It's been a tough few years for voice actors. While it may have never been more obvious how much value they bring to a game's characters and story (the huge success of Baldur's Gate 3 and its beloved actors gave the profession perhaps the brightest spotlight it's ever had), voice actors and motion capture performers face a major threat from artificial intelligence. That's just one of the reasons we wanted to honor the art of performance at this year's IGN Awards. Actors bring our games to life, and our digital worlds would be poorer without them.
As with our other awards, we asked the IGN team to nominate their favorite performances from the last 12 months, and then we all voted on which one we thought was the best example. Here are our picks for the best individual performances in video games this year:
Second place – Erika Ishii (Atsu, Ghost of Yotei)
The role of a revenge-seeking samurai is well-treaded ground, but Erika Ishii breathes new life into Atsu, the protagonist of Sucker Punch's “Ghost of Yotei.” By giving the character a believable sense of “roughness”, Ishii ensures that Atsu's bloodlust has depth.
Second place – Aaron Paul (Robert Robertson, Dispatch)
Unlike Hollywood, which has long produced animated films starring big-name movie stars, video games have predominantly embraced the idea that voice acting and performance capture is a specialized skill, and that hiring people who specialize in it is the way to go. But while Dispatch features industry titans such as Laura Bailey and Matthew Mercer, the standout among them is film actor Aaron Paul; Our review explains that he's able to deliver “a nuanced performance as a man struggling to maintain his optimism and come to terms with who he is outside of his giant mech suit.”
Second place – Konatsu Kato (Hinako Shimizu, Silent Hill f)
With her voice and resemblance to Silent Hill f's protagonist Hinako Shimizu, Konatsu Kato brings to life one of the series' most tortured heroes. While many of us relied on subtitles to understand her lines in Japanese, her delivery helped bring the heavy, complex emotions embedded in the script's subtle plotting to each scene.
Second place – Ben Starr (“Verso”, “Claire Obscurus: Expedition 33”)
With Verso, Ben Starr managed to take the gruff, dark voice of the hero, which he adopted from Clive from Final Fantasy 16, and improve it. The maturity of Expedition 33's themes, especially in its final act, allows Starr to explore a character who must revel in tragedy but has enough optimism and conviction to never let the darkness overshadow the light.
Winner: Jennifer English (Male, Claire Obscure: Expedition 33)
Mael is the heart of Claire Obscurus: Expedition 33, and the main reason her journey feels so believable is Jennifer English's performance. Grief is a difficult emotion to grapple with, especially when it's part of a story that veers well into melodrama, but the English makes Mael ever-grounded and completely believable. Expedition 33 may be a game with flashy combat, monstrous deities, and an army of dumb people painting brushes, but it's really about the human condition and, more specifically, how we deal with loss. As Mayelle, Jennifer English ensures that Claire Obscure's higher, more literary themes and ambitions never get lost among the more video game, JRPG-inspired tropes.
While individual performances are important, a strong ensemble cast can help provide a level of consistent immersion in the fictional world. When everyone in the ensemble gives an “A” rating, your belief that these video game characters are real people won't waver. Our picks for the best video game ensemble actors:
- Second place – Ghost of Yotei
- Second place – Hades 2
- Second place – Dispatch
- Second place – Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
- Winner: Claire Obscurus: Expedition 33.
Congratulations to Jennifer English, the entire cast of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and the team at Sandfall Interactive, as well as the cast and development teams of all of our nominated games. To learn more about the IGN Awards 2025, be sure to check out our full list of winners.
Matt Purslow is IGN's executive features editor.
