Last month, China-based developer Eclipse Glow Games revealed that Baldur’s Gate 3 and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 voice actor Jennifer English was stepping away from the protagonist role of Gwendolyn in Tides of Annihilation. Admittedly, English’s involvement was one of the more exciting aspects of Tides of Annihilation. However, after roughly two hours of actually playing it, I’m happy to report that the game is shaping up to be a great character action game filled with impressive spectacle, and English’s absence isn’t necessarily felt.
Sure, the specter of the news loomed over my two-hour gameplay preview of Tides of Annihilation when I played it last week in Chengdu, China, but the new voice actor does a great job filling the role. Unfortunately, I don’t have any information on who is now voicing Gwendolyn, but the new voice seems to be aiming to match English’s performance from earlier trailers, and she’s doing well so far.
After my time playing the game, I spoke with Tides of Annihilation director Ary Chen and producer Kun Fu about English’s departure to learn more about the changes, how much work English had done, and more. Chen tells me the news of English needing to step down due to mental health concerns was “quite an unexpected turn of events,” but notes the team “had a great time working with her.”
“We deeply respect her decision,” Chen says. “For us, health also comes first. That said, we had a great time working with her, and she did help us find a new voice actress for the role. And not only that, but she also helped us to go through the process [with the new voice actress], giving us tips and everything on how to do the voice acting.”
Chen tells me that, up to this point in Tides of Annihilation’s development, not enough work has been done to say English has already recorded everything, “because the game is still in development,” in response to my question about whether English’s work was complete before her departure. English is still the “voice-over director” as well, Chen says.
Tides of Annihilation is due out on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC sometime in the future.
For more, check out this gameplay trailer that highlights one of the many Tides of Annihilation boss fights.
Who do you think would be a good fit for the role of Gwendolyn? Let us know in the comments below!
