[VideoGame/DragonAgeII The sequel]] goes further and restricts your party members to their unique ungradable armor sets (''[=ME2=]''-style), none of which features anything remotely face-concealing. Hawke may still wear a helmet but it is magically removed during dialogue, like in the first game. In ''Dragon Age II'' you can check the "Hide Helmet" box in the interface settings, found in the options. [[FridgeBrilliance Why, of course they would be removed during dialogs]]! It's rude to talk to somebody with your helmet on.
* ''[[VideoGame/DragonQuest Kenshin Dragon Quest]]'', the spinoff-remake of the original ''VideoGame/{{Dragon Quest|I}}'', removes [[DubNameChange Loto/Edrick's]] helmet, showing his gold Super Saiyan-ish hair. Loto's LimitBreak in ''[[VideoGame/DragonQuestMonsters Battle Road]]'' series shows him [[SaveThePrincess rescuing the princess]] without his helmet as it has turned into his MidSeasonUpgrade of some sort.
* Played with in''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsOnline:'' The character usually keeps their helmet on at all times, but the player can set helmets to invisible and invoke this trope. The only time the game forces you to go helmetless is when a crafting station is used. Which makes perfect sense, as delicate craftsmanship would be a lot harder with a face covering helmet on.
* Hope Girl, the protagonist of ''VideoGame/{{Fairune}}'', never wears a helmet.
* ''[[VideoGame/{{Fallout}} Fallout Series]]''
** ''VideoGame/Fallout1'': A rare ''[[InvertedTrope inversion]]'' of this trope -- all characters in the game who wear PoweredArmor do not wear the helmet with it -- ''except'' the PlayerCharacter.
** ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'': In this installment, armor was changed so that helmets and body armor take up separate equipment slots. There's one armor in the game that doesn't work that way, and it's the [[InvisibilityCloak Chinese Stealth Armor]] from the [[DownloadableContent Operation Anchorage DLC.]]
** ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 4}}'': has Paladin Danse. Despite the fact that he [[TwentyFourHourArmor never takes off his armor]], he [[ViolationOfCommonSense almost never puts on the helmet.]] He wears it exactly once, and even then the game tends to glitch so that he's not wearing it anyway.
* ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'':
** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'', [[TheHero Cecil]] wears a helmet that covers most of his face when he's a [[BlackKnight Dark Knight]], but opts for a headband when he becomes a [[KnightInShiningArmor Paladin]]. And in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIVTheAfterYears'', [[spoiler:[[EnsembleDarkhorse Kain]] purges]] himself of his dark side for good and gets a new [[spoiler:Holy Dragoon]] job class. As a part of his new costume, his full helmet is replaced with a sort of tiara that shows his [[{{Bishounen}} good looks]]. [[spoiler:Golbez]] no longer wears a helmet either, instead becoming a rare male example of {{Stripperific}}.
** No main character from SOLDIER wears their helmet in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' or ''VideoGame/CrisisCore''. Partly justified in that 1st Class [=SOLDIERs=] can wear whatever they want, but Zack doesn't do it even when he's 2nd Class.
** In ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy 012: Duodecim'', [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyI the Warrior of Light]] has a couple of alternate outfits that remove his helmet. [[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/finalfantasy/images/0/09/WoLAltEXMode.png/revision/latest?cb=20110120222239 One]] is styled after the appearance of the [[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/finalfantasy/images/1/1b/Warrior-ff1-nes.png/revision/latest?cb=20120701232954 Fighter/Warrior job class]] from the original NES games, and [[https://thebuddhistcentre.com/sites/default/files/styles/gallery_full_size/public/users/3052/groups/images/images_18.jpg the other]] is practically identical to his regular armour, sans the helmet.
** Zig-zagged in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'', at least for the player character, where actually equipping helmets and other headgear is a necessity to make the most out of your gear, but actually having them be enclosed or even visible on your head is strictly optional; there are commands both for making your headgear invisible and for moving its face-concealing parts out of the way, on top of a system to use a glamour prism to make it look like something else entirely, like a simple beret, bandanna, or a feather in your hair. Cutscenes beginning from ''Heavensward'' start to enforce this, as even if you have your helmet visible, it will be toggled off for certain cutscenes. A particular standout is in the Grand Melee about halfway through ''Heavensward''[='=]s post-release story, where your current outfit is temporarily glamoured into a set of Ishgardian armor -- minus any sort of helmet, even if you toggle it visible -- while, in an inversion, [[spoiler:Raubahn]] wears a helmet with a face-concealing visor for the first time in his fight against you.
* Armored knights/generals in ''Franchise/FireEmblem'' games generally wear helmets that obscure their faces while in combat, especially in the GBA games, where characters of a class shared the same battle sprites -- but will be helmetless in dialogue. In, say, ''Path of Radiance'' and ''Radiant Dawn'', your generals won't bother. Admittedly, in Gatrie's case, his armor hides the lower half of his face anyway.
** None of ''Radiant Dawn's'' Marshalls (third-tier armored knights) wear helmets. While Gatrie and Brom never use headgear in RD, Tauroneo and new addition Meg do start out helmeted. That's right -- they promote ''out'' of helmets.
* ''VideoGame/GearsOfWar'':
** In ''VideoGame/GearsOfWar1'', the protagonists don't wear helmets, and doing so seems to doom you to an untimely death. The helmet design makes it difficult to spot snipers with only two small spots for your eyes to look out of.
** ''VideoGame/GearsOfWar2'' has a couple instances where the protagonists and Ben Carmine (who wears a helmet at all times) point out situations where wearing the helmet would have been incredibly useful.
** [[PlayingWithATrope Played with]] and ultimately [[SubvertedTrope subverted]] in ''VideoGame/GearsOfWar3'' with Clayton Carmine, who is shot in the head by a friendly sniper mistaking him for a hostile... but the poor angle of the impact causes the round to glance off his helmet, leaving him stunned but unhurt. If he had not been wearing the helmet, it would have killed him. Clayton's tattoo he got in memorial of his fallen brothers shows their helmets. For the Carmine family, their helmets ''are'' their real faces. Each of them even wears a unique helmet design.
** Referenced in the first panel of [[http://www.vgcats.com/comics/?strip_id=218 this]] ''Webcomic/VGCats'' comic.
* [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] in ''VideoGame/GhostbustersTheVideoGame'', right at a moment where the guys might ''need'' a helmet!
* Played with in ''VideoGame/GodOfWarI'' as Kratos is badass enough that he barely wears any armor at all let alone a helmet, however early concept art from the game had him dressed in full Hoplite suits. The developers actually started removing the armor, helmet included, because he looked ''too'' heroic.
* In ''VideoGame/GuildWars'', helmet visibility is optional. Likewise, one of the starting options for warriors in ''VideoGame/GuildWars2'' is "no helmet at all." A symbol of the warrior's lack of fear of death.
* ''VideoGame/HalfLife'': Gordon Freeman is never depicted with his helmet on in official art, despite his HEV suit coming with one and every other HEV wearer wearing one. [[FanWank Arguments have been made]] over why nobody shoots him in the head and why he can breathe on Xen, the consensus being that he does have a helmet. He just doesn't wear it all the time.
