A list of 10 female protagonists whom you probably never came across, knew or thought even existed, if not all.
Female protagonists in video games are rapidly becoming popular. From the golden age of Samus Aran, Tomb Raider, Chun-Li, and Tifa Lockhart to Jill Valentine, Control, and Horizon: Zero Dawn, many remarkable female protagonists were designed by many developers. Even though we only see posts on social media or gaming websites about the more commonly known names, many female protagonists still make remarkable entries.
Many of them were designed by indie developers, and perhaps due to the lack of budget, they weren’t as exposed to gamers as they deserved to be. So, I’ve tried to make a list of 10 female protagonists whom you probably never thought existed, if not all.
Bladed Fury – Princess Ji
Bladed Fury is an excellent example of a Metroidvania game due to its effective blending of Chinese mythology and history. That’s not something you get to play very often, so NEXT Studios’ Bladed Fury is a refreshing departure in focus and genre. The game stays true to its strengths, the gorgeous visual style and the responsive controls, by focusing primarily on the ever-changing, progressing combat and offering only limited platforming.
It also has a fantastic art style, detailed scenery, and plenty of cleavage-baring female characters. It takes only a few hours to beat the game once, but additional challenges and a boss rush mode keep you coming back for more. Princess Ji is adorable, the action is brisk and well-choreographed, and the visuals are especially nice.
Forgotton Anne
Forgotton Anne stood out as one of the most aesthetically pleasing titles. The game is not hard to understand. The main character is under your control as you solve puzzles and progress through brief platforming segments. Most challenges can be overcome by exploring the interface and pressing buttons correctly. You’ll need dexterity and timing for a few of them. Therefore, the fun you have directing Anne around the game world is crucial.
Simply put, this game is a work of art. Everything about this story is fascinating, from the setting to the characters to the plot. All of the writing is excellent, whether it’s a funny or sad scene. The game’s visuals and soundtrack are stunning; every voice actor does a fantastic job.
CounterSide – Karin Wong
CounterSide is a gacha game. You can either learn to cope with the inevitable difficulties or quit altogether. This game has lovely animation and a compelling narrative. You can take that as you will. The Steam version has a mobile link to take your game anywhere. The combat mechanics themselves are simple but add tremendous depth to teamwork. Airborne and ground-based units both exist, and both can engage in ground or air combat.
Furthermore, each type and role has its benefits and drawbacks. Finally, each has a unique flavor thanks to their individual set of passive abilities, standard attacks, special moves, and ultimate moves. Given these factors, it’s possible to create highly dynamic teams, with even mediocre units excelling in the best situations. To say nothing of the fact that switching the positions of two units can spell the difference between crushing defeat and a resounding victory, the importance of timing and order cannot be overstated.
Praey for the Gods
There are echoes of Zelda games in Praey for the Gods, precisely Breath of the Wild and Shadow of the Colossus, especially in the game’s crafting and monster-fighting systems. The game is fantastic, though it is relatively brief and could benefit from additional content; however, these criticisms are to be expected of an early-access release. Instead of relaxing as you make your way through forests, plains, and cliffs on the way to your destination between colossus fights, you’ll be forced to engage in tedious ingredient hunting and encounter meaningless random zombies, wild boar, and the occasional puzzle.
Difficulty aside, the game’s hunger, durability, stamina, ammo, sleep, and cold/health systems are all poorly designed and far more annoying than anything resembling fun. However, the game’s real problem is the utter inconsistency of its control schemes. Sometimes you can’t seem to get a good aim in the game. Some kind of grid-like stutter stepping glitch makes accurate aiming impossible.
Broken Pieces – Elise
For Broken Pieces, you’ll travel to a small fishing village on the coast of France that seems to be trapped in time. You play as Elise, the last person in the village, as she listens to cassette tapes to figure out what happened and whether or not she can lift the curse. The game is a throwback to classic horror/thriller titles, complete with low starting supplies, locked-in viewpoints, and a focus on rationing your ammunition.
I really enjoyed the gameplay and the puzzles. Gorgeous visuals and well-executed audio. The plot was fascinating, if a little muddled, but otherwise enjoyable. Despite its quirks, I didn’t find the combat too annoying when playing in story mode. After getting so immersed in the game’s world and mechanics, its conclusion was bittersweet.
Heaven’s Vault – Aliya Elasra
Heaven’s Vault is about archaeology and linguistics, and the narrative successfully reflects that. Most of the ‘lesser’ puzzles involve piecing together snippets of the ancient language using contextual and hieroglyphic clues. The main challenge lies in understanding the world’s backstory and how it relates to the events in which the protagonist is involved. And it’s effective! The visuals and soundtrack are a total treat, especially while sailing.
The game mechanics are a weakness. It was very cumbersome, and I got lost many times while sailing. The conversations and the hunt for artifacts grew tedious—the hunt for artifacts felt like unnecessary filler at times. The game’s developers put a lot of time and effort into making the game’s many worlds interesting and enjoyable. The protagonist’s clumsy movement belies the quality of the characters you’ll meet.
Beyond Contact- Quinn Hicks
Beyond Contact is a good game for the price, but it’s important to remember that even though the game’s premise is appealing, the gameplay is severely unbalanced. Your defenses are ineffective, consume too much energy, and force you to monitor your base constantly, but doing so leaves you vulnerable to the elements, starvation, and exhaustion as the rifts widen around you.
You’re constantly running around, day and night, looking for food, heat, or oxygen and never seeming to find either. Even if you manage to set up turrets, the raid threat will have increased to the point where the enemies will attack your base with increasingly bizarre weaponry and equipment. And after all that effort, a rift has opened up close to your base, bringing with it yet more chaos over which you have no control.
NARAKA: BLADEPOINT – Valda Cui
It is the most enjoyable player-versus-player game I’ve played in a long time. Despite my experience with similar games, this is different. In many ways, it is similar to Mordhau, but it is better in terms of melee combat. Overall, the BR component borrows heavily from Apex Legends, but it feels distinct enough that you won’t think you’re playing a clone.
In its essence, the game is enjoyable and satisfying to engage in. Great integration of melee and ranged tactics. It has a polished look and feels responsive controls, and battles flow smoothly. There are a lot of laughs to be had with the character creator, and the visuals are, of course, lovely.
Wanted: Dead – Lt. Hannah Stone
Wanted: Dead is an absolute masterpiece of our time! It is clearly influenced by video games of the ’90s but with its distinctive style. In addition to the game’s simple but endearing level design, the voice acting and cutscenes contribute significantly to its overall appeal. Combat is challenging but feels natural and will test your skills to the limit.
You’ll need time to get used to the controls and combos, but there are many practice levels to help you. Chained takedowns are easy to master, and you’ll be a pro in no time! You’ll find this much less challenging as you progress and gain access to better tools.
Timelie
Timelie is a fun and simple time-management puzzle. It can be played either step-by-step or in real-time, with the latter being discouraged for later levels due to the game’s extreme timing requirements. There are optional restrictions on some levels that present additional difficulties. In some games, you’ll face off against your former self in a parallel world where you have to replay a previous level to progress. There is nothing to worry about there; the game is ridiculously simple, so none of these will be particularly difficult.
The game’s mechanics are well-implemented. Although the mouse is the primary input device, players can also use the keyboard. This game’s time-reversal features are what make it stand out. You can watch it in rapid-fire succession to find out what happens, or you can go at your own pace and enjoy it frame by frame. Because of this leeway, players can take their time with the game, which, in my opinion, leads to various approaches.
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