GameRx Diagnosis: Soldier

Continuing with our foray into the deeper psychological aspects of the stars of Valve’s popular title Team Fortress 2, we look at the case of the Soldier. While a very simple man in outward appearance and behavior, a troubled soul lies deeper within. The diagnosis is straightforward, but his history and background material weave a tapestry of mental instability surpassed by few humans, in-game or not.

If you haven’t seen the short yet, here it is.

Remember, the article spoils the short. Go ahead and watch it.

Before we start, let’s get the initial diagnosis out of the way. The Soldier is essentially a psychopath with elaborate delusions of grandeur, forming no attachment or empathy for other humans or animals to heighten his own worth in his own heroic context. It’s by no means perfect or complete, but it’s a good start nonetheless. Since the video itself doesn’t tell us much aside from the fact that he’s a killing machine, we need to take a closer look at what backstory is provided.

To begin, let’s take a look at the other details we know and piece together a more comprehensive history of the character. If we look at the official biography from Valve material, we find the following:

Though he wanted desperately to fight in World War 2, the Soldier was rejected from every branch of the U.S. military. Undaunted, he bought his own ticket to Europe. After arriving and finally locating Poland, the Soldier taught himself how to load and fire a variety of weapons before embarking on a Nazi killing spree for which he was awarded several medals that he designed and made himself. His rampage ended immediately upon hearing about the end of the war in 1949.

We establish pretty quickly he is not at all in his right mind. We get a pretty immediate picture of his delusions as well as some unresolved personal conflict. We know that he never was a professional soldier, and what knowledge he had was largely “self-taught” in Poland. My best guess is he seeks to fulfill some sort of personal hole, ranging anywhere from fancying himself to be a TV action hero or a burning desire to live the experiences of a veteran relative vicariously. Regardless of intent, he goes in with nary a clue of how to handle himself in combat situations. His medals and awards he designed himself are likely part of his delusions, likely constructed as a defensive mechanism to stay his doubts regarding his actions. This idea is reinforced by talking to the severed heads of his enemies in the short.

What the bio doesn’t tell us is what years he tried to join the war, why he was turned down, when he flew over, or when he began his murderous rampage through the Polish countryside. Given that the Nazis withdrew from Poland in 1944, there’s at most a five-year window where any casualties would be largely civilian and decidedly not Nazi. Does this mean he killed some Nazis earlier? Did he kill Russians assuming they were Nazis? What made him think the Poles were enemies? Any of these omitted details would help paint a much more detailed picture of his actual delusions.

Delving a little deeper, we see the development of a collection of paranoid delusions and insecurities as we explore the update-canon. In the Soldier/Demo update, we find the Soldier holed up in a small apartment armed to its proverbial teeth with weapons and traps, even going as far as to register under a fake name (I know a lot of people fancy his real name to be Jane Doe, but I don’t buy it). We can also tell that he trusted the Demoman with sensitive information judging by his reaction when he hears the digital Demoman that he “wasn’t a real soldier.” Clearly he has significant insecurities over his public image. Because of this, there are probably now considerable trust issues if there weren’t any already. In any event, after he breaks ties with the Demoman, he shows no visible empathy towards any other character in the game.


So far, my favorite theory is that he had a relative who was a veteran of World War I who died in action. When the Solder was younger, they drummed up his relative’s bravery and honor for going his life to fight in France. However, the soldier later finds out his relative was actually captured by the Germans in his first week on the front lines and later put to death as a POW. Unable to accept or cope with reality, he acts out to make up for his relative’s lack of valor through any means necessary. His actions in 1949 as well as his actions in the game seek to live the way he thought his relative should have: as a ruthless killing machine showing no quarter for his enemies.


But yeah, that’s about all there is to the Soldier. He’s more or less a psychopath with a whole basket full of  personal delusions. Since I’m still not an actual psychologist, I could easily be wrong. If any of you readers think of anything I can include, leave a comment and I’ll add or change it in an errata article later.


Doc Watson is an editor for The RedShirt Crew and is the founder of The GameRx Clinic. He normally writes something witty or clever here, but he actually can’t think of anything this time. Come on, Doc. Get your head in the game. If you have questions, corrections, or other input, leave a comment or send a tweet to @DocWatsonMD.