The Amazing Evolution of Voice Acting in Horror Video Games

I’ve been thinking about how much voice acting has changed in scary games over the years. Back in the day, horror titles had some funny quotes that we all remember, but honestly the acting wasn’t that great. Some players even thought the bad voice work made the stories worse.

It’s really amazing how far we’ve come though. Even older games like the first Resident Evil 4 had pretty good voice work for its time. But what we’re getting now is just incredible. I think horror games might actually have some of the best voice acting in all of gaming right now.

Take the new Silent Hill 2 remake for example. Luke Roberts did such an amazing job as James. The way his voice matched up with the facial expressions really showed James’s emotional struggle. You could actually hear the suffering in every word he spoke. The combination of great voice acting and realistic character faces made everything feel so much more believable and emotional.

I also saw some footage from the upcoming Resident Evil Requiem recently. Grace’s voice actress is doing phenomenal work there. At first I thought Grace might be a boring character, but the excellent voice performance along with the animation is already making me care about her way more than I expected.

Dead Space remake nailed this too. Isaac’s voice acting made the whole experience way more intense.

Totally agree! It’s wild how voice acting has evolved. Those older games had some pretty cringey moments, but now it really draws you into the horror. Especially with how emotional the characters feel these days.

Phasmophobia’s voice recognition lets ghosts actually react to what you’re saying. Really smart way to use voice tech for horror games.

The voice acting in the original Resident Evil was so bad it’s become memorable. That classic line, “What IS this” and all the cheesy lines are unforgettable. But the leap to modern horror games is huge. Games like SOMA or MADiSON really nail the voice work and actually create fear instead of laughter. Plus the facial capture technology has advanced so much.

Until Dawn really set the bar high. The voice acting had me caring about characters I usually wouldn’t even think twice about in horror games.