As video games have become more and more realistic, voice acting has gone from an afterthought to a huge piece of game development. Not only have we seen established actors venturing into the world of videogames, we’ve also seen some high-quality, dedicated voice actors emerge as well. There are plenty of great performances to choose from these are our eight favorite voice acting performances of all time.
Don’t see your favorite? Tell us what it is in the comments!
Jennifer Hale – Commander Shepard (Mass Effect series)
Jennifer Hale’s portrayal of the female Shepard in the Mass Effect series was pitch-perfect for the series. She embodied a fearless fighter who was out to save the galaxy no matter who got in here way. Sure, she was super gung-ho, but it fit the character so well. Plus, when you compare her to Mark Meer’s male Shepard, Hale’s version comes out on top, mostly because she offers up more nuance and emotion in her portrayal. She’s also done a lot of work in the Metal Gear series, among many other games.
Michael Ironside – Sam Fisher (Splinter Cell series)
Sam Fisher was the quintessential government agent, and I can’t imagine what he might have been like without Ironside’s voice. Ironside mixed a gruff, growling tone with occasional comic relief interludes. He also captured the essence of Fisher, a man who believed in what the was doing, and in the later games, he also embodied the agony of a man betrayed by the people he believed in. While Splinter Cell: Blacklist was a pretty fun game, it just didn’t feel quite the same without Ironside’s voice.
Ellen McLain – GLaDOS (Portal series)
When you first started playing Portal, you had no idea that the somewhat stilted female voice would belong to a robot that was plotting your demise all along. The science-obsessed overseer simply kept us testing, slowly bringing us closer to her deadly trap. In Portal 2, the return of GLaDOS leads to a frantic chase, and her sardonic and sarcastic response to your efforts to thwart her only increase your enjoyment of the game. It’s hard to believe that a monotone-speaking robot could be one of the most memorable characters from a video game, but that’s a testament to how good the voice acting was.
Nolan North – Nathan Drake (Uncharted series)
While Nolan North provides voice work for countless video games, his work as Nathan Drake is probably his best. The concept of Drake was a cross between Indiana Jones and Lara Croft, and the character ran the risk of being a weak clone of those strong characters, but North’s voice work set Drake apart. He had the perfect mix of light-hearted banter and serious consideration of just how much trouble he was in, and Drake’s reactions seemed like the sort of reactions every guy in those situations would have. It was subtle, but the effect was staggering. Drake remains one of the more popular characters of all time.
Troy Baker – Joel (The Last of Us)
The character of Joel in The Last of Us was one that required a wide range of voice acting, as he was much more than just a typical videogame character. He starts out gruff and hostile, but Baker was able to embody the shifting attitudes that Joel encountered as he grew closer to Ellie. More importantly, Joel was always a believable character, one that players could not only identify with, but also care about. Baker made him real.
David Hayter – Solid Snake (Metal Gear Solid series)
When Metal Gear Solid fans found out that David Hayter would no longer be the voice of Solid Snake, they were understandably upset. After all, Hayter’s voice was synonymous with the character from the first time we stepped foot into Outer Heaven in 1998. He managed to put a lot into Snake using only his voice, from his love of conflict to his more human side. Snake could swing from violent to flirtatious; from hard-hearted to compassionate, and Hayter nailed all those changes. It’s a shame that he won’t be in the final game in the series.
Simon Templeman – Kain (Legacy of Kain series)
Perhaps no one has had a more memorable voice acting performance than Simon Templeman. He served not only as the voice of Kain, but also as the model for the in-game character. His portrayal of Kain is still widely considered one of the best performances of all time, despite it having been 12 years since the last game in the series, Legacy of Kain: Defiance, was released. He has also portrayed villains in both Dead Space 3 and Uncharted.
Mark Hamill – The Joker (Batman: Arkham series)
If there’s one voice that you simply can’t escape from, it’s Mark Hamill’s take on The Joker. Not just in the Batman: Arkham series, but also in the animated TV series throughout the years. It seems that every time you see the Joker, you hear Hamill’s voice. Although he appears to have finally laid the role aside, with Troy Baker assuming the mantle now, it’s still Hamill’s Joker that will haunt you when the lights go out at night. The only thing more disturbing than hearing the voice is seeing how Hamill almost becomes the Joker when he’s recording it.
