In any other year, this category would be a hotly-contested one. There have been some simply divine vocal performances in 2015, and only 60% of them were Troy Baker. Troy himself was in fine form as Rhys in Tales from the Borderlands; a game that featured a fantastically solid cast of characters brought to life by some of the best in the business. Then you had Metal Gear Solid V’s strong performances from the likes of Robin Atkin-Downes and Kiefer Sutherland (however brief that may be) and Fallout 4’s eclectic mix of characters (especially Nick Valentine) generally rose above the usual chaff found in Bethesda RPGs. Thing is, there came a game that delivered so many great performances (helped by some fine writing) that nothing else came close to its quality. CD Projeckt Red’s highly-revered RPG The Witcher III is that game.
Winner – The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
The most admirable achievement in regards to voice acting in The Witcher III is how consistently good it is. Even the smallest of roles is ably performed, with relatively few things close to being classed as ‘duff performances’ in a considerably large cast. There are still standouts in that impressive pool, Doug Cockle brings protagonist Geralt to life with a pitch-perfect take on the world-weary, cynical, yet warm-hearted, Witcher known as The White Wolf. He has to carry the majority of the game’s dialogue and does so with next to no dip in the quality of his delivery. Elsewhere, Jo Wyatt’s Ciri is so well done that you kind of wish you played more of the game as her. Likewise Denise Gough and Jaimi Barbakoff add to the strong female presence in the game as Yennefer and Triss respectively.
Then there’s James Clyde’s turn as the Baron; found in the fascinating quest ‘’The Bloody Baron’’. Clyde is simply mesmerising in his brief time, drawing as much sympathy as he does disgust in a character that, in other hands, would be a one dimensional, sneering panto villain. Oh, and Charles Dance shows up, and is suitably Charles Dance. That a thespian of such high standing doesn’t really outdo the main cast of a videogame is the most striking proof that The Witcher III is in a class of its own for voice acting.
Runner Up: Batman: Arkham Knight
If you’ve played Arkham Knight or not, the biggest talking point about it (on console at least) has been about the Batmobile. A shame really as it takes away from the fact that Rocksteady’s final Bat-chapter has a stellar voice cast (Guess what? Troy Baker is in it!) that deliver even the faintly ridiculous plot points wit sincerity and gravitas. Of note, Kevin Conroy’s return to the role of Bruce Wayne/Batman ensures you slip into a comfy Bat-coma of goodness and without giving much away, there are other performances that just sizzle with effortless cool. It isn’t all as great as that sadly, the titular Arkham Knight is a particularly poor performance, but the best of the voice acting on display here are more than enough to wash over that.