* [[TwentyFourHourArmor Inverted]] in the ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' series. The helmet of the Master Chief is one of the iconic images of the series and looks pretty awesome; no wonder we never see his head without it!
** In ''VideoGame/Halo3ODST'' the faceless Rookie always wears his helmet, but the rest of his unit will take theirs off or de-tint the visors whenever they're not in combat. You also have an option to play as one of the other squad members in Firefight without a helmet, and you'll take the same amount of headshot damage either way.
** A similar situation happens in ''VideoGame/HaloReach''; the members of NOBLE Team always wear their helmets during combat situations, but only [[PlayerCharacter Noble Six]] and Emile will keep them on when the shooting stops.
** Played straight in ''VideoGame/HaloWars'' with Sergeant Forge, who is the only UNSC ground pounder in the game to never wear a helmet.
** In ''VideoGame/{{Halo 4}}'', this is played almost completely straight by Sarah Palmer.
** The various UNSC Army and Marine sergeants all seem to prefer wearing caps as opposed to the helmets worn by their subordinates.
** PlayedForLaughs in ''VideoGame/HaloWars2'' multiplayer; the given reason for Sergeant Johnson's super-advanced PoweredArmor not having a helmet is "Well, would YOU hide behind an armored faceplate if you had Sergeant Johnson's rugged good looks?"
* ''VideoGame/InfinityBlade'' completely inverts this trope: every character is never seen without their helmet, even the enemies that [[FanDisservice wear no armor at all]]. The later games show the main characters without helmets here and there, but this is only for a short while before they re-equip their armor around the clock.
* ''VideoGame/InjusticeGodsAmongUs'' has Lex Luthor in his trademark power armour with his face exposed. This is particularly silly within the game's story mode since [[TheMole Lex is secretly working against Evil!Superman]] and so anonymity would be a major advantage.
* Used in ''VideoGame/Killzone2''. While the main cast of heroes never wear combat helmets, virtually everybody else does. In fact, combat helmets act as an actual gameplay mechanic, with few weapons being capable of penetrating an enemys helmet on impact. The helmet is however knocked off the enemy mook, ensuring the next headshot to be fatal. Finally, the trope itself is lampshaded in the games cinematic intro, with a news topic briefly scrolling during the {{big bad}}s speech. The topic reads: "Combat helmets, are they really necessary?"
* In ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'', [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII Zack]] wears a helmet meant to resemble a Greek helmet and the SOLDIER helmet for all of 10 seconds, plus however long it takes you to beat the first battle with him. Once it's knocked off, he never wears it again.
** Meanwhile, the main characters in ''Birth By Sleep'' all wear armor into combat, only for them to lose the helmets for one reason or another (Terra remove his, Aqua's is knocked off by an attack, and Ventus' is smashed against a cliff).
* One of the gameplay options in ''VideoGame/KingdomsOfAmalurReckoning'' lets players hide helmets on their character.
* A lot of human characters (and Poppy) in ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'' wear full armor, but no helmet. Garen and Darius are completely bareheaded, while Leona and Diana wear headdresses that don't seem to provide much protection. Some champions have an excuse in that they can protect themselves with magic (like Lux's shield ability) or have personal reasons for going armorless (Draven, who's a gladiator). Of course, there are also plenty of characters who ''do'' wear helmets, like Jarvan IV, Kayle, Master Yi, Pantheon, and Quinn. Nautilus is a special case in that he's fused to his armor, and Kai'sa does have a helmet -- but it's off by default and is only toggled on during her dash or if the player wants it on.
* In ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' game ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriors'' even before getting the hero garb, Link doesn't wear the helmet of the Hylian soldier uniform. The same applies to ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriorsAgeOfCalamity'' (though the player can choose to wear the helmet after the first battle).
* In ''VideoGame/LuminousArc'' games, as with a lot of [=SRPGs=], the player spends a considerable amount of money on helmets, hoods, hats and other headgear which NEVER makes a difference to the character designs in-game.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Mass Effect|1}}'', all characters except Tali have a helmet on/off option with no disadvantage for not wearing a helmet. Only when the atmosphere isn't breathable do all characters wear their helmets. This might be justified by the fact that the character rely more on shields than physical armor to protect them from high-tech weaponry. In ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'', however, wearing a helmet does give you stat advantages... you alone, and the bonus for wearing most helmets isn't really all that impressive, with both of your starting helmets providing a whopping 5% more health. Your allies don't even get the ''option'' anymore. In the [[VideoGame/MassEffect3 third installment]], you have the option of helmet visibility for cutcenes for Shepard and squadmates separately. The Mars level is still kind of weird, as we ''see'' Shepard's team taking their helmets on and off whenever is convenient. It's unclear where exactly they go, or why -- when set to "off in conversations" -- everyone's helmets will disintegrate the moment you stop to chat, then rematerialise as soon as the conversation ends.
** It's also zigzagged throughout ''Mass Effect 3'''s Multiplayer. All human characters wear helmets, some turians and krogans do and some don't, ''none'' of the asari or drell wear helmets, all quarians wear helmets and the geth are completely helmetless. Because they're robots.
** Many players deliberately invoke this trope, as wearing the helmet obscures the character's face during the cutscenes when they wear them (hence the option to remove them in [=ME3=] in case the player wants the stat boosts a helmet provides). Conversely, some helmets in the second and third games make the character look disturbing, as they cover up the upper part of the face and have no eye pieces (there are displays on the inside of the helmet so Shepard can see).
* Heroes in ''VideoGame/MassiveChalice'' won't wear helmets to show off the unique features of the characters which is determined by their lineage (which you control).
* [[VideoGame/{{Medievil}} Sir Daniel Fortesque]] was once a [[BlatantLies "gallant]] [[FakeUltimateHero knight"]] of Gallowmere who led the kingdom's armies against those of the EvilSorceror Zarok. He elected to not wear a helmet for the battle, and, [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome rather predictably]], [[EyeScream died horribly in the first arrow volley]].
* Inverted in ''Franchise/MegaMan'' for the most part as an iconic part of Mega Man's wardrobe is his helmet.
** The [[VideoGame/MegaManClassic original Mega Man]] has his helmet off during the title screen and intro sequence of ''VideoGame/MegaMan2'' and ''VideoGame/MegaMan4'' retrospectively, and he also takes off his helmet during the ending sequences of both games. In ''VideoGame/MegaMan9'' and ''VideoGame/MegaMan10'', there's a shop item that can be bought that removes Mega Man's helmet, but in turn causes him to take double damage, and it wears off after a death.
** [[VideoGame/MegaManLegends Mega Man Volnutt]] is the only Mega Man incarnation who doesn't wear a helmet by default. While he ''can'' wear one in both ''Legends'' games, his artwork and crossover appearances (such as in ''VideoGame/TatsunokoVsCapcom'' or ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U'') often depict him without one.
** In ''VideoGame/MegaManZX'', Giro Megamerged with [[TransformationTrinket Model Z]] is the only Mega Man who doesn't wear a helmet (open-faced or otherwise) in the entire series, instead getting a black visor. Especially noticeably since Vent/Aile as Model ZX get the helmet. It's implied to be a ContinuityNod to [[spoiler:how Zero's [[DeadHatShot wrecked helmet]] was the only thing found of him in the ending of ''Mega Man Zero 4''.]]
