The thought of having a needle, or a couple of needles, pierce your skin over and over again for hours is enough to make some people sick. The process is painful, and much like the gameplay in Dark Souls, tests your willpower and patience. As someone who has multiple tattoos, I can tell you that not only is it an expensive fashion statement, but it takes dedication to get an image permanently carried around on your skin. These badass chicks have such a love for the games they play that they needed to carry a reminder of their struggles and their triumphs with them forever.
The things I’ll be noting is that these tattoos have a few technical parts that I will briefly explain. Line-work is looking at the outline, or really any lines of detail within the piece. Good line-work is straight, smooth lines with no bumps or blowouts. Bad line-work looks scratchy and like a 5-year-old drew it. Blowouts are where the artist either did the tattoo at a weird angle, or their needle went too deep, causing the ink to fade, or create a shadow along a line (think of when you erase pencil with a crappy eraser). Saturation is how well the ink took to the client’s skin. Good saturation gives off bold color and is vibrant, where badly done tattoos will have weak color and are faded. Contrast is how good the image stands out from its background.
20 Triforce On FaptainxAmerica
Nothing like a well done chest piece on a beautiful girl to bring back memories of reminding people that the main character is actually not called Zelda: his name is Link. This ink is a great tribute to the Triforce from Legend of Zelda. The line-work is smooth, and the color is not only well saturated, but choosing to put the bright yellow next to the bold black makes for great contrast! This tattoo looks to be modeled after the Triforce symbol that was made popular by The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, and has been a fan-favorite for tattoos ever since. Seeing one done big and bold, with such precision work and great use of negative space, makes this a tattoo that our boy Link would be proud to wear.
19 Sailor-Sylveonn: Ready To Take On The Elite Four
Looks like this sailor has done her training and managed to nab all of the Gym badges from Pokémon! The linework and color in these tattoos is perfect. Great saturation of the ink, as well as crisp lines, make for a readable and flattering tattoo. All I have left to ask her is what Pokémon she brought into battle for each gym, and who she picked as her starter. The nicest part of this tattoo is that even if you do not have knowledge of one of the most popular games in video game history, the tattoo on its own is a great piece of art. While that tat must have hurt, nothing hurts more than losing to Brock and his Onyx with my little Squirtle.
18 Kinda-Awkward-Foxtails And The Firefly’s Ink
While she isn’t showing as much tattooed skin as some of the other ladies on our list, she has one of the most badass gaming tattoos out there. That symbol is the symbol of the guerrilla combat experts called The Fireflies in The Last of Us. It’s very well-done, well placed, with clean precision line-work. The Last of Us is one of the saddest video games out there, and The Fireflies are a beacon of hope in the corrupted, apocalyptic hell that the world has become. This tattoo is a great representation of the in-game character’s rebellion, with the added effect that only hardcore fans will recognize this sick gaming piece. The only thing more bold than Kinda-Awkward-Foxtails’ hair is going to be how bold that all black piece is going to stay.
17 PistachioZombie Flies Us To The Moon
Her awesome outline to a great tattoo is a fantastic tribute to The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask. The haunting mask, worn by Skull Kid throughout the game, is accompanied by a perfect copy of the Moon from the nights in Majora’s Mask. The two fairies, belonging to Skull Kid and Link, make their appearance floating down from the Mask to a Young Link ready for combat. This piece looks great just as an outline, with bold clean line-work and great contrast between the dark blacks and the use of negative space. While that mask gave me nightmares as a child, it’s a badass, solid tattoo. The artist clearly captures the feel of the game, with its strange and dark overtones, into a piece of art I’d pay good money for.
16 HebijoKitten And Skull Kid
Let’s just keep on truckin’ with the The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask themed tattoos! This representation of Skull Kid and Tael is masterfully done by the artist. Majora’s Mask is one of the darker, scarier Zelda games made, which seems to go perfect with HebijoKitten’s punk-rock look. The placement is great, allowing for a clear image of the tattoo to be seen at an attractive angle. The color saturation within the tattoo is great; she’s going to have a vibrant tattoo for a very long time. The line-work looks great with no noticeable blowouts or color outside the lines. The attention to detail in this piece is what makes it stand out among all the rest as a great tattoo. A badass gaming tattoo for a badass chick!
15 JennaBeth10: Do A Barrel Roll!
Do a barrel roll! Everyone has fond memories of Peppy the Hare shouting Star Fox’s signature quote. The only thing we remember more is saving Slippy’s terribly piloted ship from impending doom. This Arwing looks great, flying in at high speeds! Going for a more minimalist look, with less detail, this tattoo easily identifiable and was a great artistic choice. The clean exhaust lines behind the engines made the whole piece feel more dynamic and gave the whole tattoo depth and movement. The colors look bold, with awesome line-work holding the whole piece together as a great homage to everyone’s favorite space animal squadron. Maybe Jenna is the co-pilot you want for when you take Andross on, and help you forget how bad Star Fox Adventures was.
