20 Greatest Female Video Game Characters Of All Time

5. Ellie (The Last of Us)

Although the gameplay of The Last of Us was visceral and intense, the latest release from Naughty Dog would have been nothing without its characters. The dynamic between the battle-hardened Joel and the hopeful Ellie provided an unprecedented emotional heft to Playstation's best exclusive, and both survivors individually could be considered some of gamings best characters in their own right. But it was definitely the ferocity and the edginess of Ellie that won the hearts of players. More than capable on her own, the development of the character over the course of the game provided Sony's IP with its most intense moments, as player watched her scrape through from encounter to encounter, each time losing a bit of her innocence in the process. However it was probably the Left Behind DLC that cemented Ellie as a defining character in gaming. Instead of the action-packed campaign, this side-story opted to focus more on subtle world-building than it did on fire-fights, fleshing out Ellie's key relationships before she met up with Joel. At just two hours long, it boasted just as many heartbreaking moments as the main game.