Motion capture brings the actor’s work in video games closer to realism with each new release. Actors can craft holistic performances, combining their vocal talents with all the physical aspects of on-camera and stage acting. This frontier we’re exploring is too exciting to only mention six games. We’ve gathered another list of games with captivating performances, both in voice and animation.
More Lists
Control
Courtney Hope as Jesse Faden
How do you bring players into a world that plays by completely different rules of physics? Write a grounded and realistic lead character! You play as Jesse Faden, director of a shadowy government agency, exploring the mind-bending mechanics of Control: distorting the world Matrix-style and telekinetically manipulating objects and the architecture around you.
Courtney Hope is no stranger to motion capture, featuring in Remedy’s previous game Quantum Break. And for her character Jesse Faden, she tapped into her self-described type-A personality to co-create with the game’s developers a powerful yet restrained character in a groundbreaking game.
Rise of the Tomb Raider
Camilla Luddington as Lara Croft
On taking over the legendary character of Lara Croft, Camilla Luddington said that the developers “made it very clear to me that they wanted to reboot the franchise and just make her a lot more human than she has been in the past and to have moments of self-doubt and weakness and all those things that you can grow from.” And we feel she absolutely nailed it.
Lara Croft has had quite a journey from 1996’s PC/PlayStation/Sega Saturn release, battling the zombies of ancient Atlantis with ease. For this second entry in the rebooted series, Croft is a determined but conflicted character, dealing with the demons of her past as well as the villains and puzzles in front of her. Her obsession with fulfilling her late father’s legacy causes cracks to appear in her moral compass and makes the heart-pounding combat even more tense.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Doug Cockle as Geralt of Rivia
“If I’m to choose between one evil and another, I’d rather not choose at all.” Doug Cockle’s raspy growl as Geralt of Rivia is so iconic, even Henry Cavill cited the voice as inspiration for his role in the new Netflix series.
Geralt is a genetically-modified man with superhuman senses, strength, and healing ability. Typical human emotion is bred out of the Witchers, but what at first seems to be a rigid monotone belies great complexity and dry humor. You could potentially spend hundreds of hours roleplaying as the stoic monster hunter in this sprawling, gorgeous open-world game.
The Last of us
Troy Baker as Joel and Ashley Johnson as Ellie
A game about a zombie apocalypse prompted by a virus might not sound like good company while you’re hunkered down at home. But it’s the relationship between Troy Baker as the hardened Joel and Ashley Johnson as the pugnacious Ellie that makes The Last of Us a beautiful experience. To say nothing of the mo-cap and animation, which are spectacular.
Joel is tasked with escorting Ellie across the wasteland and past danger. Over the course of their journey, they warm to one another, develop inside jokes, and epitomize the humanity that will surely survive any larger loss. The story’s sequel has just been released to widespread acclaim for the moving and authentic performances.
Mass Effect series
Jennifer Hale as Commander Shepard
Mass Effect set a new standard for role-playing games. Your female or male Commander Shepard can make choices in any interaction that ripple throughout the entire trilogy. You can choose diplomacy or gun-toting bravado, mercy or bloodthirstiness. You can even try to romance nearly everyone you meet (though if you go full-on poly, your partners might have a thing or two to say about that).
What’s even more impressive is that Jennifer Hale keeps the throughline of Commander Shepard’s choices clear over thousands of lines in three long video games. The directors and writers even developed a system of codes to keep track of the intensity, pace, and emotion of each line, so separately recorded scenes would feel natural and the story had a good flow. Hale and the massive cast breathe life into a sprawling universe filled with choices.
Where can I play?
The Mass Effect series can be found on these platforms
Mass Effect 1 and 2 are on both Steam and Origin
Mass Effect 3 is not on Steam
Hitman 2
David Bateson as Agent 47
Agent 47, the clone engineered from the DNA of five different assassins, is the most dangerous protagonist you’ll find on this list. Expert marksman, master of hand-to-hand combat, virtuoso in the art of disguise—there’s nothing he can’t do. Which is useful since 47 finds himself donning flamingo mascot costumes and impersonating runway models in order to take out his targets. In this most recent entry in the series, we’re able to delve into 47’s past, uncovering secrets about his origins and his relationship with his handler Diana, played with crisp British efficiency by Jane Perry.
In addition to the flexible nature of missions, the Hitman series is known for its surreal humor. Bateson plays 47 with a wry and calculated charm. It doesn’t make sense that a scary bald man with a barcode on the back of his neck can infiltrate the most secure locations around the world. But that’s what Bateson makes us believe, and we happily go along with it.