Unfortunately you will not be able to play as a female protagonist in the Chernobylite 2: Exclusion Zone.

No Female Protagonist Because of the Story

A developer of the game answered questions of fans in the Steam community about the possibility of being able to play the Chernobylite 2: Exclusion Zone with a woman protagonist.

Unfortunately, there is no character creator, but it's not about the budget here - In Chernobylite 2, we play as a man with a specific past that is crucial to the story. This is a character deeply rooted in the world of Chernobylite, though at first glance, he might seem like someone entirely new.

- Legileg

[Source]

Character Customization

Good news is that you can customize your character with incoming cosmetics.

Sure, we've made a whole bunch of hats, masks, and armor pieces so players can dress up and develop their character however they like. We just hadn't thought about hairstyles until now. You know, I've never seen a barber in Chernobyl.

- Legileg

[Source]

Co-op is Limited

You won't be able to play the game in Co-op for all of the story progress but there will be limited time where you can join your friends.

For now, I'd prefer not to go into too much detail about the co-op mode, but Chernobylite isn't a traditional co-op game where you can play through the entire story with friends. At certain points in the game, worlds begin to merge, making it possible to encounter variants of yourself. This leads to both passive and active co-op, as well as unlocking new features like planewalking. The fact that these characters resemble each other is more of a world-building element than something we'd want to avoid.

That said, skins are definitely on the table - we'll think about them.

- Legileg

[Source]