* ''VideoGame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance'': [[PlayerCharacter Raiden]] and the [[QuirkyMinibossSquad Winds of Destruction]] all wear some sort of CollapsibleHelmet or visor (save for Mistral), but save for Raiden they're almost never seen actually employing them. During normal levels Raiden's visor only ever closes whenever he's using its AR functions to scan for enemies, something that can't be done during normal attacks (in other words, he reopens his visor whenever he ''fights'' said enemies). Raiden and the Winds of Destruction ''do'' engage their helmets/visors whenever they fight each other, but only right at the end of the cutscene just before they fight. Raiden does consistently wear his visor when he fights the FinalBoss, but only so that said boss can shatter the visor early on and expose Raiden's face for the rest of the game.
* Played with occasionally in the ''Franchise/{{Metroid}}'' series. Usually Samus subverts this trope by wearing a helmet that fully conceals her face, but in some games [[InSpaceEveryoneCanSeeYourFace her visor is fully transparent]]. In ''[[VideoGame/MetroidOtherM Other M]]'' she can polarize and depolarize the opacity of her visor at will (she depolarizes the visor when speaking to people to appear less intimidating, but otherwise has it opaque during combat). The [[SpaceMarine Federation Marines]] in ''Other M'' try to find a medium by having helmets that mechanically open to completely reveal their faces (unfortunately the opened helmets look a bit top-heavy, giving them a tendency towards [[Film/{{Spaceballs}} Dark Helmet Syndrome]]).
** In ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime3Corruption'', the helmet can apparently be teleported on and off at Samus's whim, but the only times she does it is when an overdose of Phazon causes her to vomit, and parts of the ending. Otherwise she never takes off the helmet during a mission, even on planets with earthlike atmosphere. Nor does anyone else, except for Admiral Dane.
* Zigzagged in the ''VideoGame/ModernWarfare'' series, though you obviously can't tell if the player character is wearing a helmet:
** The SAS only wear helmets if they are also wearing gas masks. They do like hats though, most wear beanies, Gaz wears a baseball cap, and Captain Price is ''never'' seen without some type of hat. Soap may have been concerned that a helmet might mess up his Mohawk.
** None of the significant characters in Task Force 141 wear helmets, though the minor characters often do.
** The US forces (Marine Force Recon, Rangers, and Delta) however are consistently shown wearing helmets. Griggs, curiously, is shown wearing a helmet when working with other Marines, but keeps it hanging from his side once he joins forces with the SAS. [[spoiler:He's killed when he gets shot in the face (possibly eye), so a helmet wouldn't have helped anyway.]]
* ''Videogame/{{MORDHAU}}:'' Somewhat invoked by players who have a character to cosplay, thanks to the extensive character building possibilities letting you build some very good resemblances of other, preexisting characters. Naturally, other players see them as free kills, because [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome getting your skull tenderized/impaled/sliced off is basically an inevitability without a helmet]] -- almost all two-handed weapons can kill a bareheaded player in a single stab or slash to the noggin.
* Played with in the ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights'' series. Being based on 3rd Edition ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'', helmets ''usually'' don't add anything to Armor Class, but to an extent ArmorIsUseless at higher levels anyway. The real reason to wear a helmet is for its enchantments: most basic helmets (particularly in [[VideoGame/NeverwinterNights2 the sequel]]) will add +1 to Concentration, which is useful to spellcasters.
* The ''VideoGame/{{Overwatch}}'' animated short, ''Honor and Glory'' reveals that [[BoisterousBruiser Reinhardt]] was guilty of this in his younger days as a crusader because he loved the feeling of the wind in his hair. Unfortunately for him, it was this same way of thinking that led to an omnic [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome blinding]] [[EyeScream his left eye]] with a LaserBlade. Even in his older years he was guilty of this, as his Lt. Wilhelm skin (His canonical appearance during the Null Sector incident set a mere 7 years before the games present time) is ''still'' lacking a helmet.
* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'':
** The protagonist of the ''Pokémon'' games never wears a helmet or any sort of padding while biking, even in [[VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire Hoenn]] where you are able to perform dangerous tricks. Partly because they don't want to remove their NiceHat.
** Subverted in ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'' when you ride Pokémon. The Riders Gear contains a helmet. This contrasts with the [[VideoGame/PokemonXAndY previous games']] allowing you to ride Rhyhorn, Mamoswine, and Gogoat without any equipment.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Psychonauts}}'', [[spoiler:in the ending sequence, Raz finally ditches his aviator helmet and {{goggles|DoNothing}} upon transitioning to an official Psychonaut uniform]].
* Played straight in ''Videogame/ResidentEvil6''. In Chris's campaign, he and another playable character Piers are the only ones in his squad who don't wear helmets. Though, given [[TheVirus what]] [[SuperSoldier they]] [[LovecraftianSuperpower usually]] [[OneWIngedAngel fight]] and Chris's experience and general ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight altitude, this may be the case of ArmorIsUseless. Lampshaded by Jake, who makes a caustic comment about jarheads who look all the same to him.
* Inverted in ''VideoGame/{{Section 8}}''. Your character is almost never seen without his helmet, which also applies to some allies, while villains are usually seen helmetless.
** Dropping in from orbit without a helmet may be hazardous to your health.
* Done oddly in ''VideoGame/TheSimsMedieval'': men wear helmets, women don't. The default armor for women is otherwise sensible (it's not a ChainmailBikini and may even cover her more than her regular outfit) but there is no helmet, unlike the default men's armor. However, some other armors include helmets whether they're worn by men or women.
* ''VideoGame/StarcraftII'' makes a point of giving all the power-armored characters helmets with reflective (and presumably armored) visors. They tend to raise them fairly often in cutscenes, even when sometimes a little extra protection seems like it would be quite worthwhile. At least there's a second, transparent visor behind the outer one that keeps the suit sealed.
** The marine helmets [[ArmorIsUseless don't tend to protect them]] against enemy attack though. The one time a visor is shown lowered in battle, that marine almost immediately gets impaled through the visor.
** Ground vehicle pilots tend to not have any sort of helmets at all, odd when compared to their original Starcraft equivalents sometimes epic headgear. The new siege tank driver looks like he's driving a tank in an officer's dress uniform, sans topper. Special mention must go to the Viking pilot, who opens and closes his faceplate when the unit changes form, and the Banshee pilot, who lowers a display eyeshield and blacks out the cockpit glass when she cloaks.
** The Protoss also invert this trope pretty hard. The base infantry Zealot goes bareheaded, but the unit portraits for some of the heroic and pilot characters feature some really epic headgear. Of course, protoss don't have much in the way of a face, so concealing it isn't that big an issue.
* Subverted in ''Videogame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic''. Like recent Bioware games, you can mark any headgear you wear to show or not ([[AllegedlyFreeGame though not if you haven't subscribed or bought the unlock for that feature]]). This is quite welcome, as some early headgear can look quite dorky.[[note]] In addition to looking "dorky," some of the headgear could cause clipping issues with Miraluka masks or Twi'lek head-tails [[/note]] If you don't hide your headgear, your character doesn't even remove it in conversation except with your companions, which always take place in rest zones (i.e. a safe place), and your voice is mechanically or electronically filtered. And because it's Franchise/StarWars, many players leave the headgear on -- especially Troopers, Bounty Hunters, and Sith -- as they are quite proud of the masks and helmets they bought, hunted down, or fought for completing the character's look.
