The Best British Regional Accents In Games

Summary

• British accents in video games often default to RP or Cockney, but games like Dragon Quest VIII showcase a range of regional accents.
• RPGs like The Witcher 3 and Elden Ring feature diverse British accents, adding depth and authenticity to the game world.
• Games like Disco Elysium, Ni No Kuni 2, and Xenoblade Chronicles 2 incorporate regional British accents effectively to enhance characters and setting.

Representation in video games is incredibly important, and while a lot of other axes of identity often receive the focus of it, sometimes it’s nice to hear your local accents represented in a video game.

For British people, that can be difficult, as gaming often defaults British accents to either Received Pronunciation (see: posh), or overtly cockney, like Tracer from Overwatch. Despite being a relatively small collection of islands, Britain’s range of accents is huge, so here are some games that really showcase regional British accents.

10

Dragon Quest VIII – Journey Of The Cursed King

“Cor Blimey!”

The first game in the Dragon Quest series to feature voice acting, Square Enix and Level-5 decided that the Western release of Dragon Quest VIII – Journey Of The Cursed King should include a range of British accents for its voice cast.

While Cockney and RP make up a good bunch of the early party members, a large majority of the Ascanthan population pulls from voices in the Lancashire, Yorkshire and Norfolk areas. Meanwhile, other characters like Emma and Rydon have an Irish and Welsh accent respectively.

9

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

“I Can Feel The Sweat Drippin’ Down My Bum Furrow.”

If you’re making a game based in a fantasy version of medieval Europe, you should expect some British accents, and The Witcher 3 doesn’t disappoint in that regard, even if the witchers themselves have American accents, while Ciri and Yennefer have more standard posh accents. Ciri does have a more Estuary accent though, a middle ground between cockney and RP that hints at her mixing between upper and lower class circles.

It’s the rest of the Continent’s population where the accents become diversely British, as Velen boasts West Country accents, the Skellige offer Irish accents while the Dwarves are the typical Scottish accents you’d expect from most fantasy. There’s even room for Welsh and Brummie (Birmingham) accents, too, with The Bloody Baron having a notably Brummie twang.

8

Disco Elysium

“Tell ‘Em Cuno Sent Ya!”

To say that Disco Elysium is just a great showcase of British accents would be a disservice to the wide range of characters that appear in this phenomenal RPG, as Revachol is a veritable melting pot of accents and cultural facsimiles from across the world, including American, European, Scandinavian, Arabic, Indian, African and more.

As for the British accents in Disco Elysium, your regular Cockney and RP accents are present and accounted for, but the character of Cuno also boasts a Liverpudlian or Scouse accent, something that isn’t often seen in video games.

7

Elden Ring

“Feel Free To Go Off And Die In A Ditch Somewhere.”

You can always trust FromSoftware to cram a variety of British accents across their games, with the Souls series and especially Bloodborne sounding like a reenactment of Shakespeare playing out digitally in between bonfires and boss beatdowns. However, Elden Ring’s voicework goes even further with even more accents on show.

From Irish to Welsh, Yorkshire, Brummie and the North West of England, there’s more voices on offer here than your usual “posh bloke does posh bloke voice”. Personally, we’re just glad that the loathsome Dung Eater doesn’t talk with his mouth full, if you know what we mean.

6

Ni No Kuni 2: Revenant Kingdom

“Come On, Mun! I Haven’t Got All Day!”

Level-5 are big fans of using regional British accents in their games, and they do an excellent job of incorporating those accents effectively, often to convey either place or a species. People from a certain area or race speak with a specific accent, giving each part of the world something unique.

Ni No Kuni 2: Revenant Kingdom is the perfect example of this, with the Sky Pirates using quite brutish West Country and Scottish accents, while those of the port town Capstan use accents from across the various seaside towns you can find in Britain. Follow that up with Lofty’s luscious Welsh accent, and there are plenty of British accents to enjoy here.

5

Xenoblade Chronicles 2

“I’ll Bash You Up Proper Next Time, I Swear.”

Some of the most acclaimed RPGs you can play right now, the Xenoblade series has become a genuine juggernaut for the Nintendo Switch, and part of that is due to the stellar voice cast. Most of the Xenoblade games boast excellent voice acting, and although some consider Xenoblade Chronicles 2 to be the weakest of the bunch, its usage of regional British accents is fantastic.

Like other RPGs, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 tends to group its accents together to link people of a certain tribe or culture, with Leftherians boasting northern English accents, the Gormotti speaking Welsh, Ardainians speaking with a Scottish accent and both Nopon and Tantalese using the standard Cockney and RP respectively.

4

Final Fantasy XVI

“I May Have Had One Too Many.”

Since the days of FFX, the Final Fantasy series is known for its pretty stellar voice dubs, with Final Fantasy XII in particular earning plenty of respect in Britain for the inspired decision to cast theatre actors in this science fantasy space opera. For the diverse range of British accents though, look no further than Final Fantasy XVI.

Most of the characters that represent the kingdom of Rosaria sport a Bristolian accent of some kind, while obviously the posh upper crust characters use that darned RP accent that seems to pop up everywhere, characters like Cid and Mid speak with thick Yorkshire accents, while Clive’s good-time boy Gav is the most loyal Geordie in RPG history.

3

Baldur’s Gate 3

“Kiss My Arse.”

Apparently, nothing says dungeoneering and dragon slaying quite like the British accent, at least if Baldur’s Gate 3 is anything to go by. Even though there’s a few American and other accents included in the Forgotten Realms, you’ll be spending much of your hundreds of hours in-game listening to voices from across the British Isles.

While some of the more immediate differences come via your own party, with the posh-sounding Asterion and Shadowheart contrasting with the Cockney-voiced Karlach, exploring the rest of the world will give your ears the treats of Yorkshire, Lancashire, West Country, Welsh, Irish and Scottish accents, along with almost countless others.

“That’s What It All Comes Down To For You, Yeah?”

Given how Atlus typically make games with heavy anime influence, the fact that Metaphor: Refantazio’s English dub uses voice actors with heavy regional British accents is a hugely welcome change of pace. However, it’s how Metaphor uses its accents that makes it such a memorable and wonderful game.

Like other games that use the British accent, Metaphor leans into the perceived class stereotypes of its accents, with RP voices for nobles and working class accents for the impoverished.

With different tribes and cultures appearing in Metaphor, you can often tell what type of person you’re talking to just on voice alone, with the Virga Island Mustari speaking in a Welsh accent, the folks from Martira speaking in Scottish and tribes like the Paripus sporting Cockney, Scouse or other, similar working class accents.

1

Fable

“I’ll Tell Ya Dad What A Good Farmer You Are!”

How could it be anything else? For those outside of London and the more high income areas of the UK, a game like Fable was arguably the first time that you might have heard a voice that sounds similar to yours. Think of the young Scouse lad, playing the Fable prologue and hearing someone with a familiar promise to tell their dad what a good farmer they are.

Imagine their horror when that village is immediately razed to the ground.

Given that Fable’s Albion shares its name with the historical name for Britain, it’s no surprise there’s a range of accents from across the various regions of the UK. That’s especially true for the amount of celebrity cameos that also appear throughout the Fable series, so if you want to hear pretty much every voice that the UK has to offer, the Fable series is the one to go for.