14 Lola Cola And The Ladies Of Overwatch
This Overwatch themed tattoo is super badass! Any fan of Overwatch recognizes D. Va’s signature Bunny Rabbit logo. But more than that, this tattoo represents all the women of Overwatch! We see Mercy’s wings, Pharah’s Rockets, Symmetra’s Shield, a snowflake for Mei, and a blink from Tracer, all of which make for a dynamic, neo-traditional tattoo that any gaming fan would wear with pride. She will have to continue her sleeve to better represent Widowmaker, Ana, and Orisa, but we’ll just let that slide for now. The line-work and color saturation are impeccable, and the placement and artistry in the arrangement is unmatched. The color choice is what makes this tattoo really stand out. The bold, bright colors make this a beautiful piece, and with the saturation supporting that, this tattoo is going to look great in the years to come.
13 Yoshiisbeast And Her Baby
Okay, this thing is way too freakin’ cute! Everybody loves Yoshi, and everyone has had the heartbreaking moment of ditching our Yoshi to make that leap to safety. This tattoo is utterly adorable. The line-work is solid, with the perfect Yoshi shade of green ink to make our favorite dinosaur into our favorite little baby dino tattoo. The half-egg was a great artistic choice, making the tattoo have depth and a sense of scale. The colors are really what blows me away, here. The saturation is precise, making for a long lasting tattoo that will keep its bold colors. Once her skin recovers from the needle-pounding it took, it should turn into a beautiful, bold piece. If this doesn’t make you want to replay Yoshi’s Story, nothing will!
12 Aku Aku And MaryCemetary
Ahh, Crash Bandicoot’s witch doctor has never looked better than paired with a badass pair of combat boots and inked onto a lovely woman. Now, what I’m not sure about is if you grab that tattoo three times if it will make you invincible for a short time, just like in the game, or if MaryCemetary would take your hand off before you were able to find out. Aku Aku, who has the coolest voice line in history, is one of the most iconic parts of the Crash Bandicoot series. The tattoo itself looks great, with solid line-work and good placement. Adding in the fruit and boxes helps make this Crash tattoo have even more attention to detail. The colors could have been a little more bold in my opinion, but overall, it’s a badass and great gaming tattoo.
11 BioShock Splicer By Katelyn Crane
BioShock’s Splicers have never looked so good. This neo-traditional Splicer looks significantly better-looking than any Splicer I’ve seen in any Bioshock game. The classic pin-up look mixed with the blood and the horror of a Splicer add for a nice contrast in terms of artwork. The color work and attention to detail is what really elevates this tattoo into a work of art. The glowing blue butterfly shows any BioShock fan that the artist used a Splicer from BioShock 2 as a reference material. Pin-ups are one of the harder types of tattoos to get to look attractive on the skin, so this artist clearly has some talent in working with a needle. This piece is just as awesome as the game it comes from!
10 Kristen Nunez Plays Nazi Zombies
You may have to tilt your head for this one. It’s going to be hard to read this upside down, but do your best. Kristen is rocking not only Call of Duty’s Pack-a-Punch Machine, but that awful Monkey Bomb which is a solid sign that no, you did not get a ray gun. This pretty girl gets to remind every gamer of the hours they spent barricading doors of the players who dump their money into Pack-a-Punch instead of opening the damn door to the next area. The line-work looks solid, and the images are clear and easily recognizable as the reference material they were based on. Someone should really let her know that Call of Duty does not have the best reputation in the gaming community right now.
9 Nicolethirdeye Is Catching Them All
Umbreon and Espeon are two of the most coveted fan-favorites in the Pokémon games. It’s easy to see why Nicolethirdeye would choose them for two beautiful, neo-traditional thigh pieces. The pieces are both very well done, with each of the Pocket Monsters being easily identifiable, with clean edges and line-work for each of their frames. What’s super cool is the artist’s choice with the backgrounds of each piece and how, much like the Pokémon, they are contrasting and nearly opposites. The fact that they both have different flowers and slightly different framing that complement each other adds another layer of depth to an already amazing work of art. The color and saturation of the ink really sell this piece, making it a must-have for such a hardcore fan.
8 Keltiee Colleen And Her Trooper
Isn’t he a little short for a Stormtrooper? And isn’t she a little NSFW for a princess? She’s rocking the who’s who of video game ink. A fan of the new school style, all of her work matches very well! All of her tattoos, gaming or otherwise, feature great coloring and nice, clean lines. Nothing, however, is cooler, cuter, and better done than the Final Fantasy characters on her shoulder. The Chocobo and and Moogle are my personal favorites, but all four are vibrant and well saturated, and the background ties the four of them together perfectly. Her artist did an amazing job at putting the characters on her skin, and bringing them to life. Not sure if Luke Skywalker is in there or not, but that is just one lucky Stormtrooper that I hope doesn’t miss his shot!