* This trope is common throughout the ''VideoGame/{{Suikoden}}'' series, as its main characters rarely wear helmets, even when riding at the head of helmet-clad troops.
* ''VideoGame/TelepathTactics'' is a big offender, at least in the campaign. Ebon Raban is the only named character whose CharacterPortrait features a full helmet; everyone else has their entire head visible. This also extends to character classes who normally wear [[InTheHood hoods]], such as with Gavrielle; Tremolo and Nalia don't wear the assassins' usual face-mask either.
* Inverted in ''VideoGame/UltimaVIII: Pagan'', where the Avatar's in-game appearance, [[InformedEquipment even when he is not wearing any armour at all]], features a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_helm Great Helm]] that [[http://raoow.blogspot.ch/2010_06_01_archive.html completely obscures his features]]. This led to some fans giving him the nickname [[FanNickname Ol' Bucket-Head]]. The Avatar's CrossOver appearance in ''VideoGame/DungeonKeeper'' is modelled after the sprite from Pagan.
** The Knights in both ''VideoGame/DungeonKeeper'' games also wear helmets, be they [[KnightInShiningArmour good]] or [[BlackKnight evil]].
* In ''VideoGame/{{Uncharted}}'''s multiplayer, only villains wore helmets. Taken to eleven in Uncharted 3's multiplayer, where you can buy ten different helmets for your custom villain -- and the only one a hero can get is the [[VideoGame/{{Killzone}} ISA helmet]], which you need real money to buy.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'', Undyne chases you through Waterfall in full armor, which ''does'' include a helmet...until the boss fight, where she takes it off for no apparent reason other than RuleOfCool.
** Lesser Dog and Greater Dog in Snowdin both wear armor, but not helmets, perhaps because they just want you to pet them that badly. However, the Royal Guard members in Hotland are never seen without their helmets. Even in ''VideoGame/{{Deltarune}}'', where there is no Royal Guard, they still wear helmets with their normal clothing for no apparent reason.
* In the ''VideoGame/ValkyriaChronicles'' games none of your soldiers wear helmets even while fighting in a civil war or against [[TheEmpire a whole empire]], since they've got to show off their unique appearances and personalities. In contrast the villainous {{mooks}} and morally ambiguous [[RedShirts red shirts]] wear helmets that either [[FacelessGoons cover their faces]] or hide their eyes.
* Played absolutely straight in ''VideoGame/Warhammer40000SpaceMarine'', as with all other 40K examples. Titus, Sidonus, Inquisitor Drogan, Lt. Mira, and Inquisitor Thrax ''all'' go without helmets. Leandros has one to start with, but it is damaged and promptly discarded during the scene in which you meet up with him. The Orks of course don't wear helmets, though almost all of the other various mook-of-the-minute types (the Imperial guardsmen, Chaos militia, etc.) all wear helmets.
* In ''VideoGame/WarhammerOnline'', helmet visibility is optional.
* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}} VideoGame/TheEndTimesVermintide'': This trope is generally inverted; the heroic members of your party can wear helmets (or not, using this trope), while your less paragon members wear fashionable hats and hoods and extremely open bracers, or faceplates at best. Also, the [[AlwaysChaoticEvil Skaven]] generally refuse metal headgear, mainly because they need the flexibility to scan the battlefield and plan their assault for a few seconds before they charge in, but this leaves all enemies vulnerable to headshots. There's even a bow and a weapon skill designed for automatically hitting heads!
* In ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'', a helmet is an integral and necessary part of any player's kit. Nonetheless, it's completely optional whether or not your helmet is visible on your character. However, it remains equipped either way. Of course, most of the important [=NPCs=] aren't wearing helmets either, although there are still some notable [=NPCs=] who always wear them (Maiev and Darion Mograine) or for an important battle (Tirion Fordring, Varok Saurfang and Muradin Bronzebeard in Icecrown Citadel).
* Every soldier you recruit in ''VideoGame/XCOMEnemyUnknown'' goes bare-headed on a battlefield full of plasma weaponry that can melt their faces off, poison they can inhale, and other such hazards that would warrant a fully-enclosed helmet or at least a gas mask. The game really [[UpToEleven goes the extra mile in regards to this trope]], however, in that it was only in the DLC that helmets were added. They're purely aesthetic head decorations, however: the actual protective items are InformedEquipment.
** The original ''VideoGame/XCOMUFODefence'' played it both ways. Your troops initially went into battle wearing ordinary military fatigues and no helmets, but that was justified because until you could capture and reverse-engineer some alien tech, any existing helmets or body armour were [[ArmourIsUseless so much dead weight]] versus the [[PlasmaCannon plasma weaponry]] your enemies were toting. The first set of armour you can hand out has some rather goofy-looking protective headgear that still leaves the wearer's face and eyes exposed but is probably better than nothing, and the more advanced sets upgrade to a full-face helmet.
* Inverted by ''VideoGame/{{Xenonauts}}'', which is very much a spiritual remake to the above game, which uses much the same justification for not giving your troops any armour but for some reason the in-game art always shows your soldiers wearing a regular steel helmet.
* Headgear in ''VideoGame/XenobladeChroniclesX'' tends to fall into one of two categories: more like hair decorations than protection, or practical-looking helmets with opaque visors that can make cutscenes look weird -- particularly for [[PlayerCharacter Rook]], who communicates a great deal by [[HeroicMime facial expression and body language]]. Fortunately helmet visibility can be toggled off entirely, or visually overridden by putting something in the Fashion Armor slot. The funny thing about all this (for the human characters anyway) is [[spoiler:they're all robots anyway, and reasonably durable ones at that, so most of them could get away with a lack of face protection in hostile environments]].
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* Actually a plot point in ''VideoGame/TheBannerSaga'', where the [[CloudCuckooLander insane spearman Tryggvi]] warns [[PlayerCharacter Rook]] that men who wear helmets can't be trusted. [[spoiler: Sure enough, Ekkill leads your party into an ambush, Onef leads a mutiny, and Dagr in the sequel takes part in a second mutiny ''and'' kills some of your men if you spare him. All three men are wearing helmets, and they're the only party members in the Skogr caravan to do so.]]
* Not a single major character in David Mason's squad in ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOpsII'' wears a helmet, including David himself -- the only member of the squad who does, Crosby, [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse completely disappears from the plot]] after his first mission and only reappears much later in the story to get non-fatally shot. The only time Harper is ever seen wearing one is during the wingsuit sequence in "Celerium" and the jetpack one in "Judgment Day", and even then, he actually ''takes it off'' after landing.
* A weird, villainous version in ''VideoGame/ChampionsOnline''. In ''Champions'', your equipment ''never'' affects your appearance, so you can go naked if you want. However, bad guy organization VIPER have units called [[{{Jetpack}} Air Cavalry]]... and [[AcePilot Air Cavalry Ace]]. The Air Cavs have the standard VIPER full-concealment helmet, but the Aces only wear goggles. Then, eventually, [=VIPER=] subverts it with Viper-X, apparently the leader of the Air Cavalry, who does not appear to wear a helmet (and then it slides into place when he enters combat).
