Celebrate National Video Games Day With Five Best Games With Strong Female Leads

The gaming industry has seen major changes over the years, but one of the largest changes seen in the industry is how video games with female leads treat their characters. Video games with female leads were generally avoided by companies as they believed that the supposedly male-dominated field would not appreciate female leads.

This assumption that gaming is a male-dominated field is reflected within the games themselves as video games with playable male lead characters greatly outweigh the ones with female leads. For years, video games pushed the female characters to the side and over-sexualised them, however over the years, the representation in video games has drastically improved.

In fact, the 1996 video game Tomb Raider had a female lead Lara Croft who quickly became a cultural icon. Nude Raider was a myth that stated after using a cheat code, the character of Lara would appear naked. Management even asked the developers to add a cheat code for Nude Raider, and the developers refused.

The game leaned into the over-sexualisation of Lara Croft and the response of the fans only encouraged them to continue making Croft a fantasy for male gamers. While the games have taken a turn since then and have developed her into a character with a personality that isn't over-sexualised, the original Lara Croft is a perfect example of how even video games with female lead characters treated their female characters poorly.

Video games with a female lead no longer have to create over-sexualised characters that were only designed for the male gaze. Instead, video games have begun spending more time developing their female characters.

This Video Games Day, celebrated on July 8, we present a list of video games with female leads that are not only well developed (storywise) but are also main playable characters.

Suggested Reading: How Game Developers Are Failing Kids With Patriarchal & Age-Inappropriate Content

5 Video Games With Female Leads

Assassin’s Creed Syndicate

There is nothing better than sneaking around, infiltrating bases, and taking down enemies, as the people around them remain none the wiser.

Assassin’s Creed Syndicate, the ninth game in the Assassin’s Creed series allowed players to play as female assassins for the first time. Set in London in 1868, players can choose to switch between the characters of Jacob Frye and Evie Frye, twin assassins navigating the city during the Second Industrial Revolution.

The game marked the first video game with a female lead in Assassin’s Creed series. Evie Frye was praised by critics and fans for being a well-rounded character. Both characters had distinct play styles and personalities so switching between characters felt like controlling two different people. Evie never felt like a character that had been created just so developers could brag about having a video game with female lead characters.

In the downloadable content (DLC) titled Jack the Ripper Evie’s character was the exclusive player character. Set 20 years following the events of the main game, Jack the Ripper followed Evie as she hunted down the elusive murderer and tried to rescue her brother.

While the game did cut down on Evie’s arc and screen time in the main storyline, she was still a major character that was well-written and well-rounded and made the game more enjoyable.

Screenshot of Evie Frye in Assassin's Creed Syndicate

Horizon Zero Dawn

Set in a post-apocalyptical world overrun by machines, Horizon Zero Dawn follows a hunter Aloy. Players control the character of Aloy as she sets out to uncover the secrets of the pre-apocalyptical world. Cast out of the tribe before she was even born and raised by another outcast, Aloy’s determination to help others despite being excluded and shunned is a pleasure to witness.

While Aloy may be working towards helping the tribe that refused to acknowledge her existence, she does not shy away from informing the tribe and its members that their exclusion of her and treatment of outcasts was abysmal and problematic.

Horizon Zero Dawn allowed players to control the female hunter as she travels through a post-apocalyptical land after spending years in isolation.

Night In The Woods

Night in the Woods is an exploration game set in the small town of Possum Springs, which is populated by zoomorphic animals. Players can control the character Mae Borowski, a cat who left her hometown and attended college but dropped out and returned home. She finds that the town has changed while she has been gone and that her friend Casey presumably ran away from home.

The game follows Mae as she travels through her hometown and reconnects with her friends and family. Mae tries to solve a supposed haunting and kidnapping while uncovering the town’s history. Her friendships and conversations with them reveal key information about their personalities and beliefs. Mae is a deeply flawed character struggling with mental illness and the stagnancy that comes with being from a middle and lower class in a small town.

The game was praised for its writing and characters and Mae’s struggle with her troubled past and an existential crisis was a relatable experience.

Screenshot of Mae Borowski in Night in the Woods

Life Is Strange

Life Is Strange is a series of episodic adventure games that consisted of five chapters. The first instalment in the series was titled Life Is Strange and focused on the character Max Caulfield, a photographer that realised she had to ability to rewind time.

Her choices led to a butterfly effect and the player was able to control the narrative through the character of Max. Her time rewinding ability allowed the player to undo almost any action that is taken.

The player is forced to make decisions that can lead to dire consequences and Max’s determination to help people to the best of her ability while being forced to make difficult decisions made the game and characters compelling.

The Last Of Us II

The Last of Us II is a sequel to The Last of Us and the series is set in a post-apocalyptical world with infected zombies. The protagonist Ellie is a girl who is immune to the virus and follows the journey of her and Joel, a smuggler tasked with escorting her safely.

The sequel is set after the events of the first instalment and players not only get to control Ellie, the protagonist for a majority of the game, but they are also able to control the character of the antagonist.

Allowing the player to switch between the eyes of the female protagonist and antagonist provided allowed the player to switch between wildly different perspectives and understand the characters.