Nephilim: The Children of Lilith. The Place of Man in the Ontological and Cosmological Dualism of the Diablo, Darksiders and Devil May Cry Game Series

Abstract

Lilith and the Nephilim are not uncommon characters in modern day pop culture at large and in video games culture specifically. In three video games, the Diablo series (three games, between 1996-2012), the Darksiders series (two games, in 2010 and 212) and the Devil May Cry series (2001-2013, especially in the so called ‘reboot’ of 2013), Lilith and the Nephilim are both named and (in different ways) connected to each other within the greater narrative of the games. In this article I want to describe the three game narratives in which the Nephilim and Lilith have their place, and in what way those three narratives are connected to each other.

The central question of this article is: what have the narratives of Diablo, Darksiders and DmC in common regarding the Nephilim and Lilith, and what theological implications follow from this common ground? I will argue that the combination of Lilith and Nephilim in these three game narratives is key for creating a mix of ontological and cosmological dualism in relation to a more complex anthropological ‘holism’. The three narratives provide a more or less psychologically convenient explanation for the existence of evil in the world, and at the same time take into account the experience that the human beings we encounter in our everyday life appear to us as incorporating both good and bad deeds, intentions, inclinations, traits and thoughts.