Last year was hailed by many video game pundits as "the year of the female protagonist". In fact, so was 2014. And 2013. With the release of Mirror's Edge: Catalyst this week — and with games like Tacoma, Horizon: Zero Dawn, Recore and Dishonored 2 on the way — the place of leading ladies in blockbuster games seems, thankfully, set.
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While the gender of protagonists has always been pretty diverse in the more gamey games (think 2D platformers, role-playing games etc), the number of women has tended to drop off dramatically for the big-budget Hollywood-style titles that blend bombastic gameplay with cinematic storylines. Somewhere in the last five years however, developers of big budgets games have seemed to become less concerned with the need to have a scowling military dude on the front of the box. As narratives in video games become more complex, women are frequently (although still not frequently enough to match the 50 per cent proportion of gamers who are female) finding a place as a more empathic, more human lead to the traditional take-no-prisoners bald space marine type.
Lara Croft in Tomb Raider (2013)
One of the most iconic women in gaming, Croft fell from relevance for a long time as the Tomb Raider games struggled to adapt after some phenomenal — if simple — entries in the '90s. Those original games, like their contemporaries, didn't feature much in the way of characterisation and Lara's public image was informed mostly by what was happening outside the games — marketing campaigns and movies focused more on her looks than her archeological escapades.
The Tomb Raider reboot was the first proper attempt to shake off those old shackles and start again with the sensibilities of a modern action game, which in part meant doubling down on narrative and giving its lead a believable, endearing characterisation.
The 2013 game was just as cinematic, action-packed and polished as the genre-leading Uncharted games, but it had humanity too. By giving Lara moments of vulnerability that didn't feel forced or exploitative (something that arguably would have been much harder to do with an alpha male like Nathan Drake), the incredible pain and ultimate triumph of Lara realising her adventuring potential was felt much more keenly by players. The recent sequel, Rise of the Tomb Raider, successfully continued this technique.
Ellie in The Last of Us (2013)
As one of two playable protagonists in this post-apocalyptic tear-jerker, Ellie's characterisation is key to making the game a success. While it's not uncommon for women to be used as cheap motivations for male characters in games, or as easy proxies for an object that must be protected, Ellie's interactions with the grizzled Joel are handled with unrivalled subtlety and care, resulting in an in-game relationship more empathic than any other out there. It's easy to feel for Ellie — not only because she's much younger than your standard video game zombie-fighter, but also because the game honestly reflects the gender-specific dangers she faces in a world full of ruthless, lawless people. It's to the game designers' credit that her age and feminity never feel exploited for emotional effect.
The biggest character moments for Ellie come in the additional Left Behind chapters (warning: spoilers ahead), in which we get to see the devastating events that start young Ellie on the path to becoming the hardened, guilt-ridden but determined woman she is by the time The Last of Us comes to a close.
Left Behind is a prime example of how subverting archetypes can add a great deal to a story-teller's arsenal in games, as a tale of two childhood friends looking for hope in a crappy world seamlessly shifts into a story of young love, managing to take the player by surprise and sidestep the predictability of boy-meets-girl tropes by virtue of the fact that both characters are young girls. It may sound counterintuitive, but I would suggest the presentation of Ellie's experiences tap into something much more universally relatable than they ever could had she been a male character.
Amanda Ripley in Alien: Isolation (2014)
Ellen Ripley is an awesome character, and a feminist film icon. A badass who can keep her head, lead a team and bust out a flamethrower when she needs to, she also deals with aspects of femininity and motherhood in a way that strengthens and augments her heroic character rather than fights against it (something game characters are starting to do, as seen above, albeit 35 years after Ripley).
Her daughter Amanda might not be as iconic, but in Alien: Isolation we get to see that that the younger Ripley has compassion, survival skills and android-burning capabilities that would make her mother proud, if only Ellen wasn't in cryosleep for basically all Amanda's life. Twenty-five years old in Isolation, Amanda is on a mission to gain closure on her mother's disappearance but winds up in her own horrific Alien scenario. As the game has very few cut-scenes we learn everything we need to know about Amanda from first person. Resourceful, cautious, intelligent and kind, she's a tough woman up against outrageously stacked odds who needs every last bit of her strength to survive, just like her mum.
It's fantastic that, since the original Alien film so clearly influenced one of gaming's very first female action heroes (Samus Aran from Nintendo's 1986 Metroid), the series managed to overcome some adaptation missteps to deliver a video game successor to the films' trailblazing hero.
Evie Frye in Assassin's Creed Syndicate (2015)
Taking the long-running line of historical action games to merry old England, Assassin's Creed Syndicate's campaign was the first in the main series to feature a playable female character in Evie Frye. Sharing the spotlight with her brother Jacob, Evie might not be the most fantastically realised character in gaming but she was a breath of fresh air in an incredibly mainstream series given their male-dominated nature (and also given that the AC series had made some sketchy decisions in the past when it came to representing women).
Evie is easily the most humanised protagonist AC has seen, having understandable goals and a pleasantly optimistic spirit even while keeping the brutally murderous tendencies of her predecessors. Her clothing, weapons and fighting style are awesome without being unnecessarily gendered or sexualised (I know this all sounds like the bare minimum standard, but it really is a step up from a lot of action games), and throughout she's shown to be every bit as capable in the role of hero as her brawnier brother
Towards the end of the game Jacob's story begins to dominate and it's up to the player to actually seek out opportunities to see more of Evie. This is unfortunate not just because of the inequality undermining the "twins" premise, but also because Evie is so clearly the more nuanced and interesting character next to the bone-headed, ham-fisted Jacob. With Assassin's Creed taking a year off from its yearly release cycle for a bit of a reboot, we can only hope for more assassins like the Lady Frye in future.
Faith in Mirror's Edge: Catalyst (2016)
In 2008 Mirror's Edge was a game that won a lot of acclaim for breaking conventions, even if it ultimately turned out to be an interesting-but-flawed experience. A first-person game that removed the focus on guns, took place in a bright, colourful world and was led by a stoic woman rather than a pithy-catchphrase-spouting bro, it was rightly ascribed cult status and its fans were thrilled to learn a sequel was (eventually) on its way.
Now that the second game is out in the wild, it will come as disappointing news to some and exciting news to others that Catalyst has pretty much the exact same strengths and the exact same weaknesses as the original effort, although amplified across the board. The sound design, the weighty feeling as you run and jump and the camera movement combine to really make the player feel as though they're inhabiting the body of Faith, and the game is at its best when it has you fluidly chaining cat-like parkour moves across the glass city.
Like the original the story is still a massive cliche that takes itself too seriously, and while it doubles down on its biggest point of difference by having virtually all the important characters in the game be strong women (super-future-stylish, tough-as-nails women no less), I'd be lying if I said any of them were particularly relatable. I wish I could say Catalyst makes good on its "underground parkour heroes lead an urban revolution" premise by having characters that really make me believe they have something to fight for. But as it stands it's still a thrilling, imperfect, woman-dominated visceral platformer which, oddly, feels just as refreshing in the destruction-addled and testosterone-fuelled world of 2016 first-person games as it did eight years ago.
