One of the best things about watching the gaming medium flourish and evolve is seeing its cinematic flare expand alongside. As video games have matured, so have the ways in which they tell their stories, with the cinematic techniques on display now rivalling those used in film and television. Motion capture, script-writing and voice acting in particular have all contributed to the rise of gaming as a serious narrative force in recent years, but that hasn't always led to the greatest performances being recognised. Instead, roles are often rated on the iconic status of the character being portrayed, and though those performances are great in their own right, they're not as emotionally provocative or indeed as complex as others that have been overlooked in the past. This means you won't be seeing the Duke Nukems or the Master Chiefs of the medium on this list, because whilst those performances are certainly more recognisable and commendable in many respects, they don't quite illustrate the wide-ranging talents that have been displayed since. Still, many of these roles are only made possible by an impressive script, so irrespective of just how good an actor is, they're only as good as the material they're given. It can go both ways, but that only highlights why we should reflect on the best video games have offered so far. Spoilers ahead.
14. Melissa Hutchison - Clementine (The Walking Dead)
Clementine from The Walking Dead is a prime example of a well-rounded, authentic character, benefitting from both fantastic dialogue and a remarkable voice actor in Melissa Hutchison. She's the heart and soul of the series, and despite the fact that the second season degraded in quality somewhat, Clem still remains a fantastic character worth staying invested in. Though her age would indicate a sense of vulnerability, Clementine is anything but passive. In fact, she's an incredibly proactive character who is able to persevere in extremely dire circumstances. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyUC7nE-f2M She may be unsettled by the events that transpire around her, but Hutchison makes it clear that though everything feels bleak on the horizon, Clem's youthful optimism enables her to pull through. It's an admirable trait to have in the zombie apocalypse, but it never feels dismissive of its severity.
WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well.
In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.
