It's 2023, and straight women are still totally unrepresented in AAA games. I can't think of a single non-created playable female main character who has a prominent canon male love interest in any major modern game.
I'm honestly really tired of people saying "She needs to focus on saving the world, there's no time for romance!" or "I'm glad that not every story has to have a romance subplot!" Meanwhile, nobody thinks it's weird that male protagonists like Drake or Geralt get multiple well-written partners in their games. Nobody bats an eye or cries "unrealistic!" when lesbian love blooms in The Last of Us.
Indeed this definitely is a thing in modern gaming. If a female character is a the main protagonist of any given game & the player has no choice in the matter, the odds are that she will be bi, lesbian, asexual/ambiguous, etc. Very rarely will she be depicted as explicitly straight. This is something I have definitely noticed myself over the past decade. It's not an accident either. I believe there is a combination of factors for why developers do this & I have my theories. If i try to list every female protagonist ever I'll be here all day listing characters so I'm just going to stick with examples of recent memory that I recall.
○Life is Strange series (Each female protagonist is bi)
○Metroid - Samus Aran is Asexual
○Final Fantasy 13 - Lightning is Asexual
○Tom Raider (Lara is 100% asexual/ambiguous Comic book spin off writer openly expressed intention to make Lara a lesbian )
○Horizon Zero Dawn - Alloy (is a lesbian)
○Last Of Us - Elle the face of the series has been established as a lesbian
○Control - Jesse Faden is asexual/ambiguous
○Overwatch - Tracer = poster girl of the game & was announced to be a lesbian
○The Walking Dead- Clementine was made bisexual in her final game apparence
○Dishonored 2 - Emily is asexual/ambiguous or bi depending on who you ask
○Bayonetta - Ambiguous Flirtatious, sexually expressive personality but no specific interest in anyone
○Gears of War - Kait Diaz - Ambiguous relationship with JD in
○GOW 4 that was made less ambiguously platonic in
○GOW 5 when she became the main protagonist.
○Mirror's Edge - Faith Conners- Asexual/Ambiguous- Romantic & sexual inclinations never come up
○Forspoken - Frey is Asexual and possibly lesbian
This is definitely an established and not just people's imagination. The only question is why this is.
I'm honestly really tired of people saying "She needs to focus on saving the world, there's no time for romance!" or "I'm glad that not every story has to have a romance subplot!" Meanwhile, nobody thinks it's weird that male protagonists like Drake or Geralt get multiple well-written partners in their games. Nobody bats an eye or cries "unrealistic!" when lesbian love blooms in The Last of Us.
Indeed this definitely is a thing in modern gaming. If a female character is a the main protagonist of any given game & the player has no choice in the matter, the odds are that she will be bi, lesbian, asexual/ambiguous, etc. Very rarely will she be depicted as explicitly straight. This is something I have definitely noticed myself over the past decade. It's not an accident either. I believe there is a combination of factors for why developers do this & I have my theories. If i try to list every female protagonist ever I'll be here all day listing characters so I'm just going to stick with examples of recent memory that I recall.
○Life is Strange series (Each female protagonist is bi)
○Metroid - Samus Aran is Asexual
○Final Fantasy 13 - Lightning is Asexual
○Tom Raider (Lara is 100% asexual/ambiguous Comic book spin off writer openly expressed intention to make Lara a lesbian )
○Horizon Zero Dawn - Alloy (is a lesbian)
○Last Of Us - Elle the face of the series has been established as a lesbian
○Control - Jesse Faden is asexual/ambiguous
○Overwatch - Tracer = poster girl of the game & was announced to be a lesbian
○The Walking Dead- Clementine was made bisexual in her final game apparence
○Dishonored 2 - Emily is asexual/ambiguous or bi depending on who you ask
○Bayonetta - Ambiguous Flirtatious, sexually expressive personality but no specific interest in anyone
○Gears of War - Kait Diaz - Ambiguous relationship with JD in
○GOW 4 that was made less ambiguously platonic in
○GOW 5 when she became the main protagonist.
○Mirror's Edge - Faith Conners- Asexual/Ambiguous- Romantic & sexual inclinations never come up
○Forspoken - Frey is Asexual and possibly lesbian
This is definitely an established and not just people's imagination. The only question is why this is.
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