Hello! I need some help (hashtag) building a list. Specifically, I am looking for Games In Which the Lithe AI Companion Squeezes Through a Crack the Protagonist Cannot Fit Through (Forcing You as the Protagonist to Find an Alternate Way Forward).

Usually this involves meeting up later on down the path by pulling a switch to open a gate, or pushing a large block out of the way, or kicking down a tree to be used as a bridge, or something of that nature. But the only specific criterion that needs to be met is the Squeezing Through a Crack.

A good exemplar is Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. Here is a video of the Lithe AI Companion Squeezing Through a Crack the Protagonist Cannot Fit Through.

I am sure this trope is used in a number of video games, and I hope we as a community can help put together an exhaustive list of every example. Thank you so much for your assistance!

I am pretty sure Ellie in The last of us does this.

In Resident Evil Revelations 2 the AI Natalia does it once on it`s own in a Claire and Moira section.

This is such a common trope I feel I should really remember more, but that`s all I have off the top of my head.

I think the little sisters in Bioshock did that at one point to unlock a door.

I am ashamed to say that the first thing that comes to mind is Amy.

Ashley does this once in RE4 right? With the dumbass sliding block puzzle?

Does Clank count as "lithe"? I'm pretty sure Daxter has a section like this too.

I swear I've seen this more often, but nothing much comes to mind. Does the Ico girl do something like this? I can't remember.

Pretty sure this has been used as a contrivance to split up the party in FF7 or 8. But uh, don't quote me on that.

Every Traveler's Tales Lego game I've played (most of them) feature a class of character who is small and can fit through openings that others can't. The A.I. will do it too if it's necessary for progression.

Clank was the first I thought of, but he's not A.I.

The little girl in walking dead season 1 telltale. Why can't I remember her name?!?

Meryl does this off-screen in Metal Gear Solid while Snake has to sneak through the wolf den.

I believe Alyx does this near Ravenwhatever in Half Life 2

Clank, Daxter, and Ashley from RE4 all do this at some point.

Alyx isn't even in that level and she doesn't slip through any cracks anywhere around that secret facility you run around prior to the Ravenholm level, though I can't quite recall if she does that in any other part of the game.

Resident Evil 2, player control switches from Claire to Sherry so she can climb through a vent to open a door.

The Little Sister uses the catflaps in Bioshock.

She does run through a corridor that collapses from behind her; even if you sprint to it and get there before her, there is an invisible wall.

She later on climbs on top of a building you can't and then gets captured. Don't remember anything else from HL2 or Ep1, but these are the closest ones involving Alyx.

In Until Dawn, you (playing as Matt) can push Emily through a window to open a door for you (although you can instead choose to break open the door with an axe).

The collapsing corridor thing doesn't really fit this trope, though.

The building might, although that's more because Alyx is ridiculously athletic - being lithe probably helped with that a whole lot but Gordon Freeman could probably have done that if he wasn't constrained to standard first person shooter actions.

@justin258:

Yeah, those moments that feel particularly scripted with Alyx are at least very close to the trope, maybe part of a broader one about scripted moments splitting you from your AI companion, who happens to be lithe. There's for sure an aspect of the trope that's really that feeling of "well if this wasn't a video game, my character as a person could probably solve this differently." I'll have to go back and do a thorough look at Half-Life 2 to see if there's any instances of our exact phenomenon.

Does Portal 2 coop count? both players are constantly being seperated to eventually meet up again. The difference is that there's not a size-issue, but a positional issue instead.

Just finished replaying Bioshock Infinite, and Elizabeth squeezes through a gate at one point to open a path.

Thanks for all the suggestions! I made a few omissions from what has been suggested, like Ratchet & Clank, Portal 2 and RE2, as I think the partner being an NPC is a core aspect of this specific trope.

Here's the list as it stands right now!

If you come across anything that isn't on this list and meets the qualifications, shout it out! Otherwise, thank you for your help in this ever-important video game archival endeavor.

If I remember right: Max Payne in Max Payne The Third boosts Passos' pregnant girlfriend up through a narrow window in the bus depot level. Might be in a cut scene though, if that still counts?

Oh and there is almost certainly some of this in your Uncharteds.

I really love how this community, of which I consider myself deeply entrenched, did not even bat an eye for this VERY strange request.

This is a tough call! Here's the segment I think you're referring to (just remember to like comment and subscribe to this gentleman for providing such a useful video title):

I'm inclined to include it I think, it seems like Max wasn't "mechanically" capable of climbing through that window without her help.

@undeadpool there is goodness in this world yet, and it is found in communal appreciation for bizarre games minutia

@mrburninator: That guy sounds like a young, stoned Mr. Plinket

The first 2 borderlands games start with claptrap squeezing through gaps to open gates for you. Is claptrap lithe?

And I think every uncharted game has a few sections of this. Definitely 3 and 4 do as I played them recently.

And maybe resident evil 5. But I don't really remember a specific instance there.

@beefygrandmole: In RE5 there are moments where you can help your buddy to get up a roof, but there are no real holes / cracks where only the girl can get through.

@onemanarmyy: Yeah that's totally what I was thinking of.

Not sure if this counts, but in the Escape Goat games you can summon a small NPC mouse that can crawl into small gaps.

Dragon Quest 8 also has a mouse companion that crawls into small holes that the protagonist, Eight, cannot.