Favorite voice acting performances in games I love

I've been slowly powering through my Grounded difficulty playthrough of The Last of Us, and it has reminded me of just how fantastic the voice acting is in that game. I began thinking about some of my favorite acting in games, and I feel like these actors and actresses deserve more credit and praise for their amazing work. Here are some of my favorite video game voice acting performances from games I love.

Troy Baker as Joel and Ashley Johnson as Ellie in The Last of Us

Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson are both extremely talented voice actors, and when they get together, magic happens. I will never be able to put into words how much I adore their performances as Joel and Ellie, respectively, in this incredible game. When I think about The Last of Us, I obviously think about how much I love the story, the gameplay, and the soundtrack, but what I love the most are the performances by Troy and Ashley. The chemistry between them is undeniable, and it makes for some of the greatest video game voice acting in history. Side note: If you've never watched "The Last of Us: One Night Live" on YouTube, so yourself a favor and watch that right now.

Nolan North as Nathan Drake in the Uncharted series

Anyone who plays video games has undoubtedly heard of Nolan North. With over 370 credits on IMDB, Nolan North has been in virtually every popular game over the past 10 years. His performance as Nathan Drake in the Uncharted series is undoubtedly his most famous, and my personal favorite. I especially love his performance in Uncharted 4: A Thief's End; it was really cool to see an older Nathan Drake living a "normal" life with his wife, Elena, before heading out for "one last time" on an adventure. Nolan North really raised the bar with his acting in the Uncharted series, and because of my attachment to the Uncharted games, he is my favorite voice actor. I think I'd cry my eyes out if I ever met him.

Melissa Hutchison as Clementine in Telltale's The Walking Dead

The evolution of Clementine as a character from the first season of The Walking Dead up through the upcoming final season has been spectacular to witness. I just recently began a new playthrough of Season One and realized that I had forgotten how tiny and innocent Clem was when she first met Lee. Melissa Hutchison has done a fantastic job at transforming Clem from a naive little girl into a hardened, walker-killing badass (and mother figure to AJ) who is completely capable of holding her own against a horde of walkers.

Sam Douglas as Scott Shelby in Heavy Rain

If you know me, you probably know that Heavy Rain is the game that made me fall in love with the PlayStation brand, and I bought a PS3 in 2010 just to play it. Admittedly, some of the voice acting in that game is not so great, and time has only made it worse; however, Sam Douglas' portrayal of Scott Shelby still holds up to this day. Scott was my favorite character in that game; he made that world seem so believable. I was always so excited when it was time to play as Scott. Sam did a great job making Scott a believable character, and I'd love to see him do voice work in more games in the future.