Video game characters and their stories are often key factors in determining how well-received a given title is, as gamers tend to like what they are playing more if they feel represented or if the narrative is interesting enough. Female characters in games have a long history, going all the way from low-poly Lara Croft models in early Tomb Rider games to next-gen graphics that are capable of completely changing how Tess looks in the remake of The Last of Us Part 1, for example. This year was not short of major inclusions from completely new titles as well as franchises players are already familiar with, further expanding the ever-increasing and ever-more-positive representation that women are getting in the industry.
With so many games releasing in 2022, it doesn't come as a surprise that a few of the best female characters of the year come from titles that players have voted for at The Game Awards, but there are also a few interesting additions from games that players may have missed. Although this list cannot include characters from all the games released this year, it is aimed at including those that players enjoyed the most, felt the most represented by, or those that make the in-game universe feel much more expansive just by being there. These are the best female characters of 2022, listed in alphabetical order by their names.
Aloy - Horizon Forbidden West
During the events of Horizon Zero Dawn, Aloy found out she was actually a genetic clone of a 21st-century scientist by the name of Elisabet Sobeck, which explained a lot of her origin story. Horizon Zero Dawn consecrated Aloy as a fantastic protagonist also thanks to her questioning what her existence means if she is technically just a tool engineered to save the planet. The first entry in the franchise explained what Project Zero Dawn was and why defeating the now rogue Hades was necessary in order to avoid total annihilation, but it did leave out a few key details that were explored in Horizon Forbidden West.
Among them is the origin of the mysterious signal that caused GAIA's subsets of functions to become their own AIs, and Horizon Forbidden West addresses this thanks to the Far Zenith people. Through their actions and agenda, Aloy eventually meets Beta, another clone of Sobeck that still manages to be different from the protagonist. The two eventually bond, and although Aloy further questions her own individuality, she also calls Beta her family.
Horizon Forbidden West manages to take Aloy's character development further by making her more self-aware and purpose-driven, which is a great accomplishment for someone who was shunned and treated like an outcast for all her life. This further shows that the upcoming Burning Shores DLC and future installments in the series can make the protagonist even more compelling, and this time Aloy's relationship with Beta means that she is not alone - even in the face of impending doom.
Amicia - A Plague Tale: Requiem
Amicia was already a great deuteragonist in A Plague Tale: Innocence alongside her brother Hugo, but the sequel did hit it out of the park with the way the story is told and how the characters' fates entwine. In the sequel, she gets new tools, and Amicia's crossbow rapidly becomes an amazing weapon to use that fulfills a power fantasy left vacant in the first title. However, Amicia is called to make even more difficult and desperate choices than she did in the past, and she is confronted even more with the burden of an ever-decreasing quality of mental health. A Plague Tale: Requiem sees Amicia falter several times, up to the very end of the game, although that is something players can change.
In fact, among the major deaths in A Plague Tale: Requiem is that of Hugo, who succumbs to the Macula's grip after he believes that Amicia and all those he loves are dead, embracing his dark side that sometimes emerges throughout the new installment in the series. It is Amicia who is tasked with the impossible job of ending her own brother's life, which players can decide not to do, only for Lucas to do it in the end. It's unclear whether Amicia's story will continue, but she did get closure at the end of A Plague Tale: Requiem, and it will probably be the last time players see her.
Eunie - Xenoblade Chronicles 3
Xenoblade Chronicles 3 features plenty of interesting characters, but one that fans were immediately drawn to is Eunie, one of the first playable characters and one who starts the game with the Medic Gunner class, making her immediately very valuable to the party. Eunie is known for her sharp tongue and for being foul-mouthed, which often makes up for comedic relief in cutscenes or regular dialogue in the game. Eunie's personality can make her both a caring friend and a rather impatient ally, characteristics that tend to define her interactions and make her stand out beyond her funny remarks or rude comments.
