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[SolVanderlyn]

Ah, yes. The generic NPC. Nobody ever cares about them, especially not about their voice. Sometimes, even big, AAA titles will reuse the same two or three voices for their hundreds of NPCs (Skyrim). But sometimes, games get the "piddly" dialogue right.

I'm playing Witcher 3 for the first time, and I'm surprised at a few things.

A) Side quests and inconsequential characters are all voice acted as if it were the main story

B) The quality of the NPCs' voice acting is not less than that of the main story

C) VAs are reused, but a good portion of NPCs feel unique

D) Different regions of the world use different dialects/accents

It makes the world so much more immersive. CD Projekt Red really went the extra mile, and I'm very impressed by it.

What game do you feel has good voice acting for its relatively inconsequential cast?

 

[eFKac]

The Last of Us.

It's the voice acting and the amount of lines recorded that made the enemies feel very real, even when the AI failed a bit to deliver it sometimes.

One of the most immersive world thanks to them.

 

[manipulate]

I was shocked at how good the voice acting for the NPCs was in Bloodborne.

 

[Aztechnology]

Edit: oh hold up you mean the really generic NPC's that are just background. Mass Effect is just alright then.

I thought you just meant random dialog NPC's that you talk to occasionally.

 

[relewis2011]

Oblivion, no doubt.

Spoiler

totally kidding

 

[butman]

Souls series.
Short lines, but voice acting are picked with tweezers.

"Soul of the mind, key to life's ether. Soul of the lost, withdrawn from its vessel. Let strength be granted, so the world might be mended... so the world might be mended..."

"If only I could be so grossly incandescent..."

 

[Zyrox]

Came into this thread wanting to mention Witcher but OP got me covered so good on you op. All the accents really help to sell the atmosphere.

 

[Syril]

Do you mean like generic nameless NPCs? I was going to say Diablo II but all the NPCs in that are actual characters so I don't know if it counts.

 

[OfTheOverflow]

The Last of Us.

It's the voice acting and the amount of lines recorded that made the enemies feel very real, even when the AI failed a bit to deliver it sometimes.

One of the most immersive world thanks to them.

.

 

[brawly]

Soulsborne is damn good. From must have like a vault where they're breeding these voice actors.

Witcher 3 is amazing at it for its huge size.

 

[DoublePayje]

Does battle chatter in multiplayer shooters count?

If so, for me nothing will ever come close to Battlefield Bad Company 2. The voice acting for both languages (russian and us english) feels very solid and i have never heard such believeable soldiers between call outs, screams and sheer panic in the face of death.

This scene shows what i mean particularly well, turn up your speakers/headphones:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHjnmpWt-H4&feature=youtu.be&t=3m28s

Nothing less but haunting for me, those screams in the night. They toned it down in Battlefield 3 and Battlefield 4 because it was a bit too hardcore i guess. Nontheless, this was incredibly well done. But then again, the whole sound design of BC2 was on another level. Another mp games i would mention is Rainbow Six: Siege. The characters talk in the beginning and when "stealthing" in a low tone, whisper even. When a full firefight starts, they start shouting over the loud explosions and shots, which is very immersive and well done aswell. You hear the switch between "being cold and on a mission" and "fighting for life and death".

 

[JediLink]

I'm not sure if the Souls series counts because there are no generic or unimportant NPCs. Everyone is their own character.

EDIT: Unless you count the dudes in Bloodborne who say "Away, away!" and "This town's finished!" but I don't find anything special about those lines.

 

[OBias]

I really like the VA of random citizens in Half-Life 2. They sound pretty believable and have some memorable idle lines. The game also had great enemy chatter, it was very contextual and used cool post-processing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUlYgWxhlpI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfIGiZODcH4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgBBmyF-1sQ

 

[The Albatross]

GTA 5. No other recent game comes close to the number of lines, the quality, regional dialects, lines fitting the scene, NPCs talking to each other in semi real (though over the top) conversations, the varied actors, etc.

Witcher 3 is also very good for minor NPCs