Best Female Anti-Hero Characters In Games

Highlights

• Female anti-heroes in gaming are complex, showcasing a mix of cruelty and coolness with hidden depths and intentions.
• Characters like Lae’zel, Yennefer, and Bayonetta challenge stereotypes in their quest for goals, often involving tough choices.
• These anti-heroes in video games, whether seeking redemption, power, or balance, navigate a world of betrayal and revenge.

Anti-heroes are an ever-popular archetype of character that has been expanding in video games as of late. Many of the best anti-heroes in gaming are women, and these female characters showcase a wide range of identities and concepts, showing how no matter the cost of their goal, they’ll get it done, whether that’s through death and destruction, or even cruelty. Yet, there’s always a shimmer of light within cruelty and coolness.

The best female anti-heroes often exhibit complex emotions and motives that will have other characters and players questioning them all the way, but nevertheless, harboring a layer of respect or understanding for what they do.

7 Lae’zel

A Githyanki Warrior In Baldur’s Gate 3 Whose Principles Overule Morals

When players first meet Lae’zel on the nautiloid in Baldur’s Gate 3, it’s with a sword to their throat. Lae’zel may appear as brash, rude, and violent, but that’s within her teachings as a githyanki warrior, someone who is desperate to prove herself to her queen Vlaakith and rid herself of the tadpole that will threaten to turn her into a mind flayer.

Lae’zel’s story is steeped in doubt and deeper meaning than she lets on, but just judging her by her shell and her actions, players will see that Lae’zel can often be pretty bad, preferring to see Tav indulge in selfish acts and violence over helping the innocents.

6 Yennefer Of Vengerberg

A Sorceress With Often Selfish Goals In The Witcher Series

Yennefer is one of the most interesting characters in the fantasy genre, and The Witcher series in particular due to how she refuses to conform to the stereotype of the genre itself. Yennefer has goals that exist outside of being a sorceress, but they are often done in favor of aiding and keeping Ciri safe, the girl that she views as her own daughter thanks to her complex relationship with Geralt.

Yennefer is often a wild card, and despite having close friends who indulge in magic, her selfish goals have often seen her exist outside of The Lodge and their political agenda. Yennefer has killed, and done far worse than killing, all to stay alive in a cruel world.

5 Jack

Mass Effect 2’s Criminal With A Dark Past

Jack is one of the more complex characters appearing in Mass Effect 2, and even upon her first encounter, she is seen as morally corrupted, villainous, and bloodthirsty. Jack will not shy away from killing anyone who gets in her way, and it will take a lot of work for the player and Shepherd to guide her toward a path of redemption, creating a balanced anti-hero in this RPG.

Jack deserves a second chance, since after all, she has a tragic backstory that demands sympathy. Jack’s behavior and her actions are a direct result of her past and are best experienced by players, and whether players romance her or keep her as a friend, her anti-hero path is the best way forward.

4 Ada Wong

A Rogue Agent In The Resident Evil Series With Mysterious Allegiences

An enigmatic spy, Ada Wong has a secret past and a secret role in the Resident Evil series. She is often seen working into the hands of those with evil intent, but then again, she can’t help but have a soft spot for Leon Kennedy, whom she will often help and flirt with simultaneously.

If there is a virus encountered in Resident Evil, it’s more often than not that Ada Wong will be there, and she never kisses and tells. Wong usually seeks information from her clients, but she also has a true purpose that undervalues them, and she doesn’t care who she has to betray to obtain it.

3 Ellie Williams

A Woman Who Walks A Bloody Path Of Revenge In The Last Of Us Part 2

Ellie never had an easy life, and discovering she was humanity’s one chance at a cure against the Cordyceps virus that has ravished the world into a post-apocalyptic state, can’t be easy. The world is a cruel place, and it took the one man Ellie ever cared for, ever loved as a father, before she could make amends with what he had done.

As such, Ellie’s journey through The Last of Us Part 2 is one steeped in revenge, and she kills anyone who gets in the way of her path. Ellie is a tragic and dark character, drowning in her own grief, and adding a list of bodies in her odyssey, no matter if they are young or pregnant.

2 Valorie

Night City’s Newest Merc In Cyberpunk 2077

V’s journey in Cyberpunk 2077 isn’t going to be an easy one, and after she was shot in the head, the Relic chip implanted inside her has begun growing, reconstructing her head, but as Johnny Silverhand, not as Valorie. V must fight through Night City, its gangs, and the people that seek to use her for their own gang, to achieve the one goal that she needs: to live.

V is the perfect anti-hero, as she has understandable motivations, desiring nothing but to stay as herself, and not lose her identity, not fade away. Throughout the game, V will encounter many morally questionable characters, and she can decide their fate through her growing relationship with Johnny, and her abilities as a merc.

1 Bayonetta

The Titular Character Is The Balance Of Light & Dark

Bayonetta exceeds beauty and attitude, and she is often seen doing heroic deeds, albeit, without wanting people to know it was in fact a heroic deed. Whilst she’s more good than bad, she likes to give off the vibe that she can be a tad naughty, and her flirtatious behavior and fighting style show that she’s not afraid to get in the mix of a battle for fun or for the safety of others.

The perfect way to describe Bayonetta is as a hero wearing an anti-hero mask, but for the sake of appearance, she can remain one of the best anti-heroes in gaming, despite her soft heart and violent hair. At the end of the day, Bayonetta’s fight is all about keeping the balance of reality.