* Inverted in ''VideoGame/ChronoCross'', in which party member Zoah wears a helmet... And pretty much nothing else.
* Most units in the ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquer'' series wear full armor with helmets, but Commando units usually don't. In Tanya's case, she barely wears anything protective at all.
* Taking its cue from ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'', most Imperial squad leaders and heroes in ''VideoGame/DawnOfWar'' fight bareheaded. The only exceptions are Ogryn [=BONEheads=] who wear a horned helmet and some Battle Sister squad leaders. Squad leaders and heroes of other factions vary a good deal: The Chaos Lord is bareheaded (though Eliphas gets a helmet), the Eldar Farseer, Tau commander and Shas'ui (unlike the tabletop) have helmets. A line from the helmetless Force Commander of ''VideoGame/DawnOfWar 2'' "My faith is my shield!...", combined with his somewhat-unlikely [[PrettyBoy chiseled and handsome visage]] has led to the popular MemeticMutation "My face is my shield!"
* In ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'' if you equip a helmet on any character, it shows whether you like it or not, but is magically removed during all dialogue scenes. [[VideoGame/DragonAgeII The sequel]] goes further and restricts your party members to their unique ungradable armor sets (''[=ME2=]''-style), none of which features anything remotely face-concealing. Hawke may still wear a helmet but it is magically removed during dialogue, like in the first game. In ''Dragon Age II'' you can check the "Hide Helmet" box in the interface settings, found in the options. [[FridgeBrilliance Why, of course they would be removed during dialogs]]! It's rude to talk to somebody with your helmet on.
* ''[[VideoGame/DragonQuest Kenshin Dragon Quest]]'', the spinoff-remake of the original ''VideoGame/{{Dragon Quest|I}}'', removes [[DubNameChange Loto/Edrick's]] helmet, showing his gold Super Saiyan-ish hair. Loto's LimitBreak in ''[[VideoGame/DragonQuestMonsters Battle Road]]'' series shows him [[SaveThePrincess rescuing the princess]] without his helmet as it has turned into his MidSeasonUpgrade of some sort.
* Played with in''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsOnline:'' The character usually keeps their helmet on at all times, but the player can set helmets to invisible and invoke this trope. The only time the game forces you to go helmetless is when a crafting station is used. Which makes perfect sense, as delicate craftsmanship would be a lot harder with a face covering helmet on.
* Hope Girl, the protagonist of ''VideoGame/{{Fairune}}'', never wears a helmet.
* ''[[VideoGame/{{Fallout}} Fallout Series]]''
** ''VideoGame/Fallout1'': A rare ''[[InvertedTrope inversion]]'' of this trope -- all characters in the game who wear PoweredArmor do not wear the helmet with it -- ''except'' the PlayerCharacter.
** ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'': In this installment, armor was changed so that helmets and body armor take up separate equipment slots. There's one armor in the game that doesn't work that way, and it's the [[InvisibilityCloak Chinese Stealth Armor]] from the [[DownloadableContent Operation Anchorage DLC.]]
** ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 4}}'': has Paladin Danse. Despite the fact that he [[TwentyFourHourArmor never takes off his armor]], he [[ViolationOfCommonSense almost never puts on the helmet.]] He wears it exactly once, and even then the game tends to glitch so that he's not wearing it anyway.
* ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'':
** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'', [[TheHero Cecil]] wears a helmet that covers most of his face when he's a [[BlackKnight Dark Knight]], but opts for a headband when he becomes a [[KnightInShiningArmor Paladin]]. And in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIVTheAfterYears'', [[spoiler:[[EnsembleDarkhorse Kain]] purges]] himself of his dark side for good and gets a new [[spoiler:Holy Dragoon]] job class. As a part of his new costume, his full helmet is replaced with a sort of tiara that shows his [[{{Bishounen}} good looks]]. [[spoiler:Golbez]] no longer wears a helmet either, instead becoming a rare male example of {{Stripperific}}.
** No main character from SOLDIER wears their helmet in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' or ''VideoGame/CrisisCore''. Partly justified in that 1st Class [=SOLDIERs=] can wear whatever they want, but Zack doesn't do it even when he's 2nd Class.
** In ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy 012: Duodecim'', [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyI the Warrior of Light]] has a couple of alternate outfits that remove his helmet. [[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/finalfantasy/images/0/09/WoLAltEXMode.png/revision/latest?cb=20110120222239 One]] is styled after the appearance of the [[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/finalfantasy/images/1/1b/Warrior-ff1-nes.png/revision/latest?cb=20120701232954 Fighter/Warrior job class]] from the original NES games, and [[https://thebuddhistcentre.com/sites/default/files/styles/gallery_full_size/public/users/3052/groups/images/images_18.jpg the other]] is practically identical to his regular armour, sans the helmet.
** Zig-zagged in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'', at least for the player character, where actually equipping helmets and other headgear is a necessity to make the most out of your gear, but actually having them be enclosed or even visible on your head is strictly optional; there are commands both for making your headgear invisible and for moving its face-concealing parts out of the way, on top of a system to use a glamour prism to make it look like something else entirely, like a simple beret, bandanna, or a feather in your hair. Cutscenes beginning from ''Heavensward'' start to enforce this, as even if you have your helmet visible, it will be toggled off for certain cutscenes. A particular standout is in the Grand Melee about halfway through ''Heavensward''[='=]s post-release story, where your current outfit is temporarily glamoured into a set of Ishgardian armor -- minus any sort of helmet, even if you toggle it visible -- while, in an inversion, [[spoiler:Raubahn]] wears a helmet with a face-concealing visor for the first time in his fight against you.
* Armored knights/generals in ''Franchise/FireEmblem'' games generally wear helmets that obscure their faces while in combat, especially in the GBA games, where characters of a class shared the same battle sprites -- but will be helmetless in dialogue. In, say, ''Path of Radiance'' and ''Radiant Dawn'', your generals won't bother. Admittedly, in Gatrie's case, his armor hides the lower half of his face anyway.
** None of ''Radiant Dawn's'' Marshalls (third-tier armored knights) wear helmets. While Gatrie and Brom never use headgear in RD, Tauroneo and new addition Meg do start out helmeted. That's right -- they promote ''out'' of helmets.
* ''VideoGame/GearsOfWar'':
** In ''VideoGame/GearsOfWar1'', the protagonists don't wear helmets, and doing so seems to doom you to an untimely death. The helmet design makes it difficult to spot snipers with only two small spots for your eyes to look out of.
** ''VideoGame/GearsOfWar2'' has a couple instances where the protagonists and Ben Carmine (who wears a helmet at all times) point out situations where wearing the helmet would have been incredibly useful.
** [[PlayingWithATrope Played with]] and ultimately [[SubvertedTrope subverted]] in ''VideoGame/GearsOfWar3'' with Clayton Carmine, who is shot in the head by a friendly sniper mistaking him for a hostile... but the poor angle of the impact causes the round to glance off his helmet, leaving him stunned but unhurt. If he had not been wearing the helmet, it would have killed him. Clayton's tattoo he got in memorial of his fallen brothers shows their helmets. For the Carmine family, their helmets ''are'' their real faces. Each of them even wears a unique helmet design.
