Best Performance of 2020 - Article
by Lee Mehr , posted on 15 January 2021 / 3,256 Views
"Sure, you have a script. But do you have an actor to sell it to an audience?" Along with Best VR Game of 2020, another new category joins VGChartz's GOTY Award list. It's a privilege to write this one too. Considering how complex and dialogue-heavy stories have become since the age of Zork, it makes sense to emphasize the value voice acting/acting brings to a role. Depending on the title, it's not just rehearsing for a two hour theater play; the density of some scripts could be over a movie trilogy's worth of lines. It can be a daunting task for veterans and newcomers alike. These nominees exemplify some of the best people arduously working in the industry today.
The Shortlist:
Britt Baron as Tifa Lockheart (Final Fantasy VII Remake)
Keanu Reeves as Johnny Silverhand (Cyberpunk 2077)
Ashley Johnson as Ellie (The Last of Us Part II)
Briana White as Aerith Gainsborough (Final Fantasy VII Remake)
Logan Cunningham as Hades (Hades)
The Winner:
Ashley Johnson as Ellie (The Last of Us Part II)
Runner-up: Logan Cunningham as Hades (Hades)
The Last of Us Part II has some... divisive elements to say the least; contrasting that, I don't believe voice acting has received a jot or tittle of derision. That's with good reason too. Since she's shouldering the lead role now, the demands for Ashley Johnson have changed. No longer the winsome teenager at Joel's side, Ellie's a different character since then. What I appreciate most about Johnson's performance here is the vocal shift from jagged hatred to pure lethargy by the end. You can tacitly feel her anguish ebb and flow - with the tides progressively rising the further she goes. There's plenty of great voice talent in the industry today, but the list gets much slimmer when it comes to capturing the range of Ellie's depression and PTSD like Johnson accomplished.
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It's weird that I actually felt more of a connection with Johnny than anyone else on that list, but that's mostly down to personal reasons and history.
Much deserved honestly.
What no abby?? Joke
Last of us delivered everything in spades although ff7 gurls can get some credit too!
Ashley is a remarkable actress in the video gaming world anyways,
Only time I saw her in the big screen was in avengers lol being saved by cap!
Personally, I though Keanu Reeves was one of the weakest performances in Cyberpunk 2077. It sounded very forced to me a lot of the time. Rest of the list was great (:
Keanu isn't good in Cyberpunk
So funny how TLoU2 was hated by so many people at first. It's gonna go down as one of the all time greats with all the awards it is garnering.
A lot of people still don't like it or are at least disappointed by it.
You can like the performances of the actors for Ellie and Abby, can like the graphical achievements and also like the great accomplishments in accessibility options and still hate other aspects of the game. That never get's negated. Also different persons may feel different.
I also would add: we shouldn't forget the conditions under which the game was made, aka crunch. I am not averse to Kotakus idea of excluding games from cewrtain awards, if they fail a minimum bar of work ethics. Supergiant with Hades shows you can make great games without burning out your workers. Nervertheless, even if the management made shit decisions, this doesn't take away from the performance of Ashley Johnson.
