In gaming (and sometimes in life), women are constantly pitted against each other, rarely lifting one another up or engaging in genuine female friendships. Poorly written female characters typically fight for shallow, petty reasons, falling into the trap of misogyny and monogamy by arguing over their looks or men, namely male protagonists who would rather cheat than havehealthy polyamorous relationships.Great female rivalries in video gamesfeature women of equal wits, passion, and fighting ability who become adversaries over bitter betrayals, the fate of their worlds, or even just career success. Fighting or action-adventure games are the unsurprising battleground for most female rivalries, where constant conflict is necessary to propel plots forward and weave compelling narratives for women.
Many female feuds start at birth between siblings or are childhood friends turned enemies, but some start between strangers with opposing goals. Numerous female feuds are irreconcilable and fated to last forever, but some lucky ladies progress to wholesome friendships or even romances. These fierce female protagonists might murder their enemies, but they would also rather die than lose their arch nemesis forever.
The ultimate stereotype of an unlikable, rich, mean girl,Emilybullies her frenemies in the 2015 interactive narrative-based game,Until Dawn.In classic horror movie style,Until Dawngives players the freedom to decide which unpleasant characters die or survive until dawn. Unsurprisingly, rescuing arude, materialistic teenageris no player’s first priority, as Emily burned many bridges with her long-suffering friends. First, Emily and her bestie,Jessica,orchestrate a mean prank onHannahfor crushing on Emily’s then-boyfriend, Mike, which escalates to Hannah and her sister Beth falling off a cliff to their deaths.
Emily returns to cheat on her new boyfriend, Matt, with her recent ex, Mike, betraying Jessica in the process, who Emily now despises for dating Mike. The rivalry between the former friends spirals into a mutual cat fight involving slut-shaming, name-calling, and threats of violence. By the time players are trusted to protect Emily, they’ll be more tempted to let Emily die than give in to her whiny demands. Eventually, Emily is bitten by a wendigo and her friends are wrongly convinced she will transform into a monster. Unsurprisingly, few players hesitated to seize the opportunity to shoot Emily in the head. In one ofUntil Dawn’smost ironic death scenes, Emily can be shredded to pieces by a wendigo version of Hannah. While some players may find Emily redeemable due to her snarky humor, Emily’s rivalries with other female characters are petty, shallow, and easily-provoked, often started while fighting over men.
No female feud in gaming could be as short-lived, comedic, and whimsically endearing asBayonetta and Jeanne’s. In the 2009 fantasy action-adventureBayonetta, its titular character awakens from a 500-year sleep without her memories, confused as to why a blond Umbran witch with matching abilities named Jeanne is hounding her for battles. Jeanne was once Bayonetta’s childhood friend, and with Bayonetta being an outcast, that was no small thing. A skilled opponent and future leader of the Umbran witches, Jeanne was every bit Bayonetta’s equal until Angels of Paradiso attacked. To protect her friend, Jeanne impaled Bayonetta with a dagger that sealed her away for a half-millennium.
When Jeanne attacks Bayonetta, she is under the mind control of Balder, who began the war and is secretly Bayonetta’s father. Once reunited, Bayonetta and Jeanne remain close friends throughout the franchise, repeatedly saving each other’s lives. By combining their hilariouslycampy fighting styles(including doing handstands while shooting bullets from guns strapped to their feet), these two witches dominate all their enemies throughout the sequels. This wholesome duo bonds over sarcastic jokes, cheerful Christmas shopping trips, and even quirky post-credit dance battles, transforming this female feud into a long-lasting friendship.
Tekkenis responsible for many iconic familial feuds, including the sparring sisters,Nina and Anna Williams. Since debuting inTekkenin 1994, Nina and Anna’s unending sibling rivalry has overpowered mind control and shattered their father’s dying wish to reconcile. Favorite-child Nina followed the family business as an assassin, triggering Anna to repeatedly sabotage Nina’s kills. InTekken 2,both were forcibly placed into a cryogenic sleep, which erased Nina’s memories of her sister. Anna tries to deter Nina from her bloody career, but seeing Anna restores Nina’s memories instantly, launching a week-long showdown.
