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Without these voice actresses, some of our favourite video games would be much less exciting to play.
Voice actors can make or break your favourite video games. After all, where would The Last of Us be without the emotional punch of Ashley Johnson’s performance of Ellie, or Baldur’s Gate 3 without the bluster of Samantha Beart’s Karlach? Some of our favourite characters in gaming were carried by immensely talented actors, to the point that narrowing them down to a list of five is a task in and of itself.
Still, we’ve done it all the same. Here are our favourite voice performances by a voice actress in gaming:
Senua - Melina Juergens (Senua’s Saga)
By Timothy Raj Augustin
Melina Juergens’ portrayal of Senua in the Hellblade video game series is particularly impressive, considering that the actor had no prior acting experience before taking on this role. Juergens, who was simply acting as a video editor before playing Senua, originally served as a stand-in for the character, before she was chosen to play the character in full motion capture. The results speak for themselves: Juergens won Best Performance for Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice in 2017, and again for Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II in 2024 at The Game Awards.
Senua is not an easy part to play, by any measure. The series protagonist experiences visual hallucinations and hears voices from a chorus of non-existent souls, and it’s left to the player to interpret whether they’re a part of Senua’s reality, or a byproduct of an undiagnosed mental disorder. It’s no understatement to say that Senua goes through absolute hell in these games, struggling with internal and external conflicts. Her struggle must be absolutely believable for the player to buy into these game’s events, and Juergens pulls through with aplomb. Twice in a row, no less.
2B - Yui Ishikawa (NieR: Automata’s Japanese dub)
By Arianne Blanco
Yui Ishikawa’s performance as 2B in Yoko Taro’s cult classic 2017 NieR: Automata is something any video game fan should not miss out on. Although English-only players may find it a deterrent that Ishikawa’s amazing performance is in her native language of Japanese, her emotional and compelling take on 2B’s character makes it so that it transcends the language barrier.
Yui Ishikawa has had a long and celebrated career in voice acting, and has featured in hit anime titles like Attack on Titan and Violet Evergarden, which also feature complex, tragic characters whom she gives life to through her voice performances.
It’s no secret that NieR: Automata is an incredibly tragic game, and Ishikawa masterfully approaches 2B’s complex characterisation with care and consideration. You’re immediately pulled into 2B’s struggle with her emotions and her duty, and can’t help but be brought to tears during the times when Ishikawa’s performance truly immerses you. Her last words to 9S particularly made me into a snotty, sobbing mess, and I still think about her through the years after finishing NieR: Automata in 2022.
Abby - Laura Bailey (The Last of Us Part II)
By: Tommy Makmur
Abigail “Abby” Anderson from The Last of Us Part II is likely one of the most-hated video game characters of all time. Whether you like her or not, it's hard to deny that the actress who played her, Laura Bailey, did a stellar job at making her feel human and alive. Laura Bailey is no stranger to voice acting work; in fact, you can hear her voice in almost every entertainment medium.
From playing Rise Kujikawa in Persona 4 and Gwen Stacy in the 2017 Spider-Man animated series, to herself in the popular Dungeon and Dragons web series Critical Role, she's far from a newcomer to the the industry. However, her BAFTA-winning performance as Abby is her best one so far. Her rage against Joel is clearly felt during the game's most intense sequences, as is her fear of heights, and her desperation for redemption in the final act. Whether you hate Abby or love her, Laura Bailey is clearly responsible for breathing humanity into this role.
Shadowheart - Jennifer English (Baldur’s Gate 3)
By Jay Chan
Baldur’s Gate 3 took the world by storm when it was officially released in 2023, and one of the main reasons why the game became so popular was its tremendous voice performances.
Neil Newborn won the Best Performance award in The Game Awards 2023 for his wonderful performance of Astarion in Baldur’s Gate 3, but today we focus on another superb, if not equally outstanding performance from Jennifer English, who played the role of Shadowheart in Baldur’s Gate 3.
Shadowheart in Baldur’s Gate 3 is an intriguing character with a backstory that takes some time to fully unravel. Her motives throughout the early parts of the game were often difficult to decipher especially when she was entangled with other Companions over an artifact, and Jennifer English made all of that better with the unending amount of sass in her performances.
Jennifer English’s Shadowheart was always quick to make a funny quip, a snappy remark, or a witty reply, as if to cover up the amount of inner turmoil within her character (and you would not be any further from the truth),
At the end of Act Two, Shadowheart was forced to finally confront her beliefs, and Jennifer English perfectly encapsulated the inner struggle with a display that was so gut-wrenching that you would want to give God’s favourite princess a tight hug to tell her that all will be okay.
For Jennifer English’s performances, she was selected as a BAFTA Breakthrough 2024 participant, and while Jennifer English had previously performed as a voice actor in other game titles such as Divinity: Original Sin II and Elden Ring, her performances as Shadowheart cemented her position in the world of voice actors.
Kafka - Cheryl Texiera and Shizuka Itō (Honkai: Star Rail)
By Kurt Lozano
Kafka is the first character players see when they start Honkai: Star Rail, gleefully mimicking playing the violin as the Antimatter Legion attacked the Herta Space Station, before proceeding on her mission to implant the Trailblazer with a Stellaron. As the game’s introductory and tutorial character, Kafka had to make a strong impression on new players. Given how Kafka remains one of Honkai: Star Rail’s most popular characters to date, it’s safe to say that she did her job well.
One of the most recognisable aspects of Kafka’s character has to be her voice acting – and Cheryl Texiera in English and Shizuka Itō in Japanese, in particular, have both done amazing jobs portraying her.
Kafka is a complicated character. As a member of the Stellaron Hunters, she’s an intergalactic criminal with a bounty on her head amounting to almost 11 billion credits. She committed various assassinations, toppled planetary governments, and partook in other cosmic war crimes. On the surface, Kafka exudes an air of graceful and sultry dominance – her ‘Spirit Whisper’ ability literally lets her make other people do whatever she tells them, after all.
However, Kafka also has a hidden side she only shows to the Trailblazer and her fellow Stellaron Hunters. She is shown to have a more lighthearted relationship with her fellow Stellaron Hunters, often teasing the more serious members like Blade and Firefly. But when it comes to the Trailblazer, to whom she has a deep emotional attachment to, Kafka is notably very protective and caring.
In both of the game’s English and Japanese dubs, Kafka is a mysterious, alluring, and intimidating figure who will easily draw you in. But as you progress through Honkai: Star Rail’s story, the nuances of her character – and the performance of her voice actors – start to show; from her obsession with stylish coats and classical music, to her biological inability to feel fear, and her deep as-yet unexplored bond with the Trailblazer. Both Cheryl Texiera and Shizuka Itō have done wonderful jobs in voicing Kafka, and I am loath to pick one over the other when it comes to who did it better.
