I'm going to start by saying I have nearing 60 hours in this so far and it's just Act 1 Early Access!! Larian have made a wonderful game so far and I'm excited to see where it goes!! This post is to vibe with everyone else who, like me, has fallen completely in love with these characters.
Now let me say: holy shit. The voice acting? The nuance to every line? The delivery? Not only do the Voice Actors picked for this project nail it, but the Voice Direction might be some of the best I've ever heard in a video game. I truly feel like I'm conversing, actively, with a person that has their own thoughts, feelings, standards, insecurities. You can't just Choose The Option That Sounds Right, you have to factor in what the person you're talking to is like, emotionally. The body language for each companion is also top notch, there's a handful of stock motions (which I've never minded in games, honestly), but what blows me away are the whole personalities evident in their gestures during talks at Camp and so on.
- Lae'zel's VA is so choice. She sprinkles in those Gith verbal tics so fluidly and consistently, I can only imagine the practice that took and her body language is short, sharp, to the point. She has such harsh presence, and I'm so into it. The way she's intrinsically assured of Gith superiority but isn't blindly loyal enough to bow to that dragonrider is wonderful and I hope there's some way in the future to get her her own dragon because I just NEED that in my life.
- Gale's VA manages to sound exactly like every wizard I've ever read in my head and I mean that as a compliment. It's nice to finally have a wizard companion in a game that's truly one of those knowledge bloodhounds and the way he lets you in both emotionally and with his whole sordid tale if he trusts you is a breath of fresh air. I truly look forward to helping him fix his problem one of....MULTIPLE ways.
- Shadowheart's VA is so distinctive, I love how disaffected she sounds, a True 'Evil Cleric'! Her 'hmm maybe this isn't completely terrible' at camp if you help the refugees DELIGHTS me, and I'm so appreciative of being able to just blithely say 'I actually don't mind whomsoever anyone chooses to worship.' She's pragmatic and mistrustful, and I can't wait to figure out exactly why. Also I just love that petting the dog gives her approval, she is possibly the past person you'd expect that from and yet here she is...night orchids and dog-loving alike.
- Astarion's VA...I was always going to love Astarion, he's my Type, but good god. His VA and writing have me consistently happy. Ducking and bowing his head when he feels unsettled or scrutinised just like someone forced into 200 years of subservience woud be? The marionette gesture with the line 'power over people'? His blasé attitude that is clearly at least 25% a front to parry prying eyes away? This man is the 'good luck fucker, I'm behind 7 proxies' meme but for meaningful interpersonal relationships and I'm so into it. I don't care what Astarion did in his past or what he may become, I'm killing Cazador and giving Astarion his blood in a chalice and his skull on a pillow as a wedding proposal.
- Wyll's VA knocks 'cocky but deeply regretful/resentful' out of the park, and I love the way he muses over the big moral questions. Also his flirts with Shadowheart and Lae'zel both, especially Lae'zel, are so endearing and amusing to me--it just feels so organic. We don't have much of his personal quest in EA yet and it took me at least four playthroughs before he stopped being bugged for me, but I really can't wait for more, especially if you're playing a fellow Warlock.
EDIT: How could I forget the Narrator herself?? She's amazing, remarkable, she's the clearest example of a stunning VA since we have no face or body language to ascribe to her, yet she still manages to brim with personality. The part where you find the dying Mindflayer and she manages to really sell the 'You feel compassion. [beat] Compassion?'. Heard again with the tadpole from the dead dwarf and it's trying to wheedle affection out of you again, she affects a very very slight tone that you'd use with like, a beloved pet. 'How could you ever think of hurting something so pure, so precious?'
In short, I'm so happy I bought Early Access. I know we're only at the very tip of the iceberg in our relationships with these characters, and I can't wait to see where they lead. It really does feel like a DnD party of adventurers, all with their own backstories and lives brought to the table.
Last edited by Karuna; 22/10/20 04:52 PM.
