🎙 Imagine hearing AND seeing yourself in a game! That’s exactly what happened to Kyle Hill, science educator and YouTuber, who voiced Nikolay in the English version of DLC#3 and became his visual prototype. In this interview, he talks about the process, the challenges, and what surprised him the most!😲
How has your experience as a YouTuber helped you with voice acting? Are there any similarities between creating content and voiceover work?
I've actually always loved doing characters and voices. I remember being obsessed with impressions and over-the-top actors like Jim Carrey as a kid. When I started creating for YouTube, it was an opportunity to express that love. So while working on an AAA game like ATOMIC HEART is something I haven't really done before professionally, making videos every week for 10+ years certainly helped me find my "voice"!
How did you prepare for voicing a character? Did you have any specific techniques or rituals?
For Nikolai, it was crucial for me to actually play—and enjoy—the game. Atomic Heart is a unique and wild IP, and it’s important to remember that it wasn’t created by native English speakers only. So when I was reading the script, I tried my best to embody what I thought the developers wanted to say, and practiced out loud until I felt comfortable with something I could present to the team.
What attracts you to Atomic Heart?
Atomic Heart was a breath of fresh air. It has some obvious inspirations, but the execution is really unique. It all comes together — viral ballerina robots, aggressively horny refrigerators, retro-futuristic Soviet cities, ...interesting voice over decisions — in a game that I continue to recommend to people. It was actually one of my most anticipated games of the last console generation, all the way back to when I saw the very first trailer. And that soundtrack!
What was the most challenging or unusual aspect of voicing your character?
One thing people might not realize is that the dialogue wasn’t originally written in English. While recording, I had to listen to the Russian actors’ performances, internalize their delivery, and then match the length, cadence, and volume of their lines exactly—right down to the waveform. I even had the Russian lines playing in my ears while I was recording! That was a significant challenge for me.
Which emotions or states are the hardest to convey through voice alone?
I'm not a trained actor, so conveying any kind of emotion on the spot is difficult! Intense emotions are especially hard because you have to find your own way of making them "real" to you in that moment. Imagining yourself about to be killed by robots at the bottom of the ocean isn't that easy.
In your opinion, how similar is your character to you in real life?
Kolya and I definitely share some similarities in appearance, but personality-wise, he's a bit shyer than I think I’d be in his situation. I get it—he’s got a lot on his plate and is trying to impress Nastya. But I'd like to think that I would be more P-3 while being almost robo-murdered.
What stands out to you the most from the entire voiceover process?
Honestly, the voiceover process for Atomic Heart was not easy. Matching a foreign language word-for-word while delivering a believable performance was a significant challenge—but one I’m glad I took on. Seeing the Mundfish team’s reaction to my efforts gave me a lot of confidence in my nascent skills as a voice actor. In the end, I hope players can hear the dedication we put into the work, and I can’t wait for them to experience the DLC!