[Feedback] Wuk Lamat's English Voice

[CaptainLagbeard]

The voice acting was kind of bad, the whole character is so far bad and the reason we're going along with them is terrible.

If Wuk is a strong indicator for what we can expect out of Dawntrail I hope the gameplay can carry the expansion.

[Somnolence]

That's got to be bait.

Only because there is a controversy about that as well. I personally would take subpar voice quality if:

* Everything is voiced (Even BG3 added some new reaction dialogue lines for rare stuff that are unvoiced which is very immersion breaking)
* NPCs can actually use my character name (event the stupid VASCO robot in Starfield that is supposed to use your name doesn't if its not in the list of pre-recorded ones)
* Have to hear less drama

[Tehmon]

That aside I said it on the deleted thread, don't know if it's the accent she's trying to make or her range but it feels limited in terms of expressions, I swapped to JP to make a quick comparison and I was happy to see how much of a cheerful personality she expressed on japanese, whereas on English I CAN see they're intending too but it's like, midway
This seen pretty much in the bird scenes where she's supposed to be scared or when hunting with the excitement, as others have said it falls flat

Pretty much. Whenever Wuk Lamat talks normally and is just sharing information and having banal dialogue during a cutscene, the English VA is not offensively bad or anything. It's fine, still a completely different character that lacks the nuances of the JP voice acting, but it's whatever. But when there's a scene that requires exaggerated emotion, the English VA is REALLY bad imo. Like, really terrible, Wuk Lamat ends up sounding like a bad cartoon. No such issues with the JP voice acting though. She does a great job at delivering the emotion, comedy and intensity that the scenes require.

Why this matters so much is because Wuk Lamat is going to be a main character and there are bound to be tons of emotional scenes and scenes that require exaggerated emotions from the voice actors. And from what was previewed in 6.55, the English VA is inferior to the Japanese VA. And overall, the Japanese VA makes me like the character more, perhaps because Japanese voice acting is often very categorized: this type of voice actor works for this type of character, and the Japanese VA does a great job of playing that archetype of a rowdy tomboy, which makes me understand the character more, and what the writers are trying to accomplish with the character.

[ArcaviusGreyashe]

Only because there is a controversy about that as well. I personally would take subpar voice quality if:

* Everything is voiced (Even BG3 added some new reaction dialogue lines for rare stuff that are unvoiced which is very immersion breaking)
* NPCs can actually use my character name (event the stupid VASCO robot in Starfield that is supposed to use your name doesn't if its not in the list of pre-recorded ones)
* Have to hear less drama

It's not so much about quality, a properly trained AI can feel pretty natural in most discussions, it would, as of now, using state of the art AI, clearly lack in more dramatic/comic scenes, but given enough time, that can surely be worked on. The issue lies with the fact that doing so would be laying most VAs off, possibly stealing their voices at the same time. Even if they were to earn royalties for the model they were the inspiration of, it would then spark outrage because "they don't do anything" or some shit.

Eventually we'll get there, because that's how companies work, but AI are a shitshow, both technically and socially.

[Emitans]

I really loved her performance. She and G'raha were the highlights of this patch.

[StarRosie]

Pretty much. Whenever Wuk Lamat talks normally and is just sharing information and having banal dialogue during a cutscene, the English VA is not offensively bad or anything. It's fine, still a completely different character that lacks the nuances of the JP voice acting, but it's whatever. But when there's a scene that requires exaggerated emotion, the English VA is REALLY bad imo. Like, really terrible, Wuk Lamat ends up sounding like a bad cartoon. No such issues with the JP voice acting though. She does a great job at delivering the emotion, comedy and intensity that the scenes require.

Why this matters so much is because Wuk Lamat is going to be a main character and there are bound to be tons of emotional scenes and scenes that require exaggerated emotions from the voice actors. And from what was previewed in 6.55, the English VA is inferior to the Japanese VA. And overall, the Japanese VA makes me like the character more, perhaps because Japanese voice acting is often very categorized: this type of voice actor works for this type of character, and the Japanese VA does a great job of playing that archetype of a rowdy tomboy, which makes me understand the character more, and what the writers are trying to accomplish with the character.

While I agree in some areas Sena Bryer has a few bad takes we'll say. I do think she overall gets the energy of the character across. It's also the character's first and only major in game speaking role so far, as well as possibly her first time recording alongside the other VAs. Look around about voiceover work and you will find a lot of veterans in the industry say there is a HUGE difference recording lines alone and recording with a group. Though, that is just speculation on my part. I don't know how she recorded her lines for this but...imo it was fine. Nothing outstanding. But also not nearly as awful as some seem to believe. It's really clear that Sena Bryer is still trying to settle into the role and find Wuk Lamat's voice. While I won't say something like "oh, it's her first speaking role in the game. You can't critique that!" because you absolutely can. I think it IS a bit ridiculous for people calling for her to be fired off this one performance...but that's my two cents.

[Anarnee]

American? She has a Puerto Rican flag in her bio on twitter. I'm confused. Like yeah PR is part of the USA, but to play it like she's a just some American when she's Latina feels really disingenuous.

Anyways. I loved Wuk Lamat and I can't wait to hear more from Sena. I thought she did a great job and I would not like it if the character was recast. I already love her.

[Volgia]

I had no issues with her voice, actually liked her sounding a bit latina too considering where we are going, what's wrong with you people?

[WantlessYoYo]

what's wrong with you people?

It's called feedback, as long as the manners are correct don't find the need to call now wrong for having their thoughts now lol

[lawren]

I play with JP voice, but people criticizing the casting made me curious. So I checked the English cutscenes and she sounds fine to me.
Maybe the acting could be better, but the actress’ voice fits the character very well.
Just wanted to give a positive word out for her!