Their squabbles mainly involve Nina tormenting her younger sister, humiliating her by cutting off her clothes, taking shower photos, and drawing lipstick on Anna’s unconscious face after battles. Nina’s extreme retaliation of blowing up castles whenever Anna gets the upper hand drives Anna to use rocket launchers and machine guns to quell her sister’s murder sprees. To add insult to injury, Nina takes the idea of sisters stealing each other’s clothes to the extreme when she wears Anna’s stolen wedding dress to murder Anna’s nameless mafioso fiancé inTekken 7. Tekkenfans were understandably hyped for this plot to continue in the 2024 sequel, and were devastated when Anna didn’t appear as a playable character inTekken 8to seek revenge. This anti-climax was speculated as proof ofTekkendirector Harada hatingAnna Williams, but undoubtedly nothing will stop these warring sisters from resuming their ridiculous, murderous family feud in future games.
Starting with their 1992 debut in the originalMortal Kombatseries,Mileenahas been the vicious villain toKitana’shonorable hero for decades. Adopted by evil Emperor Shao Kahn, Kitana and Mileena beginMortal Kombat 2as his loyal supporters and heirs. While Mileena remained faithful, Kitana came to despise Kahn’s immoral rulership and eventually led armies to dethrone him, thereby making a deadly enemy of Mileena. Described as a disgusting abomination, Mileena is a monstrous clone of Kitana created by a dark sorcerer, with Tarkatan blood in her veins that results in horrifyingly sharp teeth which she uses to devour her enemies.
Throughout the franchise, Mileena andKitana repeatedly murderand imprison each other, while taking turns as Empresses, with Mileena’s cruel reign being regularly overthrown. After Kitana’s death, Mileena impersonates her sister to gain power over her armies, until she is defeated and Kitana is resurrected. In Mileena’s sympathetic arcade ending inMortal Kombat 11, the sadistic clone is capable of a loving relationship with companion Tanya and a daughter who adores her despite her mutated appearance. In the 2023 franchise reboot,Mortal Kombat 1,Mileena is no longer Kitana’s clone, but her beloved biological twin sister. In this timeline, Mileena is infected with a Tarkatan disease that causes her to grow fangs, but they can be concealed with a serum to prevent her people banishing her. Kitana is protective and loyal towards Mileena, despite believing that she would be a greater ruler herself. Mileena states her bond with Kitana cannot be broken, but fears Kitana envies her throne, restarting their iconic rift.
Alongside championing healthy female friendships in their games, like Nadine and Chloe inUncharted 4: Lost Legacy, or wholesome duoEllieand Riley inThe Last of Us: Left Behind, Naughty Dog also crafts fearsome female rivalries. When Ellie’s beloved father figure,Joel, is murdered byAbbyinThe Last of Us Part 2,Abby simultaneously becomes the series’ most hated character and Ellie’s arch nemesis. Ellie loses everything during their feud; she returns home to discover her unprotected girlfriend and child are missing, and she doesn’t even have enough fingers left to play Joel’s guitar. No fan could fault a grieving Ellie for mercilessly hunting Abby down, but this iconic rivalry was initially and unintentionally started by Joel himself in the events ofThe Last of Us Part 1. In the first game, the cordyceps-immune Ellie was selected to be sacrificed to create a cure for the undead infection, but Joel rescued Ellie from the deadly surgery by shooting the surgeon at the last minute. This surgeon was Abby’s father, motivating her to commit the vengeful murder of Joel inPart 2.
Hence, Ellie and Abby enter into a vicious circle of killing each other’s families and seeking revenge via bloody warfare. Parallels are drawn between these animal lovers, as Joel and Ellie’s heartwarming giraffe encounter is compared to Abby and her father helping an injured zebra in the sequel. Even worse, Abby is shown affectionately doting on her dog, which Ellie later kills to avoid being savaged. Both Abby and fan favorite Ellie have justifiable motives, exhibit endearing traits, and commit countless atrocities, making it difficult to decide which playable character to root for in this twisted, impossible rivalry. Ultimately, every time Ellie or Abby force each other at knife or gunpoint to resume their bloodthirsty rampage, these formidable women always decide to spare each other.
