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Baldur’s Gate 3’s fan-favorite character has quickly gone to Astarion, who’s impeccably voiced by Neil Newbon. Astarion has one of the flirtiest and yet most deceptive, cunning, and arrogant personalities and mannerisms in the game. While his energy might be tough to match, there are luckily games that have a little bit of that Astarion vibe in them, if you can’t part with this beloved vamp.
Whether it be a certain protagonist, a side character in the game, or a larger theme (especially vampires or anything to do with rogues or vengeance), the following titles carry on that Astarion spirit in one way or another. Some will even grace you with more Neil Newbon!
Grand Theft Auto 5
Both GTA 5 and Baldur’s Gate 3 present you with two massive open-world maps where you can have unlimited amounts of fun while also telling a very long cinematic story, filled with a colorful cast of characters. Easily, Astarion’s closest match in the universe of Grand Theft Auto is Trevor Phillips. He’s got that proper unhinged vibe, can turn unpredictably aggressive, and is highly untrustworthy.
Trevor is one of the three main protagonists in Grand Theft Auto 5, alongside Michael De Santa and Franklin Clinton. Among the best missions for Trevor that Astarion would most certainly approve of is ‘Grass Roots – Trevor,’ where you essentially go on a total rampage and shoot a horde of clowns dropping in due to the hallucinatory side effects of the joint you just smoked.
Ryse: Son Of Rome
Ryse: Son of Rome
- Released
- November 22, 2013
You might be wondering what a story about a Roman has to do with Astarion in Baldur’s Gate 3. Well, Astarion’s character has a revenge arc with the Vampire Lord, Cazador Szarr, who created him and put him under his control. Likewise, in Ryse: Son of Rome, you have Roman general Marius Titus seeking revenge on the Emperor and all those he was once under the control of after a devastating betrayal.
At one point in the story, Titus will be visited by Nemesis, the Goddess of revenge, and he will assume the disguise of a new identity to carry out his vengeance. Ryse follows a linear storyline with a satisfying combat system consisting of QTEs that achieve stylish and brutal execution kills. In case you didn’t know, this game is made by the same developer behind Crysis and Hunt: Showdown, Crytek.
BioShock
BioShock
A similar theme of being under the control of someone else can be found in BioShock, but going any further into that would spoil one of the best twists in gaming history. BioShock sees you play as the mysterious Jack, who enters a lighthouse and is taken to a sprawling horror dystopia under the sea known as Rapture, overrun with creepy enemies like Splicers and monstrous Big Daddies.
And while you don’t have full-on spells like Astarion can have in his build in Baldur’s Gate 3, BioShock gives you Plasmids, which provide you with enhanced abilities such as telekinesis, electric shock, sending insect swarms at enemies, shooting out flames, and the opposite, Winter Blast, where you can freeze your enemies. The atmosphere and writing are also very strong, and it’s one of the best FPS games of all time.
Assassin’s Creed Rogue
Assassin’s Creed Rogue
- Released
- November 11, 2014
Astarion is a very morally gray character with a deceitful edge to him, rather than a true do-gooder, and one Assassin’s Creed game that flips the qualities of traditional AC protagonists on their head to be more aligned with Astarion is Assassin’s Creed Rogue. Here you play Shay Patrick Cormac, an assassin of the Brotherhood who, early on in the game, betrays his fellow assassins to become a Templar.
Aside from the brief time you’re with Haytham Kenway in Assassin’s Creed 3, Rogue is the first game where you fully explore the perspective of a Templar, and the ending is cleverly set up to lead right into Unity. Also, the title Assassin’s Creed Rogue, due to Shay’s rogue actions toward assassins, parallels with Astarion being a Rogue class in Baldur’s Gate 3. It’s meant to be.
Uncharted: The Lost Legacy
Chloe Frazer getting her own spin-off game alongside Uncharted 4’s Nadine Ross is one of the best things to happen, because these two women are the best and most intriguing side characters to be introduced in the series. Chloe is cunning and also has a very similar personality and sense of humor to Astarion, which is why The Lost Legacy brings a totally different vibe from Nate to more Astarion.
In The Lost Legacy, Chloe and Nadine journey together to India in search of the artifact known as the tusk of Ganesh, with Nate’s brother, Sam, also eventually crossing paths with them in the adventure. The story is much shorter than Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, but the new environments are equally as beautiful, with lots of traversal and puzzle designs as always, and the main enemy, Asav, is among the most compelling in the series.
Vampyr
The best element of Baldur’s Gate 3 is its branching narrative and choice-based gameplay, and another game where you can play as a vampire and go down the same branching narrative path is Don’t Nod’s Vampyr. It’s set against the backdrop of England during the 1918 Influenza pandemic, where you’re a doctor who’s been freshly turned into a vampire by an ancient master, facing challenging moral dilemmas.
If you thought Neil Newbon’s voice acting of Astarion was an exceptional delivery, wait until you hear Anthony Howell as Dr. Jonathan Reid, an equally unforgettable and distinct voice sure to reverberate in your ears long after you’ve finished the game. As Reid, you get to use your special blood-based vampiric skills and take on tougher Soulslike bosses, so that element is here as well from BG3.
Dead Take
Dead Take is a new psychological horror vision from Abubakar Salim’s Surgent Studios, the same developer behind the fantasy Metroidvania Tales of Kenzera: Zau. It takes the actor and filmmaker FMV influences of Immortality and combines it with the first-person elements of indie horror games. The storyline follows an actor searching for answers about his friend Vinny, who’s gone missing inside an acclaimed producer’s spooky mansion.
Vinny Monroe is played by Clive Rosfield’s voice actor, Ben Starr, but your protagonist, Chase Lowry, is portrayed by none other than Astarion himself, Neil Newbon. While not a vampiric elf in a fantasy setting, you will solve a haunting Hollywood mystery in Dead Take as Newbon, which involves seeing a lot of him and Starr in FMV footage, along with solving many puzzles. The supporting cast also includes Sam Lake, Laura Bailey, Matthew Mercer, Alanah Pearce, and Jane Perry.
Resident Evil Village
When you think of a character from another video game that comes closest to matching Astarion’s overall tone and vibe, the Duke from Resident Evil Village immediately pops into mind. On top of that, Resident Evil Village also has an appearance by Neil Newbon himself, as he voices one of the main enemies with the coolest boss fight in the game, Karl Heisenberg.
Village continues the story and FPS gameplay from its predecessor, though it takes a more action-oriented route, abandoning the truly unnerving horror elements of Biohazard. Set in a European village once again, it is definitely more like Resident Evil 4 in overall mood. And if you wanted vampires, Newbon technically isn’t one here, but you have Lady Dimitrescu and her three daughters in their Gothic castle.
