Voice Actor Ashly Burch Shares Steam Library Insights and Discusses Video Game Character Writing

Ashly Burch, recognizable for voicing Aloy in Guerrilla Games' Horizon series and starring in the Apple TV comedy Mythic Quest, recently shared insights into her gaming habits and preferences. During a feature exploring her Steam library, Burch discussed several titles she has been playing, along with her thoughts on narrative design and character writing in modern video games.

Reflecting on her current rotation, Burch mentioned playing the newly released detective game The Incident at Galley House. She noted that detective games frequently prompt a familiar cycle of feeling overwhelmed by leads before ultimately caving and physically writing notes down. Burch compared this experience to playing Blue Prince and Lorelei and the Laser Eyes, where she also relied on massive notebooks to track clues. She expressed a deep appreciation for the genre, highlighting Return of the Obra Dinn and Chants of Sennaar as personal favorites that make players feel genuinely clever when solving puzzles.

When discussing titles she has uninstalled, Burch pointed to Fields of Mistria. She frequently turns to cozy games to decompress when her professional writing work leaves her mentally exhausted. According to Burch, Fields of Mistria succeeds where many cozy games struggle by giving distinct personalities to a large portion of its village characters, rather than relying solely on hobbies or generic dialogue templates. She also praised the game for successfully capturing realistic childlike behaviors in its younger characters.

Among her most played titles on the Steam Deck, Burch noted spending substantial time with Slay the Spire 2 while in early access, accumulating hundreds of hours into the roguelike. She praised its balance of luck and skill, as well as its subtle characterization. Burch pointed out small visual storytelling details, such as a new character named the Regent sitting on a throne supported by visibly shaking minions, as clever methods of conveying personality through design.

Beyond specific mechanics, Burch touched on broader narrative trends in interactive media. She expressed a desire for more varied character archetypes in video games, noting that the industry often relies too heavily on stoic protagonists. Throughout the discussion, Burch also touched on her early gaming memories, including playing LucasArts' Day of the Tentacle, and her current creative projects outside of acting.