9. Lara Croft
Along with the general aesthetic of the game, Lara Croft has been reimagined to fit the new tone, meaning that the absolutely-proportioned femme fatale of the previous games is gone, replaced with a more realistic body type and less cartoonish personality, which I expect both male and female players are liable to find more appealing. Though Lara is certainly wet around the ears in this adventure, she's plucky and smart in the face of peril, certainly more likeable and personable than the more arrogant, cocky demeanour she possessed in some previous games. More so than any other entry in the series, Lara is put through the wringer, and the game refuses to be flippant with how severely she can be injured, being impaled and sliced with various objects on the island, not to mention attacked by the various indigenous animals. The game aims to make the player feel protective of Lara, and though this goes a little out of the window once Lara transforms too hastily into a killing machine, this is unquestionably still the character at her must human and relatable.