** Referenced in the first panel of [[http://www.vgcats.com/comics/?strip_id=218 this]] ''Webcomic/VGCats'' comic.
* [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] in ''VideoGame/GhostbustersTheVideoGame'', right at a moment where the guys might ''need'' a helmet!
* Played with in ''VideoGame/GodOfWarI'' as Kratos is badass enough that he barely wears any armor at all let alone a helmet, however early concept art from the game had him dressed in full Hoplite suits. The developers actually started removing the armor, helmet included, because he looked ''too'' heroic.
* In ''VideoGame/GuildWars'', helmet visibility is optional. Likewise, one of the starting options for warriors in ''VideoGame/GuildWars2'' is "no helmet at all." A symbol of the warrior's lack of fear of death.
* ''VideoGame/HalfLife'': Gordon Freeman is never depicted with his helmet on in official art, despite his HEV suit coming with one and every other HEV wearer wearing one. [[FanWank Arguments have been made]] over why nobody shoots him in the head and why he can breathe on Xen, the consensus being that he does have a helmet. He just doesn't wear it all the time.
* [[TwentyFourHourArmor Inverted]] in the ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' series. The helmet of the Master Chief is one of the iconic images of the series and looks pretty awesome; no wonder we never see his head without it!
** In ''VideoGame/Halo3ODST'' the faceless Rookie always wears his helmet, but the rest of his unit will take theirs off or de-tint the visors whenever they're not in combat. You also have an option to play as one of the other squad members in Firefight without a helmet, and you'll take the same amount of headshot damage either way.
** A similar situation happens in ''VideoGame/HaloReach''; the members of NOBLE Team always wear their helmets during combat situations, but only [[PlayerCharacter Noble Six]] and Emile will keep them on when the shooting stops.
** Played straight in ''VideoGame/HaloWars'' with Sergeant Forge, who is the only UNSC ground pounder in the game to never wear a helmet.
** In ''VideoGame/{{Halo 4}}'', this is played almost completely straight by Sarah Palmer.
** The various UNSC Army and Marine sergeants all seem to prefer wearing caps as opposed to the helmets worn by their subordinates.
** PlayedForLaughs in ''VideoGame/HaloWars2'' multiplayer; the given reason for Sergeant Johnson's super-advanced PoweredArmor not having a helmet is "Well, would YOU hide behind an armored faceplate if you had Sergeant Johnson's rugged good looks?"
* ''VideoGame/InfinityBlade'' completely inverts this trope: every character is never seen without their helmet, even the enemies that [[FanDisservice wear no armor at all]]. The later games show the main characters without helmets here and there, but this is only for a short while before they re-equip their armor around the clock.
* ''VideoGame/InjusticeGodsAmongUs'' has Lex Luthor in his trademark power armour with his face exposed. This is particularly silly within the game's story mode since [[TheMole Lex is secretly working against Evil!Superman]] and so anonymity would be a major advantage.
* Used in ''VideoGame/Killzone2''. While the main cast of heroes never wear combat helmets, virtually everybody else does. In fact, combat helmets act as an actual gameplay mechanic, with few weapons being capable of penetrating an enemys helmet on impact. The helmet is however knocked off the enemy mook, ensuring the next headshot to be fatal. Finally, the trope itself is lampshaded in the games cinematic intro, with a news topic briefly scrolling during the {{big bad}}s speech. The topic reads: "Combat helmets, are they really necessary?"
* In ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'', [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII Zack]] wears a helmet meant to resemble a Greek helmet and the SOLDIER helmet for all of 10 seconds, plus however long it takes you to beat the first battle with him. Once it's knocked off, he never wears it again.
** Meanwhile, the main characters in ''Birth By Sleep'' all wear armor into combat, only for them to lose the helmets for one reason or another (Terra remove his, Aqua's is knocked off by an attack, and Ventus' is smashed against a cliff).
* One of the gameplay options in ''VideoGame/KingdomsOfAmalurReckoning'' lets players hide helmets on their character.
* A lot of human characters (and Poppy) in ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'' wear full armor, but no helmet. Garen and Darius are completely bareheaded, while Leona and Diana wear headdresses that don't seem to provide much protection. Some champions have an excuse in that they can protect themselves with magic (like Lux's shield ability) or have personal reasons for going armorless (Draven, who's a gladiator). Of course, there are also plenty of characters who ''do'' wear helmets, like Jarvan IV, Kayle, Master Yi, Pantheon, and Quinn. Nautilus is a special case in that he's fused to his armor, and Kai'sa does have a helmet -- but it's off by default and is only toggled on during her dash or if the player wants it on.
* In ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' game ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriors'' even before getting the hero garb, Link doesn't wear the helmet of the Hylian soldier uniform. The same applies to ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriorsAgeOfCalamity'' (though the player can choose to wear the helmet after the first battle).
* In ''VideoGame/LuminousArc'' games, as with a lot of [=SRPGs=], the player spends a considerable amount of money on helmets, hoods, hats and other headgear which NEVER makes a difference to the character designs in-game.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Mass Effect|1}}'', all characters except Tali have a helmet on/off option with no disadvantage for not wearing a helmet. Only when the atmosphere isn't breathable do all characters wear their helmets. This might be justified by the fact that the character rely more on shields than physical armor to protect them from high-tech weaponry. In ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'', however, wearing a helmet does give you stat advantages... you alone, and the bonus for wearing most helmets isn't really all that impressive, with both of your starting helmets providing a whopping 5% more health. Your allies don't even get the ''option'' anymore. In the [[VideoGame/MassEffect3 third installment]], you have the option of helmet visibility for cutcenes for Shepard and squadmates separately. The Mars level is still kind of weird, as we ''see'' Shepard's team taking their helmets on and off whenever is convenient. It's unclear where exactly they go, or why -- when set to "off in conversations" -- everyone's helmets will disintegrate the moment you stop to chat, then rematerialise as soon as the conversation ends.
** It's also zigzagged throughout ''Mass Effect 3'''s Multiplayer. All human characters wear helmets, some turians and krogans do and some don't, ''none'' of the asari or drell wear helmets, all quarians wear helmets and the geth are completely helmetless. Because they're robots.
** Many players deliberately invoke this trope, as wearing the helmet obscures the character's face during the cutscenes when they wear them (hence the option to remove them in [=ME3=] in case the player wants the stat boosts a helmet provides). Conversely, some helmets in the second and third games make the character look disturbing, as they cover up the upper part of the face and have no eye pieces (there are displays on the inside of the helmet so Shepard can see).
* Heroes in ''VideoGame/MassiveChalice'' won't wear helmets to show off the unique features of the characters which is determined by their lineage (which you control).
* [[VideoGame/{{Medievil}} Sir Daniel Fortesque]] was once a [[BlatantLies "gallant]] [[FakeUltimateHero knight"]] of Gallowmere who led the kingdom's armies against those of the EvilSorceror Zarok. He elected to not wear a helmet for the battle, and, [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome rather predictably]], [[EyeScream died horribly in the first arrow volley]].
