Guys, this part is going to be totally serious. The special edition #StarbuckSuperlatives of the #StarbuckAwards will be out soon! (Want a quick preview? One of the categories is Best (Worst) Video Game-Related Frak Up of 2019. You can probably guess who that belongs to.)
(Somebody take the pound sign away from me. Haha.)
ALSO, I feel like I have to add this disclaimer because this IS the Internet and I’m a female sharing her opinion about video games:
- I did not play Death Stranding. Just not my cup of tea, and that’s okay. If you did and loved it, GREAT! Games are meant to be enjoyed.
- I also did not play Sekiro, for the same reasons as Death Stranding. Just not my jam.
- This list is SUBJECTIVE. I’m not proclaiming that this is the be all, end all of lists.
- I gave birth to a wonderful baby boy in December of 2018, so I did not play many games in early 2019, which I hope to rectify in 2020.
And now, the awards!
Laura Bailey is as prolific of a voice actor as they come, and deserves to be talked about in the same league as Jennifer Hale and Nolan North. Her turn as Kait Diaz in Gears 4, and subsequently Gears 5 however, was a real tour de force in her voice acting career in my opinion. It was the introduction of Kait’s character in Gears 4 that got me into the series (I’ll admit I’m a fangirl: See Critical Role!), but I’m glad I gave the series the time of day.
Holly Earl is a face and voice I’d never heard of before Gamescom 2019. She appeared on the stage next to Geoff Keighley and the two heads of Flavourworks to introduce their new game, Erica, and the fact it was dropping on the PlayStation Network store as they spoke. I wrote about how it was one of my favorite moments of that event, and my review of Erica, where I spoke quite highly about Holly’s performance.
I had to look it up, but Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order looks to be Monaghan’s first voice acting credit. He’s been in acting for QUITE a while; you’ve probably seen him in Shameless or Gotham most recently. On the male side of the video game voice acting industry, there’s a few staples out there; Nolan North, Troy Baker and Yuri Lowenthal come to mind. I do believe, if he keeps going, Monaghan will join this list. He did great bringing the on-the-run Cal to life, and seemed like he was a natural through the whole game. It’s a testament to his acting ability and the team at Respawn, and I hope we see Cameron in more video games in the future.
This was hard between Concrete Genie, Sea of Solitude, and Erica. All three had incredible music, but time and time again, I find myself coming back to Concrete Genie’s soundtrack. Sam Marshall, the man behind the music, also created the tone for PixelOpus’ first foray on PlayStation, Entwined, but his also had his hands on the music for several other franchises as well. The music was a great accompaniment to Ash’s story; the hope he felt about his hometown, the fear of being confronted with his bullies, and the wonders of his art.
I’ll just provide screenshots. These two games are BEAUTIFUL, and so lovingly created by the teams behind them.
Best Art Direction (Honorable Mention): Yoshi’s Crafted World
Yoshi’s Crafted World was ADORABLE and did not get near enough love. It was a great platformer and should be included among Nintendo’s great first party games this generation.
Sea of Solitude, a game from the EA Originals line, left a mark on me in so many ways, and I’m so glad that it exists. You play as Kay, and in the very beginning of the game, you come across a villainous creature that is actually YOU. As you traverse the city (which I read was based on Berlin, actually), the game touches on Kay’s life, more specifically, some of the worst moments of it. It frames monster-Kay as her feelings of depression, loneliness, fear, and the like. As someone who has spent most of her life also grappling with some of those issues, it was cathartic.
It was really cool reading interviews with the creator of Sea of Solitude after I finally played it (I love that kind of stuff). Cornelia Geppert’s inspiration for making Sea of Solitude? Working through her emotions after a breakup. She put her heart out there for all of us, and I’m forever thankful.
I wrote above why I loved Sea of Solitude, but, hear me out, I decided that Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order deserved to be up here as well. After EA’s unceremonious cancelation of Project Ragtag (Amy Hennig’s Star Wars project), shutting down Visceral Games, and then cancelling EA Vancouver’s Star Wars project, no one had much hopes for how EA was treating their Star Wars license (including myself).
And thank goodness, EA put Respawn in charge of one of something. They’ve had quite the year this year when you through in their success with launching Apex Legends, and thankfully, didn’t rest on their laurels. Titanfall 2’s single player story was a sleeper hit not enough people played in my opinion, and they improved on those story-telling skills with Fallen Order.
The story they told wasn’t one we’ve seen a whole lot in Star Wars media; the time after Order 66 but before the time of the original trilogy. It’s touched on a small bit if you’re a fan of the Expanded Universe, as well as Star Wars Rebels, but Cal’s story; from losing his Master, to his connection to the Force becoming damaged, as well as his redemption from that…Well, let’s just say I loved it, even though I wasn’t such a fan of some of the design choices Respawn made. (That map, anyone?)
As For The Superlatives…
I’ve got most of them written, but it’ll be a couple more days before they’re up.