Even when you’re dealing with some of the best developers and publishers in the gaming space, they’re not immune to having things go wrong. After all, even when making a “simple” video game, they can’t test for everything, and they can’t plan for certain reactions from fans based on what they see and experience. When it comes to Bethesda, they’re known for creating sprawling landscapes for gamers to travel across, quests that can pop up from nowhere, and very tactical combat. However, as its newest game, Starfield, reinforces, they seem to have a problem with getting certain accents to sound accurate.
Specifically, for whatever reason, Bethesda can’t seem to find someone who can do an Irish accent to save their soul. Regarding certain past titles, anyone with an Irish accent sounded like a stereotype or someone’s “perception” of what Irish people sound like. In one case, it was so bad that it was actually controversial.
Fast forward to Starfield, and people have been posting the lines that are said by one Charlie Flynn, a very stereotypic Irish name. She is a medic who is working hard at Cyndonia, and her dialogue highlights that fact. However, when you listen to her voice, you’ll notice that this doesn’t sound Irish:
As you can tell, the Irish accent does come in “at times,” while at others, it completely drops, making her sound more American than anything else. After gamers found Flynn or saw her clips online, they once again questioned how Bethesda could not only let this happen but why they have Irish characters in the game if they weren’t going to have proper Irish speakers voicing them. To be clear, some people are trained to do various accents, even if it’s not the one they’re born with. Plus, there are Irish actors and voice actors who could have been hired to do this role.
While it’s true that Flynn isn’t the biggest character in the game, that’s also not the point. Bethesda is known for its details in certain areas and for making the world and universe feel alive. But with characters like Charlie Flynn, they seem to go halfway for reasons no one can understand.
The good news for Bethesda is that this “issue” was only seen after the game was bought. As GameIndustry.Biz noted on Twitter, Starfield’s success has led to a massive spike in Xbox Series X/S buys in the UK.
Whether that lasts after Charlie Flynn is made aware of to the general Irish population remains to be seen.
