Lara Croft, the star of Core Design, Crystal Dynamics, and Eidos-Montréal’s action-adventure series, is the most iconic video game character of all time, according to the results of BAFTA’s latest Players’ Poll, which were published this week following the contributions of 4,000 gamers. Shelley Blond, Lara Croft’s original voice actress, will present an award at this year’s BAFTA Games Awards, on Thursday, April 11.
Top 20 Most Iconic Video Game Characters of All Time, ranked in order of votes received:
- Lara Croft (Tomb Raider)
- Mario (Super Mario)
- Agent 47 (Hitman)
- Sonic the Hedgehog (Sonic)
- Sackboy (LittleBigPlanet)
- Pac-Man (Pac-Man)
- Link (Legend of Zelda)
- Master Chief (HALO)
- Kratos (God of War)
- Shadowheart (Baldur’s Gate 3)
- Arthur Morgan (Red Dead Redemption 2)
- Pikachu (Pokémon)
- Steve (Minecraft)
- Solid Snake (Metal Gear Solid)
- Crash Bandicoot (Crash Bandicoot)
- Cloud Strife (Final Fantasy VII)
- Astarion (Baldur’s Gate 3)
- Kazuma Kiryu (Yakuza)
- Ellie Williams (The Last of Us)
- Nathan Drake (Uncharted)
Blond told the BBC in a recent interview:
- “What’s so iconic about Lara Croft is the fact that she is a female lead in a video game.”
- “She’s all about girl power and female empowerment. She’s at the forefront, she is what the adventure is.”
- “I’ve heard so many stories and that is a magical thing, which I don’t think a little yellow face eating circles – or a hedgehog – could do.”
Blond with Lara’s original and very first model, Nathalie Cook, back in 2021:
BAFTA on Croft:
Lara Croft first appeared in Tomb Raider for the Sega Saturn in 1996, nearly three decades ago, and has since been remastered and evolved several times for television, film, video games and even her own live immersive experience in London, England. Lara Croft has appeared in over 15 games, three films, multiple novelisations and comic book adaptations, and an upcoming Netflix animated series. This year alone, Tomb Raider I–III Remastered was released across multiple platforms and the highly anticipated Netflix TV show Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft is scheduled for release later in the year.