yes, i know, Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice and horizon zero dawn exist, and id rather i dont know them, so what else you got?
EDIT:
Please stop with celeste, i get it, celeste is a thing, yall dont need to keep repeating that one
One of the best games I've ever played, and I don't play many games. I've even replayed it twice. Criminally underrated female protagonist with a super cool story :))
edit: sorry didnt see its been suggested a trillion times :c
Life is Strange games! More story then anything, and the dialog is a bit cringy these days but there's really no other games like it and I highly recommend them.
There's a lot of great recs in here! A few that I don't see posted yet:
Gone Home is a highly atmospheric exploration game where you play as Katie, a girl investigating her family's house after she arrives home and finds it empty. FYI in case you're with me in the "easily frightened" camp: this one can be just a little tense/scary in that "alone in the house at night" kind of way, but it's decidedly not a horror game.
A Short Hike is a(n unsurprisingly) short and sweet little game where you play as Claire, a bird who goes on a little hike/adventure through, essentially, an island nature preserve. One of my go-to "relax and feel good feelings" replays.
Bayonetta was already mentioned, but I'd specifically like to call out Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon. It's a quite different game from other Bayonetta installments, with creepy-cute fairy tale vibes and somewhat unique controls.
Does Crosscode count? I bought it on sale after hearing how good it is and so far sunk 40 hours in easily. Characters interact very well with one another and the combat system is high paced but accessable. Lots of great puzzles and the over arcing story is engaging.
I definitely have to add another vote for Celeste. The mental health theme was incredibly well done and it's one of the most memorable games I've ever played.
Dishonored 2. Haven't played through much of it because my laptop is a bit weak, but loved the first one.
I'm very much looking forward to Hades 2, and hope it won't be too much longer before we see some more news on it! I would like to try Transistor sometime too, as I've heard good things about it.
Returnal, a rogue like 3rd person shooter (sort of bullet hell) with a scifi alien setting and a mindfuck story. It's one of my favorite games I've played in years, both for the story and gameplay. I can't recommend it enough.
If you're familiar with the story of the first Last of Us game, Last of Us 2 is great and is centered around Ellie.
All the Metroid games, especially the 2D ones. If you like a good metroidvania, well, you can't go wrong with the game that created the genre.
I did not see Celeste mentioned, but if you're at least one bit into platforming, this gem is an absolute must-play. And must listen, I have the OST on repeat since it came out.
If beat them all are your jam, you need to play some P* games, and the ones with a female protagonist are the Bayonetta. Heavily sexualized, but to a point where it becomes some kind of parody of itself, you have to embrace the aesthetic. The rhythm is frantic, the scenario barely understandable, the action way over-the-top, and the combat gameplay tight as hell.
In more standard AAA waters, the two Tomb Raider reboots are pretty good, although a bit heavy on male-gaze.
Back to the indy side, What Remains of Edith Finch is a first person narrative game, in which you'll play as different characters. But the main ones are girls, and it matters in the plot.
technically any MMO (or other RPG) that lets you build a female character, but I would say FFXIV as there are a lot of interesting female secondary protags.
Hmm, by that standard, Pathfinder: Kingmaker and Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous both qualify, though opinions on the NPC companions vary.
Nier: Automata
Immortals: Fenyx Rising
A couple of the Star Ocean games let you choose between a Male or Female protag.
In approximate order of how strongly I recommend but all are recommended
Sayonara Wild Hearts
Epistory
Tales of Berseria
Tangle Tower (Pair of male and female protagonists through the whole game and they are very balanced for screentime)
Wargroove
Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale
Crypt of the Necrodancer
The Stillness of the Wind
Sable
Tsioque
The Flame in the Flood
The World Next Door
Never Alone
One Step from Eden
Mirror's Edge is a good one I haven't seen mentioned yet. A bit older by this point but it was a fun one.
Transistor is another great one. The gameplay was fine but the art and sound is incredible.
Trying to find some that haven't been talked about yet:
Echo. It's a fantastic experimental infiltration game with an AI that adapts to your way of playing. The setup is very impressive.
Pathologic: one of the three playable characters (the Changeling). It's a bizarre russian game, with an unique world, and messy gameplay. Can't recommend it enough.
Va11 Hall-A: chill bartending game in a cyberpunk setup.
The Blackwell series: comfy, kind of amateurish point and clicks by Wadjet Eye. I like them very much.
Transistor: weirdest game by Supergiant. You play as a redhead with a talking sword. I don't remember much about it except that it was good.
The Fall: (pushing it a little bit, since the protagonist is an AI, but I've always seen here as female.) Criminally underrated puzzle games, disguised as metroidvanias.
Eliza (by Zachtronics): the only visual novel I enjoyed. It's hard to explain, it's about AI, burnout, whether tech dehumanizes people, and solitaire.
Hedon Duology: for something completely different, it's a slightly kinky retroshooter, with amazon Orcs fighting demons.
It may sound a bit dumb, but it's excellent. Huge levels, interesting worldbuilding, and a gameplay based on exploration, puzzles as well as shooting.
There's probably a ton more, but that's all I can think about at the moment.
Most games I can think of have been mentioned, but I found Signalis to be an interesting experience assuming you can get past the annoying inventory management
The Mass Effect series is still my favorite, you can choose your protagonist to be female and the game will adapt accordingly. Or Dragon Age if you are more into fantasy.
Great list from @mint@beehaw.org, just a few more: Gris is an absolute gem.
The A Plague Tale duology is also up there (with Requiem being my favourite game of all time, so I'm extremely biased, sorry / not sorry :D).
It's older, but The Longest Journey is good. Unfortunately, the final game in the series kinda sucks.