Players can increase their affinity with Colonies in Xenoblade Chronicles 3, with them playing an important role in how character relationships work, among other things. What takes Xenoblade Chronicles 3's Eunie to the next level is the story behind her past life in Colony 18, which reached Gold Rank and was later destroyed by Consul D. Eunie died then and there, forty years prior to the current events, and was left traumatized by the memories of her past life when she eventually found her husk at Lomi Hill.
This prompts Eunie to investigate what happened in Colony 5 after it reached Gold Rank, and her side mission actually reveals that Colony Ranks are a sham to motivate soldiers to fight. Despite being shaken by this revelation, Eunie later admits that she's not fighting for her own survival anymore, but rather because it gives people hope. This makes her character arc feel more authentic and even provides players with major insights regarding the main story in Xenoblade Chronicles 3, specifically about how the Colonies really work.
Freya - God of War Ragnarok
Although Freya initially appears as an antagonist in God of war Ragnarok due to her thirst for revenge against Kratos for killing Baldur, eventually she becomes one of the most interesting supporting characters in the series and much more than that. Freya, who is a goddess herself and former wife to Odin, has actually been cursed by the latter and is bound to Midgard. In God of War Ragnarok, Freya realizes that killing Kratos wouldn't accomplish much for her apart from perpetuating a needless cycle of death and revenge.
Instead, she begins to come to terms with her pain and the loss of Baldur, which in turn starts her quest for freedom from Odin. Freya regains her warrior spirit and finally confronts Odin about his abuses and the needless death of her son Baldur, forcing the All-Father to kneel before her. However, she refuses to exact revenge on the god that once was her husband because she learned through her relationship with Kratos that this won't achieve anything. As such, Freya's story in God of War Ragnarok is one of female empowerment, and a meaningful one while at it.
Laura - The Quarry
Laura is the first character that players meet when booting The Quarry, and she is also the first one they play as. Laura is one of the counselors at Hackett's Quarry summer camp, and she is Max's girlfriend, alongside whom she is introduced in the prologue of the game. However, she is soon separated from Max, who is bitten by a werewolf. Although after the prologue Laura is only seen again several chapters later, she is a pivotal character in The Quarry because her expertise with firearms and her wits are what can allow players to let everyone live in a single playthrough.
Throughout the game, Laura is capable of piecing the events together quite fast, and she is the first to believe that killing the werewolf who attacked Max is going to end his curse, and subsequently hers once Max bites her. Laura can survive in The Quarry and let other characters live due to her medical skills, which is shown both when she tries to cure her own wounds or when she expresses concern over Ryan's stabbing injury. These characteristics all contribute to making Laura a great character, and also a memorable one.
Melina - Elden Ring
Melina is one of those characters that Elden Ring players will likely never forget, as she immediately becomes their guide in The Lands Between, and then allows them to level up their Tarnished or fast-travel to other locations. Players can converse with Melina at various Sites of Grace throughout the game, and the mysterious character states that she doesn't recall her purpose, but it will become clear to her once she gets to the Erdtree. Coincidentally, this is where Queen Marika resides, a controversial character whose other half is Radagon, and the one that is supposedly Melina's mother.
At one point, Melina will plead with the Tarnished not to accept the Frenzied Flame, but if they do so, she will appear in a final cutscene, stating that the new Lord of the Frenzied Flame will eventually get their Destined Death. In this cutscene, Melina's ever-closed left eye is open and purple, whereas her other eye is faded into a pale yellow. Because of this, players believe that she could be one with Ranni the Witch, and actually form the so-called Gloam-Eyed Queen when combined. This theory is given further credibility by the fact that Melina is born from Queen Marika and has the power of fire and the sun, whereas Ranni is born from Radagon and has the power of the stars and the moon.
Marissa Marcel - Immortality
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Immortality is the new game from Sam Barlow, the creator of Her Story, which became quite successful when it first launched. In Immortality, players are tasked with piecing together the life of vanished actress Marissa Marcel by looking at the footage from her unreleased movies, eventually discovering what happened to her. Although the game leaves it up to the players' interpretation, it seems that the original Marissa Marcel possibly died in France during World War 2 when she was consumed by a creature called The One, who then became her.
