5 OF OUR FAVORITE FEMALE VIDEO GAME CHARACTERS

BY AEUS REYES
Mar.19.19

Women in video games tend to be oversexualized. It’s a sad fact that while they may occasionally kick ass, most of them are obviously just there as eye candy and have little to do with the plot. Here at AO, we care a lot about character development and personality regardless of gender so we’re thankful that a handful of recent games with female leads have performed exceedingly well. It’s a sign of changing times—and it’s the good kind of change. So let’s celebrate a few iconic female characters that got us to this save point because we’re sure we wouldn’t be here without their help.

1. Samus Aran, Metroid

Back in the early days of gaming, women were almost always portrayed as damsels in distress that the male protagonist had to save. But Metroid dared to change that formula. Metroid still holds the distinction for featuring the first-ever playable female protagonist in the history of video games. Samus Aran was a complete badass, a bounty hunter that the galaxy called upon to save its ass from Space Pirates. We had no idea we were playing as a woman until the end of the game, a reveal which still remains as one of the most mind-blowing moments in gaming.

2. Jill Valentine, Resident Evil

If you were tasked to name a female video game character (other than Lara Croft), it's almost certain that Jill Valentine would be one of the first you'd mention. First appearing in the original Resident Evil game, Valentine stood alongside her partner, Chris Redfield, as an equal. Jill Valentine has been redesigned many times over the life of the Resident Evil franchise but we feel that the original design still remains her best iteration.

3. Lara Croft, Tomb Raider

Speaking of Lara Croft, is there another woman in gaming as iconic as her? Granted, the original Tomb Raider games went a little overboard with certain parts of Croft's anatomy but that wasn’t enough to take away strength and intelligence that exuded from her. The latest reboot has done a good job in reinventing the character further cementing her status as the queen of video games.

4. Aloy, Horizon Zero Dawn

Aloy broke into the gaming scene as the main protagonist of 2017's Horizon Zero Dawn. She immediately stood out as one of best-designed characters of this gaming generation which was headlined by the impeccable vocal work of Ashly Burch (Life is Strange, Final Fantasy XV, Fortnite). With Aloy's assortment of arrows and a badass attitude to go along with it, Aloy has etched her place as one gaming's most memorable female leads ever.

5. Ellie, The Last of Us

We know Joel was the playable character for most of The Last of Us but you can't deny how integral Ellie was to the entire game. Ellie was snarky and witty without ever being annoying. She was not just a sidekick to Joel and she definitely didn't feel like a character that you needed to babysit. The part of the game where you had to play as Ellie was easily one of the most intense parts of the entire experience. We can’t wait to get to get to know Ellie a bit more in The Last of Us 2.

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