We often talk about visuals and sound design and story-telling defining the best games. However, it doesn’t just come down to how good of a soundtrack is or how cleverly written the lines are. Sometimes, you need someone immensely talented to voice the characters within, breathing life and suspending our disbelief in the process. Let’s look at the nominees for best voice actor of 2016.
NOMINEES
Nolan North – Nathan Drake (Uncharted 4)
North reprized his role as the ever lovable Nathan Drake, bringing wit, humour and panache to the adventure. We got to see some new shaded of Drake this time around, namely his familial ties, the tired old Drake who’s struggling to accept his family life and much more. North, as always, handled this expertly.
Alex Hernandez – Lincoln Clay (Mafia 3)
It’s not easy balancing anger with righteous vengeance. Mafia 3’s Lincoln Clay could have come across as another unkillable meathead but Alex Hernandez’s bestows several complex shades into his character. What begins as a vengeful crusade slowly turns into Clay becoming those he hates, allowing the criminal life to destroy his soul despite hints of redemption.
Troy Baker – Samuel Drake (Uncharted 4)
Two top-tier voice actors in one games? That’s Uncharted 4 for you as Naughty Dog cast Troy Baker as Nathan Drake’s brother Sam. In many ways, Sam reminded us of the old Nathan. However, the many wrong turns he took in life became apparent. He was charming but deceptive and confident but arrogant. However, Baker brought a human touch to Sam, justifying his actions and making us love him all the more.
Lance Reddick – Martin Hatch (Quantum Break)
Lance Reddick is all business and husky elegance, reflected all the more in the character Martin Hatch. As the CEO for Monarch Solutions, Hatch has to balance his business-like acumen with typical villainous undertones. It takes an amazing subtlety to lend such versatility with his voice but Reddick pulls it off incredibly well.
Henry – Rich Summer (Firewatch)
Firewatch is a game about people. As you might guess, people aren’t always the greatest and tend to make mistakes. It takes a talented voice to humanize those mistakes and offer a voice we can rally behind and Rich Summer as Henry was that voice. Whether you enjoyed Henry’s genuine concern at events or his angry outbursts, Summer grounded him, making us hope all the more that he and Delilah would wind up together.
Marcus Holloway – Ruffin Prentiss (Watch Dogs 2)
Ruffin Prentiss may not have had much to work besides “street-wise hacker” for Watch Dogs 2. However, his portrayal of Marcus Holloway is both believable and likable, something which Aiden Pearce couldn’t manage. Holloway is cool at times, clunky at others but always there for his friends with a youthful pep and Prentiss brought this out without becoming annoying.
WINNER:
Alex Hernandez – Lincoln Clay (Mafia 3)
Love him or late him, Lincoln Clay was certainly hard to ignore this year. With Mafia 3 set in a late 1960’s era full of bigotry and racism, not to mention the criminal undertones and violence, it took a talented voice to bring out the various shades of Clay’s character. On the one hand, it’s incredible that a character could have such versatility but all credit goes to Alex Hernandez for bringing it out in the first place.
Note: GamingBolt’s Game of the Year categories, nominations and awards are selected via an internal nomination, voting and debate process. You can check the rest of categories and the respective winners here.