2024 Golden Lance Award for Vocal Performance of the Year

Vocal Performance of the Year is one of our favorite categories in our annual awards. It is a category that specifically celebrates the fusion of a single individual with the character they inhabit. A stellar vocal performance elevates a good character to an unforgettable one. It makes lines of dialogue become emotions and thoughts of a breathing person. The actors celebrated in this category went above and beyond to connect us to their characters and the worlds they live in. They made the games we played better by bringing humanity to life within them. With that said, here are the winners of Lords of Gaming’s 2024 Golden Lance Award for Vocal Performance of the Year.

Winner – Joseph Tweedale – Louis Guiabern (Metaphor: ReFantazio)

While 2024 was full of great performances, few were as captivating as Joseph Tweedale’s portrayal of Louis Guiabern in Metaphor: ReFantazio. In a game brimming with exceptional vocal talent, Tweedale’s work stands out for its sheer magnetism. Every time Louis is on screen, he commands your undivided attention. His portrayal isn’t just one of the best performances of the year—it elevates Louis to one of the most compelling villains of the year. Tweedale breathes life into a character who, through his own eyes, is the hero of the story, imbuing him with a complexity and authenticity that’s impossible to ignore.

What makes Tweedale’s performance so remarkable is its balance of control and intensity. For much of the game, Louis exudes an unnerving calm, his measured tone laced with subtle menace. But in key moments, Tweedale unleashes raw passion, delivering speeches and confrontations that resonate with both power and conviction. Whether through intimate conversations or rousing proclamations about the rule of strength in this fractured world, Louis emerges as a villain driven by unshakable belief in his ideals. Tweedale’s voice carries this duality flawlessly, making Louis a character who feels as charismatic as he is dangerous. It’s a performance that lingers long after the credits roll, solidifying its place among this year’s finest.

Runner Up – Melina Jeurgens – Senua (Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2)

When it comes to the Hellblade series, it is a game fixated on the human experience. Senua herself is the catalyst of seeing the twisted world through a lens of psychosis, and Melina Jeurgens, similar to the original game, had an unbelievably tall order for performing as this catalyst, and she exceeded every expectation. 

Senua not only has to have a realistic way of speaking with an accent and matching it with perfect body language due to Ninja Theory’s incredible motion capture work. But she also has to convey a level of fear in the darkest moments of the series. Showing vulnerability in emotionally charged scenes. And top it all off with expertly choreographed motion capture combat. Where Senua’s Saga: HellBlade 2 took it to the next level, and you can tell just how much Melina trained to pull it off. She is an actor who cannot be replaced due to how interwoven she is with the character, which is a feat only few can achieve such as the great Harrison Ford does with Indiana Jones.