Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - Suggestions & Feedback Bring back the narrator from BG2!

There's something about the deep god-like voice that narrated the early BG games that I miss. I don't know why, but it added so much...

Also maybe get some more music in there, or just change it altogether. That lady's vocals are distracting and takes me out of the moment.

Just my 2cents before full release.

I raised a similar point in my feedback in that I find the current narrator's voice a little too sultry, similar to what you might hear in a chocolate bar or food advert. I absolutely have no issue with a female narrator whatsoever but would prefer a voiceover with a little more gravitas, wisdom, age, etc.

It's a minor point in the grand scheme of things and other posters have mentioned they do not mind the current narrator at all. I doubt it will get changed.

Truthfully she's pretty good; go back and play BG1 or 2 if you don't like it.

I like the current narrator very much.

I don't think the original English narrator was that great tbh. He did better as the voice of Sarevok, though.

Malady's voice actor does a good job most of the time, but Etruscan is right in that she sounds too sultry at times, which can be a bit jarring.

You hit the nail on the head there, most of the time the narration sort of takes a backseat but then when it comes in with the seductive, suggestive tones I just scream inside.

Speaking from a purely Larian point of view, I miss DOS2's Narrator.

" Malady " however, was always more of a GM-NPC thrown into the mix. She's the perfect Narrator. Her personality from the previous game screamed for a darker game. Glad she got the gig.
Also has enough playful quality to her voice for the awkward scenes.

Overbearing god voice would just be too much, I can see her at the end of the table explaining things. Which is the point.

I clicked on this thread planning to write a post saying basically "I too really liked BG's narrator but that's no reason they should be the same, and the current one is doing a good job", but then



*glass shattering sounds*

I would have loved to see (or rather, hear) Brian Bowles back as narrator. He did a terrific job with DOS2, conveying a wide range of expression and emotions with his voice. Much as I like Amelia Tyler's work in general (she was fantastic as Malady), I agree that as narrator she lacks variety - everything sounds like she's speaking from the bedroom door, which, as has already been pointed out, is not exactly ideal for any and all situations.

In terms of alternatives, I think Ashley Johnson did an excellent job as a female narrator in Pillars of Eternity 2. She gave the narration voice personality without letting it become an actual character.

And of course, if the game had embraced more of an eldritch horror tone, Wayne June would've been the perfect pick.

Oh please no. Mama Malady Amelia Tyler does an amazing job - just like the other VA's. And it's such a breath of fresh air to have a pretty deep female voice narrating the story instead of the usual old dude voice.

+1

I think all VA is great, including the narrator. However, I certainly would love to have options, although I guess that would be a lot of data. But yeah... a deep, manly voice or an older, wiser female voice would kick ass. =)

I like the BG3 voices. There's nothing wrong with being a bit playful. They are very well done. I loved the Divinity OS 1 narrator as well.

Of course, one variant won't please everyone. I just played BG1 & 2 and found that narrator annoying. At least was better than the voices of the Assassin's Creed Valhalla, those really drive me crazy. So I get it.

I don't remember any game that had multiple narrator voice options so far, so maybe a toggle to turn on or off, and show only the text instead, would be the easiest & cheapest to implement, to solve this. Same for our own characters; some would prefer to "hear" that in their imagination.

I hope they make a Nexusmod with the narrator from Darkest Dungeon.

I haven't played AC Valhalla and likely isn't going to, what annoys you with the voices there?

I find myself wondering whether they went with actual Nordic accents or if they did what Skyrim did and gave all the "Nords" German accents. I figure if they did go Nordic thay might be what's annoying you because nobody expects vikings to speak with singsong voices instead of gruff barbarian grunts. But then again that same expectancy is why I wouldn't expect them to use Scandinavian accents for their viking game, because nobody is ever interested in accurately portraying my ancestors.

Just don't mind me, it's just very subjective taste issue. I wanted to play it, but I didn't buy it, because every time I watch any video on youtube the voices just turn me off. Isn't the accent, but more like the weak timbre of the vocals, not manly enough nor feminine enough, more like in-between. I don't blame the voice actors, but those who picked them in those roles. The game is beautiful, except the main character walking & running animations, that typical legs kept apart style AC moving like they always carry an invisible saddle there or something, but the voice is the main reason I have to steer away. I liked the Skyrim voices, most of them at least.
I like viking movies a lot, like the Vikings (2013) series with Ragnar & Lagertha, Redbad (2018) and many more, I really wish they sounded like them.

It's fine that we want a different voice, or even the style to be different. We could all list our most wanted voice for a role, from Morgan Freeman to Sean Connery, but someone has to make the choice in the end, and the budget is a huge factor as well.

I don't know if the narrator in DOS2 was the same guy who did Divinity 2 way back; he certainly sounded similar, especially in demeanour. Perhaps not to everybody's taste but I liked the way that so much stuff was spoken with an obviously sly smile or raised eyebrow.

In my case, all the kids sounding like Bart Simpson. And not even a good Bart Simpson: the children's voice acting was remarkably bad. The rest of it was quite variable but there was too much "serious business" which I think led to some actors hamming it up a bit. The whole premise of ACV was kinda ludicrous though, portraying Anglo-Saxon as English who were evilly trying to repel the heroic and noble Vikings who only wanted to bring peace and harmony to the land. Ignoring the fact that The English are a largely racemic* mix of Celt, Anglo-Saxon, Viking and a whole bunch of other stuff. Oh, and Norman, bloody French etc.

* yeah, that's totally the wrong word but it amused me for various reasons.

Fun fact: I can literally trace my heritage and family line all the way back to Ragnar Lodbrok, person by person. Provided there were no infidelity involved of course