Any era, doesnt matter. I just want to know of games where the actors knocked it out of the park.
Cave Johnson… Love J.K Simmons work overall but Cave was perfect.
All the Portal characters, really. Cave, GLaDOS, Wheatly, Chell…
Even the turrets!
Are you still there?
My favoriteturret quote:
“Prometheus was punished by the gods for giving the gift of knowledge to man. He was cast into the bowels of the Earth and pecked by birds.”
Especially the turrets. I love them so much. The first time I took one down and got hit with the “I don’t hate you” 💔 😭
Agreed, didn’t mean to leave anyone out. Brilliant writing with excellent voice acting in both games.
I still tell people I will burn their house down with lemons.
Some of my favorites:
- GLaDOS from Portal 1+2: Ellen McClain did such a fantastic job balancing a monotonous robotic tone with human emotions and adding subtle glitches to show not everything was 100% alright. She defined what a female robot voice should sound like for that decade. I saw that Stephen Merchant was mentioned and while his performance was good and Wheatley’s character was hilarious, I think McLain’s performance as GLaDOS was more original and memorable.
- Narrator from The Stanley Parable: Kevan Brighting was arguably the protagonist of the game and the player was the annoying mob to him. As the only chacter with dialogue in the entire walking sim game, he had to carry almost the entire game’s story, personality, and charm all through his voice. And it’s honestly so fun how disappointed, annoyed, and exasperated he gets when the player refuses to listen.
- The Joker from Batman Arkham Asylum: This one is cheating cause Mark Hamill has played The Joker in almost every modern animated medium available. Still, there’s a reason his version is so iconic. It’s just so bittersweet that he refuses to ever voice The Joker again since Kevin Conroy, the VA for his Batman passed away.
Edit: After reviewing my list, it seems like I like offscreen narrators who insult the player. How funny
Getting the animated series actors to voice the Arkham games was a stroke of genius, though.
The Joker reveal in Arkham City was also some brilliant writing carried through by Hamill’s amazing voice acting: https://youtu.be/GvZTjWpuuKw?t=63
I enjoyed having him follow me around throughout Arkham Knight too.
Ellen McClain did such a good, iconic job that she landed herself a role in Pacific Rim as the computer in Gipsy Danger.
Didn’t know that. That’s pretty cool!
Yeah, Del Toro specifically asked for her in that role.
Also shout-out to wikipedia sources helping me find an article to support my claim.
https://kotaku.com/how-glad0s-is-glad0s-in-pacific-rim-pretty-glad0s-636252650
Oh that’s really funny. Never knew that about Del Toro. He has good taste
How has Baldur’s Gate 3 not been mentioned in this thread yet? Huge cast and everyone is going for it. Even the narrator. Especially the narrator.
I want a mod that makes Ron Howard the narrator in bg3
All I really want is BG3 mechanics in a Discworld setting.
Finally, a chance to romance Foul Ole Ron.
I want a mod for everything that just makes Morgan Freeman narrate it all.
Hell, that’s kinda the only voice I want to hear if we ever have Ai speaking to us.
I agree she is amazing, but Andrew Wincott’s Raphael is just so phenomenal, for me it’ll only ever be him.
Outside of BG3, I guess I would also say Claudia Black, Jennifer Hale and Lenval Brown (the narrator of Disco Elysium, he is so good!).
I legit thought Raphael was Ian McShane at first.
Check out the BG3 narrator outtakes on YouTube.
It makes me wish for a version of the game where she is actively snarking the party. Like every good DM should.
Authority
The whole cast of Team Fortress 2.
I haven’t played that game in over a decade, yet if I read any of the lines from the game, I’ll still hear their voices loud as day. Even just seeing the word “medic” and I hear Demoman screaming it.
“POOTIS PENCER HERE”
E-RECTING A DISPENSER
There’s not a week goes by where I don’t wish Expiration Date got a sequel.
I remember hearing that there was supposed to be an adult swim animated series that fell through early on because of valve being incredibly slow to work with.
Arthur Morgan in Red Dead 2
Rockstar games have some pretty spectacular stories and acting and they’re just getting better, ever since GTA IV/RDR/LA Noire. RDR2 was one of the most heartbreaking and melancholy stories I’ve ever been told, game or otherwise. It’s a different genre, of course, but I have high hopes for GTA VI.
The narrator in The Stanley Parable made me lose it so many times.
Vaas from Far Cry 3.
This scene is always such a treat: https://youtu.be/rKMMCPeiQoc
Also
Alan TudykStephen Merchant in Portal 2.Edit: Was just recently watching something with Alan in it and got them mixed up 😅
You mean Stephen Merchant in Portal 2
You are correct. Never was good at remembering voice actors…
Ooh I forgot to mention Vaas in my reply. Michael Mando is amazing
Dionysus in hades. Dude amps me up so well I pick him over boons I like better.
Nearly everyone in Hades and Hades 2 have awesome voice actors. I’m particularly fond of Zagreus & Skelly from 1 and Melinoë, Hephaestus & Odysseus from 2. Great game and the VAs kick ass.
Same! I believe Zagreus and Skelly are both voiced by Darren Korb, who is the main composer of the ost, and also sings as Orpheus. Multi talented man!
Stephen Merchant and JK Simmons do a great job in Portal 2
One of the best villains I can remember from a game, Handsome Jack in Borderlands 2. Maybe he was just written so well, but he was amazing.
“His” DLC for borderlands 3 was one of the high points of that game. I’m currently replaying 1 and while it’s fun 2 is just so much more engaging with Jack.
Not to mention Claptrap.
Narrator in Bastion. Just glorious.
Maybe the first game to make narration the main feature?
Leonard Nimoy - Civilization 4
The first new Wolfenstein was amazing. They got actual German actors to play the nazis and it made a huge difference.

Troy Baker & Ashley Johnson in Last of Us will stay with me for life.