While it's an ensemble, most people would agree that the main character of Final Fantasy VI is a woman—they just might disagree about which woman is the lead.
I also liked the first Xenosaga game, but again, it's a series that goes pretty badly downhill.
A group of developers have created a version of the game and it's sequels that runs on modern machines: http://nolfrevival.tk/
Edit: this was meant as a reply to @KIM_JONG_JUICEBOX 's comment. No One Lives Forever is a whip smart spy FPS that nails the Bond aesthetic but stars an unforgettable female protagonist, Kate Archer. Download it for free above.
There's Alien: Isolation if you're looking for a horror game. Every so often I'll go and give it another playthrough. That game was phenomenal, especially if you're a fan of the Alien movies
Going Under. It's a goofy rougelike game which parodizes corporate companies and startups. You play as an unpaid marketing intern who needs to kill monsters from failed startups, but she applied for marketing,
I recommend CrossCode. It's a puzzle-heavy top-down action-RPG. Think 2D Zelda games, but faster paced and sci-fi themed. You play as Lea, an amnesiac who's trying to recover her memories by playing a fictional MMO called CrossWorlds. I love basically everything about it: the art, the music, the characters, the story, the puzzles, the level design; it's just great.
How about Final Fantasy XIII? The first game has a full sized party, but Lightning is clearly the main character and the focus. Second game costars Lightning's younger sister and a new male character. Third game is just Lighting.
This is a very obscure one, but there is a mod for Freespace 2 called Blue Planet: War in Heaven which has an amazingly well written story and female lead.
There's this weird game from a while back that didn't get much hype.
You'll find it either as "The Experiment" or "Experience112". Got some interesting mechanics, which later influenced another niche game I just realized has a female protagonist: Republique.
Technically, you don't play as a female protagonist. But you're essentially not the main character and you have no discernible physical features anyway, so you could just apply whatever gender you want to whoever you think "your character" is.
It's kind of like... "Female protagonist by proxy". I feel like that's a decent description. The point is that the main character is a (generally) well-written lady protag.
Extremely retro, but currently available on the Mac App Store: Mess O' Trouble. It was a WorldBuilder game--think Infocom, but with static pictures you could interact with. I believe your choice of Daredevil Dawn or Fearless Frank had some impact on the gameplay if you got far enough, but child me never did.
Forspoken isn't bad.... As long as it's played completely dubbed in Japanese with subs on. Obviously last of us 2 was really great, horizon is also very well acted, and very well done. I think it also is inclusive in a way that matters where some games just replace the protag with a woman, these games build it into narrative as well. In the same vein, I really liked life is strange (even colors to be honest)
Here's one a ton of people slept on, Disciples Liberation. The protagonist is a chick, you can be pious, kind, hateful, evil and/or fuck your way through the entire world if you want. You can be bi, straight, not get involved in romance at all, doesn't matter. But no matter how you play, you are an absolute badass that can barely beat two soldiers at the start and can nuke literal gods by the end.
The code realize games are pretty good. Also gonna shout out Pretty Princess Party and it's sequel Pretty Princess Magical Garden Island. They're both on the girlier side of things but don't get as much attention as they should.
Dreamfall: The Longest Journey. After playing it for a while I couldn't stop until I reached the end. It looks aged now but controls are generally nice and the story is amazing. And I think the character feels feminine, it's not just a neutral character with a female skin.
I just started playing Asscreed Odyssey last week, having fun so far. A bit of a departure for the series, more of a Witcher-style open world action-adventure game in ancient Greece. You can select between player characters Alexios (male) and Kassandra (female), I picked Kassandra, I like her, she seems decently written and the voice acting is great.
Elden Ring is incredible, although it's silent protagonist (aside from grunts etc), and might be too difficult. I know many women who love it though.
CrossCode is an excellent neo-retro overhead 2D action RPG. Great combat system, puzzles, and story.
Valheim isn't very story heavy but it's an incredible exploration/survival/crafting game, one of my all time favourites.
Steve Jackson's Sorcery! Parts 1 & 2 (and sequels Part 3 and Part 4): Masterfully crafted interactive "choose your own adventure" videogame, pretty much a video-book with an immersive story and wonderful illustrations. Highly recommended, I've been enjoying Jerma985's streams of it. You're constantly making choices that will completely change the outcome of the game, there is a rewind button if you need it.
Control has already been mentioned by others, I also recommend it. Great writing, graphics, lots of humour in the environment. Especially if you're a fan of SCP. Honestly the combat got a little monotonous towards the end but it didn't overstay its welcome. The documents you find around the world are hilarious and well worth a read.
Chorus is a space dogfighting game that's quite fun. Has good storytelling. Doesn't pad time with repetitive/recycled quests so progression always feels unique. Some people find the inner monologue of the protagonist annoying but it's fine imo
fantastic game. The platforming is fun with surprising depth. The Rice mechanics have way more depth than I can stand, but it's still forgiving enough that you never feel severely punished for messing up.
A lot of good suggestions here. Remember Me and Mirror's Edge are also good, perhaps not as great some of the truly outstanding ones already posted though. But if you're looking for something with a cyberpunk edge, both will fit the bill nicely.
I enjoyed the chill, stylized vibes in Sable. Coming of age, botw-inspired exploration, beautiful world. No (?)Combat—I don’t remember fully, but very little at least. Just explore, experiment, and engage the world around you. A passable world-build/story too!
Soul Hackers 2 is a nice little palette cleanser of an RPG. Not as expansive as other Megaten games but it kept me engaged all the way through. The main party are all adults too which is a nice change of pace.