* Inverted in ''Franchise/MegaMan'' for the most part as an iconic part of Mega Man's wardrobe is his helmet.
** The [[VideoGame/MegaManClassic original Mega Man]] has his helmet off during the title screen and intro sequence of ''VideoGame/MegaMan2'' and ''VideoGame/MegaMan4'' retrospectively, and he also takes off his helmet during the ending sequences of both games. In ''VideoGame/MegaMan9'' and ''VideoGame/MegaMan10'', there's a shop item that can be bought that removes Mega Man's helmet, but in turn causes him to take double damage, and it wears off after a death.
** [[VideoGame/MegaManLegends Mega Man Volnutt]] is the only Mega Man incarnation who doesn't wear a helmet by default. While he ''can'' wear one in both ''Legends'' games, his artwork and crossover appearances (such as in ''VideoGame/TatsunokoVsCapcom'' or ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U'') often depict him without one.
** In ''VideoGame/MegaManZX'', Giro Megamerged with [[TransformationTrinket Model Z]] is the only Mega Man who doesn't wear a helmet (open-faced or otherwise) in the entire series, instead getting a black visor. Especially noticeably since Vent/Aile as Model ZX get the helmet. It's implied to be a ContinuityNod to [[spoiler:how Zero's [[DeadHatShot wrecked helmet]] was the only thing found of him in the ending of ''Mega Man Zero 4''.]]
* ''VideoGame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance'': [[PlayerCharacter Raiden]] and the [[QuirkyMinibossSquad Winds of Destruction]] all wear some sort of CollapsibleHelmet or visor (save for Mistral), but save for Raiden they're almost never seen actually employing them. During normal levels Raiden's visor only ever closes whenever he's using its AR functions to scan for enemies, something that can't be done during normal attacks (in other words, he reopens his visor whenever he ''fights'' said enemies). Raiden and the Winds of Destruction ''do'' engage their helmets/visors whenever they fight each other, but only right at the end of the cutscene just before they fight. Raiden does consistently wear his visor when he fights the FinalBoss, but only so that said boss can shatter the visor early on and expose Raiden's face for the rest of the game.
* Played with occasionally in the ''Franchise/{{Metroid}}'' series. Usually Samus subverts this trope by wearing a helmet that fully conceals her face, but in some games [[InSpaceEveryoneCanSeeYourFace her visor is fully transparent]]. In ''[[VideoGame/MetroidOtherM Other M]]'' she can polarize and depolarize the opacity of her visor at will (she depolarizes the visor when speaking to people to appear less intimidating, but otherwise has it opaque during combat). The [[SpaceMarine Federation Marines]] in ''Other M'' try to find a medium by having helmets that mechanically open to completely reveal their faces (unfortunately the opened helmets look a bit top-heavy, giving them a tendency towards [[Film/{{Spaceballs}} Dark Helmet Syndrome]]).
** In ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime3Corruption'', the helmet can apparently be teleported on and off at Samus's whim, but the only times she does it is when an overdose of Phazon causes her to vomit, and parts of the ending. Otherwise she never takes off the helmet during a mission, even on planets with earthlike atmosphere. Nor does anyone else, except for Admiral Dane.
* Zigzagged in the ''VideoGame/ModernWarfare'' series, though you obviously can't tell if the player character is wearing a helmet:
** The SAS only wear helmets if they are also wearing gas masks. They do like hats though, most wear beanies, Gaz wears a baseball cap, and Captain Price is ''never'' seen without some type of hat. Soap may have been concerned that a helmet might mess up his Mohawk.
** None of the significant characters in Task Force 141 wear helmets, though the minor characters often do.
** The US forces (Marine Force Recon, Rangers, and Delta) however are consistently shown wearing helmets. Griggs, curiously, is shown wearing a helmet when working with other Marines, but keeps it hanging from his side once he joins forces with the SAS. [[spoiler:He's killed when he gets shot in the face (possibly eye), so a helmet wouldn't have helped anyway.]]
* ''Videogame/{{MORDHAU}}:'' Somewhat invoked by players who have a character to cosplay, thanks to the extensive character building possibilities letting you build some very good resemblances of other, preexisting characters. Naturally, other players see them as free kills, because [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome getting your skull tenderized/impaled/sliced off is basically an inevitability without a helmet]] -- almost all two-handed weapons can kill a bareheaded player in a single stab or slash to the noggin.
* Played with in the ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights'' series. Being based on 3rd Edition ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'', helmets ''usually'' don't add anything to Armor Class, but to an extent ArmorIsUseless at higher levels anyway. The real reason to wear a helmet is for its enchantments: most basic helmets (particularly in [[VideoGame/NeverwinterNights2 the sequel]]) will add +1 to Concentration, which is useful to spellcasters.
* The ''VideoGame/{{Overwatch}}'' animated short, ''Honor and Glory'' reveals that [[BoisterousBruiser Reinhardt]] was guilty of this in his younger days as a crusader because he loved the feeling of the wind in his hair. Unfortunately for him, it was this same way of thinking that led to an omnic [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome blinding]] [[EyeScream his left eye]] with a LaserBlade. Even in his older years he was guilty of this, as his Lt. Wilhelm skin (His canonical appearance during the Null Sector incident set a mere 7 years before the games present time) is ''still'' lacking a helmet.
* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'':
** The protagonist of the ''Pokémon'' games never wears a helmet or any sort of padding while biking, even in [[VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire Hoenn]] where you are able to perform dangerous tricks. Partly because they don't want to remove their NiceHat.
** Subverted in ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'' when you ride Pokémon. The Riders Gear contains a helmet. This contrasts with the [[VideoGame/PokemonXAndY previous games']] allowing you to ride Rhyhorn, Mamoswine, and Gogoat without any equipment.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Psychonauts}}'', [[spoiler:in the ending sequence, Raz finally ditches his aviator helmet and {{goggles|DoNothing}} upon transitioning to an official Psychonaut uniform]].
* Played straight in ''Videogame/ResidentEvil6''. In Chris's campaign, he and another playable character Piers are the only ones in his squad who don't wear helmets. Though, given [[TheVirus what]] [[SuperSoldier they]] [[LovecraftianSuperpower usually]] [[OneWIngedAngel fight]] and Chris's experience and general ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight altitude, this may be the case of ArmorIsUseless. Lampshaded by Jake, who makes a caustic comment about jarheads who look all the same to him.
* Inverted in ''VideoGame/{{Section 8}}''. Your character is almost never seen without his helmet, which also applies to some allies, while villains are usually seen helmetless.
** Dropping in from orbit without a helmet may be hazardous to your health.
* Done oddly in ''VideoGame/TheSimsMedieval'': men wear helmets, women don't. The default armor for women is otherwise sensible (it's not a ChainmailBikini and may even cover her more than her regular outfit) but there is no helmet, unlike the default men's armor. However, some other armors include helmets whether they're worn by men or women.
* ''VideoGame/StarcraftII'' makes a point of giving all the power-armored characters helmets with reflective (and presumably armored) visors. They tend to raise them fairly often in cutscenes, even when sometimes a little extra protection seems like it would be quite worthwhile. At least there's a second, transparent visor behind the outer one that keeps the suit sealed.
