Could you decide who your favourite gaming character is?
To celebrate the 20th BAFTA Gaming Awards, 4000 gamers from all over the world voted in a poll to establish the Most Iconic Video Games Character of All Time, ahead of the awards on 11th April 2024. The top 20 list includes characters of all shapes and sizes from anthropomorphic animals to gun-wielding spies and brings together the most recognisable faces from across the world of games. These characters boast a collective 44 BAFTA Games Awards between them over the past two decades and are some of the most recognisable across the gaming sphere, with many also appearing in films, books and merchandise as a result of their popularity.
Taking the top spot was heroine Lara Croft, star of the Tomb Raider franchise. The original Tomb Raider game was released in 1996 and since then, the franchise has sold more than 85 million copies across 20 titles. Lara’s popularity has seen her featured in films; the fearless archaeologist has been played by both Angelina Jolie and Alicia Vikander, and the highly anticipated Netflix TV show Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft is scheduled for release later in the year. Lara Croft even has her own immersive experience in London!
In second place we have everyone’s favourite plumber, Nintendo’s Mario. Mario was originally created by legendary Japanese game designer and recipient of BAFTA’s prestigious Fellowship, Shigeru Miyamoto. Mario first appeared as Jumpman in the 1981 arcade game, Donkey Kong, but since has become a popular character in his own right – most recently featuring in the Super Mario Bros. Movie where he was voiced by Chris Pratt and, this year’s BAFTA-nominated game, Super Mario Bros. Wonder.
Other notable characters included the famous blue hedgehog, Sonic, who first sprinted onto screens in 1991 as the star of Sonic the Hedgehog for the Sega Genesis and Pac-Man, where players are chased through a maze by ghosts, which was first released in 1980. We can’t forget about the only Pokémon to feature on the list, which is of course, Pikachu. Pikachu has appeared in over 100 different games, films and tv shows, as well as making appearances in multiple comic books and manga.
One of the most customisable characters on this list, Sackboy made his video game debut in 2008 as the star of Sony’s LittleBigPlanet to instant critical acclaim and making the list is 2011’s Minecraft Steve. As of 2024, Minecraft is the best-selling video game of all time and Steve went on to make appearances in four other games including the Minecraft spinoff Minecraft Dungeons.
To see if your favourite character made the top 20, you can find the full list The Most Iconic Video Games Characters of All Time here or if you would like to watch the 20th BAFTA Games Awards take place on Thursday 11 April 2024 at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, the awards will be livestreamed to audiences across the globe via BAFTA’s YouTube, Twitch, and X channels.
