Why are female leads so much better than male leads? “Where have all the good [video game] men gone?

With so many engaging and likeable female leads, the men are becoming increasingly similar and too one-dimensional

According to The Washington Post, 48% of gamers are women. Of course, these statistics do include mobile gaming, but that’s still a huge amount. It seems that the gaming industry has realised this and has been putting more of an emphasis on female leads. And it’s worked. These protagonists are much more engaging, likeable, and make for much better narrative points. Male characters, on the other hand, need to grow with the times and leave behind the ‘masculine’ and stoic stereotype.

Things have certainly changed from early Tomb Raider days, where the attractive Lara Croft was made with men mainly in mind. The recent reboot trilogy has crafted a much more well-rounded Lara, and not just in the way you'd expect, but in motive and personality. Take, for example, her reaction when she first had to hunt an innocent deer, and how that emotion expertly increased when she killed her first villain in self-defence. Adding those layers of emotion allowed Croft to grow in front of our eyes, building a much more powerful relationship with the lead.

Horizon Zero Dawn’s Aloy follows a similar template. Her backstory, and future, is shrouded in mystery, which makes her naive to the world, just as we are. She wears her emotions on her sleeve, with well chosen dialogue allowing the player to see into her mind, and we learn about the new world with her. Neither Aloy or Lara begin their journeys as completed characters and both are willing to show weakness.

This seems to be a difficult approach for male leads, though. Nathan Drake can confidently risk his own life to save a damsel in distress, in Uncharted, just to laugh it off after or have a witty remark. Nathan’s incredibly likeable, and we do see him grow into an adult, but even as a child he didn’t show weakness. How can we be expected to form a bond with someone who doesn’t grow as we do, or feel when we feel? It’s an all too familiar formula which too many male protagonists fall victim to.

There’s been one glaring exception to this rule throughout the years: Link. Zelda does fall into the traditional plot of saving the princess in need, but with a few distinctions which make Link different. Link never speaks. We see his facial reactions in cut scenes, but his lack of speaking allows us to provide Link with the personality we want him to have. He was actually named ‘Link’ to express the connection between the player and the character, and his muteness allows this to happen. There’s no witty remarks, no joking after a serious battle, Link can be all we want him to be.

A recent shift in gaming stories has allowed for male characters to show emotion in a certain way: the rise of the father figure. The previously cerebral Kratos has been allowed to show emotion in God of War 4 when Atreus is in danger. Likewise, Joel’s bond with Ellie allows us to see Joel’s more caring and nurturing side, in The Last of Us. But why is it that male protagonists can only show their emotional sides when they’re father figures? Male characters are just being written really poorly right now…

Perhaps the most obvious example of this is when Assassin’s Creed included the first playable female lead: Evie Frye. She’s interested in learning, in the cause, whereas Jacob (her brother) seems to only be there for the fun of fighting. Two siblings with incredibly opposing portrayals. Sadly this is what modern gaming seems to be: female characters can show emotion and progression of character, but men cannot convey any sense of weakness. Arguably, gaming is just an ugly reflection of today’s society, but maybe, it could be the social tool we all need to make men ‘man up’ in the media?