** The marine helmets [[ArmorIsUseless don't tend to protect them]] against enemy attack though. The one time a visor is shown lowered in battle, that marine almost immediately gets impaled through the visor.
** Ground vehicle pilots tend to not have any sort of helmets at all, odd when compared to their original Starcraft equivalents sometimes epic headgear. The new siege tank driver looks like he's driving a tank in an officer's dress uniform, sans topper. Special mention must go to the Viking pilot, who opens and closes his faceplate when the unit changes form, and the Banshee pilot, who lowers a display eyeshield and blacks out the cockpit glass when she cloaks.
** The Protoss also invert this trope pretty hard. The base infantry Zealot goes bareheaded, but the unit portraits for some of the heroic and pilot characters feature some really epic headgear. Of course, protoss don't have much in the way of a face, so concealing it isn't that big an issue.
* Subverted in ''Videogame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic''. Like recent Bioware games, you can mark any headgear you wear to show or not ([[AllegedlyFreeGame though not if you haven't subscribed or bought the unlock for that feature]]). This is quite welcome, as some early headgear can look quite dorky.[[note]] In addition to looking "dorky," some of the headgear could cause clipping issues with Miraluka masks or Twi'lek head-tails [[/note]] If you don't hide your headgear, your character doesn't even remove it in conversation except with your companions, which always take place in rest zones (i.e. a safe place), and your voice is mechanically or electronically filtered. And because it's Franchise/StarWars, many players leave the headgear on -- especially Troopers, Bounty Hunters, and Sith -- as they are quite proud of the masks and helmets they bought, hunted down, or fought for completing the character's look.
* This trope is common throughout the ''VideoGame/{{Suikoden}}'' series, as its main characters rarely wear helmets, even when riding at the head of helmet-clad troops.
* ''VideoGame/TelepathTactics'' is a big offender, at least in the campaign. Ebon Raban is the only named character whose CharacterPortrait features a full helmet; everyone else has their entire head visible. This also extends to character classes who normally wear [[InTheHood hoods]], such as with Gavrielle; Tremolo and Nalia don't wear the assassins' usual face-mask either.
* Inverted in ''VideoGame/UltimaVIII: Pagan'', where the Avatar's in-game appearance, [[InformedEquipment even when he is not wearing any armour at all]], features a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_helm Great Helm]] that [[http://raoow.blogspot.ch/2010_06_01_archive.html completely obscures his features]]. This led to some fans giving him the nickname [[FanNickname Ol' Bucket-Head]]. The Avatar's CrossOver appearance in ''VideoGame/DungeonKeeper'' is modelled after the sprite from Pagan.
** The Knights in both ''VideoGame/DungeonKeeper'' games also wear helmets, be they [[KnightInShiningArmour good]] or [[BlackKnight evil]].
* In ''VideoGame/{{Uncharted}}'''s multiplayer, only villains wore helmets. Taken to eleven in Uncharted 3's multiplayer, where you can buy ten different helmets for your custom villain -- and the only one a hero can get is the [[VideoGame/{{Killzone}} ISA helmet]], which you need real money to buy.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'', Undyne chases you through Waterfall in full armor, which ''does'' include a helmet...until the boss fight, where she takes it off for no apparent reason other than RuleOfCool.
** Lesser Dog and Greater Dog in Snowdin both wear armor, but not helmets, perhaps because they just want you to pet them that badly. However, the Royal Guard members in Hotland are never seen without their helmets. Even in ''VideoGame/{{Deltarune}}'', where there is no Royal Guard, they still wear helmets with their normal clothing for no apparent reason.
* In the ''VideoGame/ValkyriaChronicles'' games none of your soldiers wear helmets even while fighting in a civil war or against [[TheEmpire a whole empire]], since they've got to show off their unique appearances and personalities. In contrast the villainous {{mooks}} and morally ambiguous [[RedShirts red shirts]] wear helmets that either [[FacelessGoons cover their faces]] or hide their eyes.
* Played absolutely straight in ''VideoGame/Warhammer40000SpaceMarine'', as with all other 40K examples. Titus, Sidonus, Inquisitor Drogan, Lt. Mira, and Inquisitor Thrax ''all'' go without helmets. Leandros has one to start with, but it is damaged and promptly discarded during the scene in which you meet up with him. The Orks of course don't wear helmets, though almost all of the other various mook-of-the-minute types (the Imperial guardsmen, Chaos militia, etc.) all wear helmets.
* In ''VideoGame/WarhammerOnline'', helmet visibility is optional.
* ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}} VideoGame/TheEndTimesVermintide'': This trope is generally inverted; the heroic members of your party can wear helmets (or not, using this trope), while your less paragon members wear fashionable hats and hoods and extremely open bracers, or faceplates at best. Also, the [[AlwaysChaoticEvil Skaven]] generally refuse metal headgear, mainly because they need the flexibility to scan the battlefield and plan their assault for a few seconds before they charge in, but this leaves all enemies vulnerable to headshots. There's even a bow and a weapon skill designed for automatically hitting heads!
* In ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'', a helmet is an integral and necessary part of any player's kit. Nonetheless, it's completely optional whether or not your helmet is visible on your character. However, it remains equipped either way. Of course, most of the important [=NPCs=] aren't wearing helmets either, although there are still some notable [=NPCs=] who always wear them (Maiev and Darion Mograine) or for an important battle (Tirion Fordring, Varok Saurfang and Muradin Bronzebeard in Icecrown Citadel).
* Every soldier you recruit in ''VideoGame/XCOMEnemyUnknown'' goes bare-headed on a battlefield full of plasma weaponry that can melt their faces off, poison they can inhale, and other such hazards that would warrant a fully-enclosed helmet or at least a gas mask. The game really [[UpToEleven goes the extra mile in regards to this trope]], however, in that it was only in the DLC that helmets were added. They're purely aesthetic head decorations, however: the actual protective items are InformedEquipment.
** The original ''VideoGame/XCOMUFODefence'' played it both ways. Your troops initially went into battle wearing ordinary military fatigues and no helmets, but that was justified because until you could capture and reverse-engineer some alien tech, any existing helmets or body armour were [[ArmourIsUseless so much dead weight]] versus the [[PlasmaCannon plasma weaponry]] your enemies were toting. The first set of armour you can hand out has some rather goofy-looking protective headgear that still leaves the wearer's face and eyes exposed but is probably better than nothing, and the more advanced sets upgrade to a full-face helmet.
* Inverted by ''VideoGame/{{Xenonauts}}'', which is very much a spiritual remake to the above game, which uses much the same justification for not giving your troops any armour but for some reason the in-game art always shows your soldiers wearing a regular steel helmet.
* Headgear in ''VideoGame/XenobladeChroniclesX'' tends to fall into one of two categories: more like hair decorations than protection, or practical-looking helmets with opaque visors that can make cutscenes look weird -- particularly for [[PlayerCharacter Rook]], who communicates a great deal by [[HeroicMime facial expression and body language]]. Fortunately helmet visibility can be toggled off entirely, or visually overridden by putting something in the Fashion Armor slot. The funny thing about all this (for the human characters anyway) is [[spoiler:they're all robots anyway, and reasonably durable ones at that, so most of them could get away with a lack of face protection in hostile environments]].
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