To a degree, players never really meet Marissa Marcel, but the game still manages to differentiate her from The One via distinct scenes, despite them being the same creature. From the outside, if viewed linearly, Immortality's story shows a young girl who is naive enough to be "sculpted" by a maniac filmmaker first and then becomes emotionally involved with another manipulative, abusive person in the form of John. During the filming of Minsky, Marissa/The One end up killing a creature called The Other One because they are interfering with their relationship with John, but this forces them to reveal who they really are to the director.
Later, she consumes him and becomes him, and at the time of filming Two of Everything, The One splits into two bodies - one for John, and one for the now-recreated Marissa, who hasn't aged because she wasn't there for the past 30 years. Immortality is a story of masks and secrets, and despite Marissa never being the original one from the get-go, she is a very interesting character both at face value and when The One is revealed.
Nico Minoru - Marvel's Midnight Suns
While Marvel's Midnight Suns players who haven't kept up with every MCU project or comic may not recognize Nico Minoru, she is actually a pivotal character in Marvel's Runaways. The Midnight Suns' version of Nico Minoru is quite different from that of Runaways, however, and this reflects particularly well in how proficient she is with her signature weapon - The Staff of One. This makes her stand out compared to the Runaways counterpart, and it seems she is more mature and more well-adjusted even when tackling her dark side.
Because Nico Minoru is Asian-American and also bisexual, she offers great representation in every project she appears in, and Midnight Suns is no exception. This game also lets Nico stray from her Runaways era by making her more of a natural leader, and Marvel's Midnight Suns also makes her shine thanks to her spell-casting role while fighting supernatural threats. Overall, Nico is a fantastic addition to Midnight Suns that paves the way for more appearances further down the line.
Ranni - Elden Ring
Another fan-favorite character in Elden Ring is Ranni the Witch, whom players initially meet under the name of Renna, Ranni's original mentor. Before the events of Elden Ring, she steals the Rune of Death and kills Godwyn, the Golden and her own original body. With the Tarnished serving as her champion, she seeks to kill the Two Fingers and defy the Greater Will; completing her questline also rewards players with the Dark Moon Greatsword. From her interactions to her quests, scenes, and rewards, many players think of Ranni as a standout in the game.
Ranni is also a fan-favorite character because of the ending that surrounds her, called The Age of Stars, which according to the Elden Ring community at large is the best in the game. This ending supposedly means that the people are finally given their free will back and that they are no longer bound by the gods. Ranni and her Champion transcend the bodily and leave The Lands Between for the Stars, giving her and the player character a seemingly "happy" ending.
Sienna - Chained Echoes
Although it came out recently, Chained Echoes has already established itself as one of the best JRPGs of 2022. With Chained Echoes being a mix of various '90s tropes surrounding JRPGs and RPGs in general, it quickly became a fan-favorite among this year's many video game releases. In typical JRPG fashion, Chained Echoes' cast of characters is quite varied and offers very interesting options both in terms of interactions with NPCs and build options to fully customize them. Sienna quickly became a staple on many teams due to her powerful damage-over-time attacks, but also due to her being a fantastic adaptation of classic rogues.
Sienna is a con artist and a thief that is by no means immune to the intentional tropes of Chained Echoes, which often end up making her more nuanced if anything. While Sienna's cunning is one of her sharpest weapons, she is sometimes the victim of her own vices, with vanity being one and curiosity the other. For example, she hears someone calling her from a shady alley. One would think she knew better than that, but the outcome is that she gets captured.
Another example is that she has red hair and wears matching red clothes, both of which she foursquare refuses to take off because she likes that those made her known as the "Red Succubus," a title that she likes to the point that she's fine with not fooling people with her appearance. Lastly, Sienna also offers great LGBTQIA+ representation in Chained Echoes, as she is revealed to be married to a woman named Eva.