Ashly Burch Wants More 'Shitty Little Bitches' in Video Games
The Horizon actress tells PC Gamer that the industry's reliance on stoic heroes is stale, while sharing her obsession with Slay the Spire 2.
Voice actress Ashly Burch is pushing for a fundamental shift in how video game characters are written, arguing that the industry relies too heavily on stoic archetypes. In a recent interview with PC Gamer, the performer expressed a desire for more emotionally volatile and flawed personalities to populate digital worlds.
Burch, widely recognized as the voice and motion capture performer for Aloy in the Horizon series and a star of Mythic Quest, used the discussion to highlight a gap in modern characterization. She specifically criticized the prevalence of the "stoic hero," stating that she wants to see more "shitty little bitches" in games. According to Burch, introducing characters who are less composed and more prone to failure or irritability adds necessary depth and personality to the gaming experience.
For decades, the gaming industry has leaned on the stoic protagonist—characters who remain calm under pressure and maintain a consistent, often detached, emotional baseline. While this trope provides a stable anchor for the player, it often results in predictable character arcs. Burch’s critique suggests that these archetypes have become repetitive, lacking the friction and unpredictability that make human interactions memorable.
By advocating for flawed characters, Burch is calling for a move toward more nuanced writing. This approach allows for characters who are unlikable, emotionally unstable, or morally ambiguous, which creates more dynamic tension within a story and provides actors with more complex material to perform.
This perspective reflects a broader trend among industry professionals seeking to evolve storytelling. As the medium matures, there is a growing appetite for characters who mirror the messiness of real life rather than idealized versions of heroism. Moving away from the stoic trope allows developers to explore a wider range of human emotion, potentially leading to more empathetic or challenging relationships between the player and non-player characters (NPCs).
When characters are allowed to be flawed, narrative stakes often feel higher because internal struggles become as significant as the external plot. This shift could lead to a new wave of character-driven games where personality flaws are not just quirks, but central drivers of the plot.
Beyond her thoughts on narrative design, Burch revealed her current gaming focus during the PC Gamer interview. She stated that she is currently obsessed with Slay the Spire 2, the highly anticipated sequel to Mega Crit's influential roguelike deck-builder. While Slay the Spire 2 focuses more on systemic gameplay and strategic combat than the deep character studies Burch advocated for, her enthusiasm underscores her continued engagement with the evolving landscape of indie and AAA gaming.