Erika Ishii On The Games That Defined A Career In Storytelling

Erika Ishii is spending 2025 in a visible place within games culture, but the work behind that moment stretches back decades. In a recent Game Rant interview, Erika Ishii spoke about the three games they consider their favorites of all time. The choices point less to genre loyalty than to moments when games altered how they understood storytelling, emotion, and the medium’s reach.

The conversation arrives shortly after the release of Ghost of Yotei, a PlayStation 5 exclusive that launched on October 2, 2025. Ishii plays Atsu, a woman driven by revenge after her family is murdered and she is left for dead. The role places Ishii at the center of Sucker Punch’s follow-up to Ghost of Tsushima, a game they have publicly admired for years. While promoting the project, Ishii used the opportunity to look backward, naming The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Return of the Obra Dinn, and The Last of Us as the games that mattered most.

Ishii’s connection to games predates their current profile. They appeared on television as children, including a brief role on Full House, and later became a familiar presence across tabletop and improv-focused platforms such as Dropout’s Game Changer and Dimension 20. Many fans also recognize Ishii from Critical Role, where they portrayed Dusk. Alongside that work, Ishii has built a steady voice acting career, contributing to titles like Destiny 2, Mortal Kombat 1, and Apex Legends. Games, for Ishii, are not a side interest but a parallel creative language.

When discussing The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Ishii focused on timing and tone rather than mechanics. The GameCube release arrived in 2003 and stood apart for its cel-shaded art and expressive animation, a sharp break from expectations set by earlier Zelda titles.

“I really needed it while I played it.”— Erika Ishii

The comment frames Wind Waker as a personal anchor rather than a nostalgic favorite. Ishii also praised Nintendo’s willingness to take a visual risk, describing the game as a “big swing” that paid off emotionally. That sense of permission to be stylized, expressive, and sincere surfaces repeatedly in Ishii’s later work.

Return of the Obra Dinn resonated for different reasons. Ishii has mentioned the game before, including in discussions about recent releases, but continues to return to it as an example of what games can do that other media cannot. Lucas Pope’s mystery relies on deduction, memory, and player attention, with progress tied directly to how well the player understands fragmented scenes.

For Ishii, the game’s impact lies in its use of interactivity as structure. The experience does not translate cleanly to film or prose, and that limitation is its strength. It reinforced Ishii’s belief that games function best when they lean into the mechanics that separate them from other narrative forms.

The Last of Us carried a more explicit influence on Ishii’s career direction. Naughty Dog’s 2013 release, along with its Left Behind expansion, reframed how narrative ambition could exist within a mainstream action game. Ishii described it as a turning point.

“The Last of Us inspired me, and The Last of Us: Left Behind, too, was very much a part of making me love narrative games and decide that that was what I wanted to do with my life.”— Erika Ishii

That influence is difficult to overstate. The Last of Us went on to receive a sequel, a remake, and a remaster, while its HBO adaptation won Best Adaptation at The Game Awards in 2025 despite a divisive second season. For Ishii, the series demonstrated that emotional specificity and commercial success were not mutually exclusive.

While listing these favorites, Ishii drew a clear boundary around Ghost of Yotei itself. They described the game as occupying a separate category, one complicated by personal involvement. Ishii stopped short of calling it a favorite, noting that proximity changes perspective. Still, they acknowledged that the game’s themes align closely with their own interests.

“I think even if I wasn’t in it, it would be very meaningful to me as a fan of games, and of samurai, and westerns, and revenge films, and just all of these things that I love.”— Erika Ishii

That comment reflects continuity rather than coincidence. Ishii’s admiration for Ghost of Tsushima predates their casting, and Ghost of Yotei extends those ideas through a new lens. The role of Atsu places Ishii inside a genre framework they already value, blurring the line between fan and performer.

Erika Ishii’s career continues to move across mediums, but their perspective remains grounded in how games function as emotional systems. The titles they highlight are not unified by style or scale. They are linked by moments when design, narrative, and timing aligned closely enough to leave a lasting mark.