7 B.Childs’ American McGee’s Alice
American McGee’s Alice is a horror-themed game based around the Alice in Wonderland world turned into a slaughterhouse of carnage. The game is a cult classic with a strong following and one of the coolest soundtracks in gaming history. This tattoo is a badass representation of the horror series, featuring the horrifying version of the Cheshire Cat and the White Rabbit. While her necklace’s upside down horseshoe is unlucky, from the blood on that knife I’d say this Alice is pretty lucky in her messed up Wonderland. The line-work is clean, with the two-color choice of just black and red adding an extra layer of contrast and depth to an already awesome piece. I wouldn’t wanna mess with that Alice, or the woman who’s rocking that ink!
6 Prurient Is A Metroid Hunting Femme-Fatale
While she may be a Suicide Girl, Prurient looks like she could be the one under the famous suit from Metroid. The photo-realistic styled tattoo is beautifully done, and placed perfectly to compliment Prurient’s body shape. The colors are vivid and bold, with awesome contrast between the dark blacks and bright reds. Samus is one of the all-time favorites for Nintendo fans, and my go-to choice in Super Smash Brothers. Nothing better than blasting people off the map with a full charged hand cannon round! Suicide Girls are known for their love of tattoos, and lucky for us this one has just as much of a love for gaming! The artist did a great job capturing Samus as a character in this sweet piece of art!
5 PocketMansion Rocking A Triforce
PocketMansion looks all snuggled up with that Eevee, but all we care about is that badass Triforce. The Triforce is one of the more popular tattoo ideas for fans of the Legend of Zelda series. PocketMansion’s is one of the more well-done tattoos of the Triforce that I’ve seen. The colors are bold and vibrant, with great color saturation, which means this tattoo is going to last and those colors are going to stay. The line-work is clean, with straight, no blowout, and bold blacks. The shading coming in from the outside in gives the whole piece more depth, and making the piece work in nicely with her other tattoos. Any Legend of Zelda fan would be happy to have this tattoo on their body forever.
4 GoodNightsAndGoodVibes Representing Minecraft
Diamonds are a girl’s best friend, but diamond axes are more of a Minecraft girl’s best friend. “Tough as diamonds” is a perfect description of how you have to be to take a tattoo like that! GoodNightsAndGoodVibes has herself an awesome tattoo. Personally, I would have had the axe outlined with a bold black ink, to give better contrast for the vibrant colors, but I really enjoy the simplicity of a great tattoo on a beautiful lady. Minecraft is one of the more popular games out there, and is even being remastered and re-released in 4K, after an E3 announcement. The game’s classic 8-bit building structure makes for a game where people can be as artistic and creative as this tattoo artist was with a fantastic piece.
3 PutALittleWolfAroundIt And The Mayor Of Goodneighbor
Hancock is one of the best companions in Fallout 4. PutALittleWolfAroundIt shows the ghoul’s good side, and the mayor of Goodneighbor has never looked so good! Surrounded by various drug paraphernalia from the Fallout universe, she has enough stimpacks and Mentats to tranquilize a Deathclaw. Hancock has the best attitude in the whole game, often telling the Sole Survivor, “If someone needs help, we help ’em. If someone needs hurting, we hurt ’em. It’s not hard.” She was right in picking the quote of “by the people, for the people,” which represents Hancock to the core of his character. The colors are great and vibrant, with clean lines and great script work! This beautiful chick is walking away with a badass tattoo.
2 Two Zelda Tats
Legend of Zelda fans are already going crazy over the 3 hearts, probably wondering what damaged her, but both tattoos are the envy of any gaming fan. Both of MetalFaceXXX’s tattoos are bold, with dark blacks and a vibrant red, making the hearts stand out against her green tunic. Both tattoos are simplistic, but obviously have a lot of meaning, and stand out to any gaming fan who knows Link and his adventures. The average Joe may see a tribal symbol, and some cool hearts, when a seasoned gamer sees a devoted fan with some badass ink. Now if only everyone could figure out who Link is and who Zelda is in the series, then we’d have a perfect world.
1 A-Night-In-Wonderland With Multiple Games Inked
A-Night-In-Wonderland is clearly into gaming just as much as she is into tattoos. We’re not even going to discuss that awesome bikini! Her commitment to gaming goes far above her summer apparel. From the clean lines on the Nintendo logo, to the perfect placement of The Legend of Zelda’s Triforce, she clearly has an artist with great skill and accuracy. The icing on the proverbial cake is the 8-bit Mushroom, as well as a great inner arm piece referencing Dragon Ball Z. A-Night-In-Wonderland’s awesome ink is enough to make any longtime gamer impressed with her artwork. Is she hiding an Umbreon too?
