Chell, as she appears in the first Portal game.
Here is a list of female characters in video games. Feel free to add more characters and categories!
Iconic Characters
These are some of the pioneering female characters in iconic video games. Some are notable for their representation of women as engaging and capable characters, and others are known for their sexualization and/or reduction of women to damsels in distress.
Strong Characters (not overtly sexualized, if at all)
- Ms Pac-Man from Ms Pac-Man arcade game
- Samus Aran from the Metroid series
- Joanna Dark from Perfect Dark
- Jill Valentine from Resident Evil series
- Claire Redfield from Resident Evil series
- Shanoa from Castlevania: Order Of Ecclesia
- Anna from Epic Battle Fantasy 4
Sexualized Characters
- Tifa Lockhart from Final Fantasy VII
- Lara Croft from Tomb Raider series
- Ada Wong from Resident Evil series
Positively Portrayed Characters
There are some female characters that are strong, confident and capable, all while lacking any overt hypersexualization. These women are not reduced to a status of love interest, damsel in distress, or sexualized protagonist.
- Chell from the Portal series
- Lightning from Final Fantasy XIII and its sequels XIII-2 and Lightning Returns
- Jade from Beyond Good and Evil
- Alyx Vance from Half-Life 2
- Lucca from Chrono Trigger
Sexualized Characters
Some of these female characters are known for their sexualized portrayals and narratives.
- Bayonetta from the Bayonetta series
- The many variations of Lara Croft
- Kasumi from the Dead or Alive fighting game series and Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Vollyball
Female Options for Lead Characters in Role-Playing Games
- Female Commander Shepard from Mass Effect series
- Female Hawke from Dragon Age II
- Female option of elven, human or dwarven background from Dragon Age: Origins
- Female option of 10 character races in Oblivion and Skyrim from the Elder Scrolls series
- Female option of main character from Fallout 3
- Female option for most Pokemon games