Over the years video games have started to make women the protagonist or give you the choice to make the protagonist female. I think game companies have started to realize that women play games too and do not always want to play a man either. As a video game animation major I know I am going into a field where there is not much female presence, but the fact that women are becoming our main characters in games makes me hopeful for myself. Here are is a list of games with Badass female protagonist or characters.
Horizon Zero Dawn
Horizon Zero Dawn takes place a thousand years into the future, in a post-apocalyptic world where huge animal like machines rule the land. Over time, human civilization has regressed to tribal societies of hunters and gatherers who survive in immense forests, imposing mountain ranges, and the atmospheric ruins of their ancestors – all while the machines become increasingly powerful. Aloy is a female hunter who protects her tribe even though they shun her. What I like about it is that it was a highly anticipated game with its main and only playable character female. It became the fifth-best-selling PlayStation 4 video game (3.4 million copies sold).
Uncharted: The Lost Legacy
If you know the name Nathan Drake, you know Uncharted. Like Tomb Raider, Nathan Drake explores mythical stories and treasures. Recently the series ended, but continued with new yet memorable characters taking the lead, Chloe Frazer and Nadine Ross. Chloe Frazer was a treasure hunter and an old love interest in Uncharted 2: Among Thieves and Nadine Ross was a mercenary searching for treasure against Nathan Drake and his brother in Uncharted 4: A Thief's End. In Uncharted: The Lost Legacy they work together to find a lost Indian treasure. It is another example that whatever a man can do, a woman can do.
Hellblade Senua's Sacrifice
In this dark mysterious game you play Senua who goes to Norse mythology hell to save her lovers soul. What I like about the game is that the savior role is reversed. It is not a man saving a woman, but a woman saving a man. You learn how in life she triumphed after being degraded and thinking she was a monster she still went to hell with fear in her mind.
Tomb Raider 2013 Reboot
Before this reboot, when I thought Tomb Raider, I thought of the oversexualized movies staring Angelina Jolie. Now I think about the game reboot by Crystal Dynamics. While it is the tenth game in the whole series it counts as areboot because it shows the origins of Lara Croft as she begins her career as an explorer. In this game you bleed, have to hunt your own food, and fight enemies with bows and arrows. It was done so well that there is a sequel called Rise of the Tomb Raider, released in 2015 and is the foundation to the 2018 film of the same name.
Wolfenstein: The New Order and New Colossus
Wolfenstein is about being part of the resistance fighting Nazi's if they won WWII and took over the world. While the main character is a man there are a lot of strong females in this story. Caroline Becker was the leader of the Kreisau Circle, or at the very least the Kreisau Circle of Isenstadt, in Wolfenstein. She would give mission orders to William, the main character and still fought even though she was bound to a wheelchair. Grace Walker is the leader of the American Resistance cell in New York City in the sequel game. She takes over as leader of the Kreisau Circle when Caroline dies and continues to give William his missions. Anya Oliwa was a nurse that helped William when in a coma, helped find and becomes a member of the resistance, and is William's lover and mother of his twin children. Anya is so badass that she is fighting and killing Nazi's while five months pregnant. If that is not badass than I do not know what is. Frau Irene Engel is a female antagonist in the game. She is a extremely loyal Nazi general that hates William and the resistance she calls vermin. These are examples of strong women, while not the main character lead important roles in the game.
These are just some examples of great games with awesome female characters and or leads. I hope gaming companies continue with this trend. I hope one day there are just as many female protagonist games as there are male. Hopefully one day there will also be LGBTQ protagonists as well.
