RPGs, more often than not, live or die by their casts. It takes a considerable amount of talent for a voice actor to not only deliver potentially hundreds of hours of lines but also make some of the technical and fantastical lingo used in certain RPGs believable. That’s why fans are always hoping the best in the business come together for the ultimate RPG, and rarely does it happen. That’s not to say that no RPG has had a great cast, but rather than no RPG, at least an English-speaking RPG has had the perfect cast.
The closest wasClair Obscur: Expedition 33, which brought the impressive talents of Ben Starr and Jennifer English together with a handful of Hollywood A-listers to create something truly beautiful. Well, that was until an unexpected game showed up. This upcoming game features the dream RPG cast, with talents from some of the verybest RPGs of all time. However,what makes this both surprising and a tad disappointing is that the game it is for isn’t even remotely an RPG.
Ben Starr, Neil Newborn, Matt Mercer, And More!
Surgent Studios, the incredibly talented developer behind the critically acclaimedTales of Kenzera: Zau, is back with its latest game,Dead Take. UnlikeTales of Kenzera, which was a metroidvania,Surgent Studios has opted to make a horror game, and one that, frankly, looks both immensely creative and downright spooky. Focusing on the mysteries surrounding an acclaimed director and his actors, players will uncover videos of various characters, all of which are performed by the game’samazingly stacked cast of actors, also known as the aforementioned dream RPG cast.
It starsClair ObscurandFinal Fantasy 16’sown Ben Starr,Baldur’s Gate 3’slegendary Neil Newborn, Matt Mercer - whose iconic roles are too numerous to mention -,Returnal’sJane Perry,Max Payne’sSam Lake,The Last of Us: Part 2’sLaura Bailey, and many more.It’s a cast unlike any other, one that feels uniquely positioned to makeDead Takean astounding experience- Ben Starr is doing an American accent, and I’m very excited about that. However, as great asDead Takelooks, I can’t help but feel a little jealous that this same cast isn’t doing an RPG together.
It Would Surely Be The Best RPG Ever Made
I would love to see whatDead Take’scast could do with a sprawling RPG. Of course, the majority of its cast have appeared in separate RPGs, but never this specific group together in one game. Naturally, I’m very keen to see how each actor’s incredible range applies to the horror genre. However, afterwards,it would be exciting to have that same range be put to good use in aClair ObscurorBaldur’s Gate 3-esque experience, one with plenty of drama, heavy, emotional themes, and lots and lots of shouting fun-sounding moves.
PerhapsDead Takewill serve as the testing ground to see how this group does together, or maybe now that Surgent Studios' founder and voice actor, Abubakar Salim, has made some important connections, the developer’s next game will be an RPG. Either way, I’m excited for a potential future where we get the face of Max Payne and the voice of one of the greatestRPGprotagonists in the same game together.
