“…one of the most charming, grounded lead female performances in gaming to date.”
After Chicken Police ended 2020 with a review stating “PERHAPS THE VIDEOGAME VOICE WORK OF THE YEAR.” We’re dancing into 2021 with The Medium getting a flood of accolades for the performances. And we utterly adore the paradox of ‘the most charming, grounded lead female‘ – for a horror game.
Great reviews that recognise our contribution to a game are always received with joy. However, our work in casting, directing and recording is always a collaboration with the developer. Without the vision, without great writing and without the dedication of the development team our work would be all for nothing. So a huge hats off to Bloober Team for being visionary and dedicated to the core.
Quotes from some of the reviews:
The Gamer: The heroine is a beacon of light in The Medium’s dark landscapes, as her sarcastic asides and cheeky observations lend a glib joy to what’s otherwise an upsetting experience. She’s a realistic depiction of trauma in that she has a personality beyond being hurt, and her use of meds to cope with that hurt is never presented in a way that stigmatizes mental illness. Marianne’s actress, Kelly Burke, is put in a position where her performance could make or break the game, as so much of the script’s weight is placed on being endeared to her character. She nails it, though, and sells Marianne with one of the most charming, grounded lead female performances in gaming to date.
Worth Playing: The voice acting is excellent, but Kelly Burke’s performance as Marianne is stellar.
IGN: While I certainly enjoyed the strong performances from Marianne and the small supporting cast (both human and spiritual) it’s Troy Baker’s uncharacteristic and entirely unsettling turn as The Medium’s chief antagonist that really steals the show.
Game Grin: The vocal performances are equally impressive, with the whole cast doing an admirable job of imbuing their lines with the kind of emotional gravitas the story needs. Kelly Burke captures Marianne’s slowly crumbling mental state perfectly, starting off stoic and self-deprecating but becoming increasingly desperate and weary as the story continues. Troy Baker steps outside his everyman comfort zone to deliver a squirm-inducing performance as The Maw (the game’s main antagonist) and even the supporting cast of characters are voiced well (especially Sadness, a young girl Marianne spends much of the game interacting with).
BBC: The Medium’s dialogue is a strong point. The voice acting is superb all the way through from Marianne’s monologues to the short audio clips that give life to ghostly characters. One performance that clearly stands out is The Last of Us’ Troy Baker as the terrifying villain The Maw.
Game Spot: I’m not sure what well of horrific creativity that Troy Baker found in order to inform his performance, but we must ensure he never finds it again–he does way too good a job of making The Maw sound creepy as hell. I’m not even really sure how to describe the voice; it’s as if a toddler that’s struggling for air is cooing in your ear about being a serial killer. You just feel unclean listening to it. The Maw is a deeply unsettling antagonist, made all the more so because you go a great deal of the game not knowing why it wants to be inside you, but knowing that it can appear at almost any time.
We are deeply grateful to all.
