First of all, I really like Last Epoch and I think it’s a great game (lore-wise, gameplay-wise, etc.)
I was looking forward to seeing/fighting Lagon in the story arc, since he’s clearly inspired by Cthulhu (and I’m a H.P. Lovecraft enthusiast). The part leading up to him is actually great. His guardian is warning you not to even try to talk to him, shatters the seals to his temple and you have to even fight her, because she is so afraid to open the gates to Lagon. The buildup is actually brilliant.
And here’s where it begins… The fight with Lagon’s guardian was where the voice-acting took a hit. I was telling myself, that she should be screaming at the top of her lungs for me to leave and let the horrors beyond the gates be locked (and not calmly ask me if I’m lost and have friendly chat with me, while I run around - trying to chase her). But I didn’t mind it, defeated her and went to Lagon’s temple.
As I saw the tentacles, I was excited. I knew this was going to be the showdown with Cthulhu-like god. So I fought through his watery/tentacly temple and was finally face to face with him. And…
During the fight I actually turned down the Voice sounds for the first time in this game, because it was so bad. Like… '80s D-Horror movie bad. And some of the writing for him too. I really doubt, that an immortal being would ask: “This all you got?” And not just the voice, but effects on the voice as well. Something about it was off. I guess I was expecting more thought put into this boss encounter like multiple whispers/voices forming a voice (Aldia in Dark Souls 2), since he can own souls - and I would guess there is a lot of them, that he owns.
I was expecting for Lagon to be this overwhelming presence like… let’s say Dominus or Malachai in Path of Exile were. The voice-acting for those two bosses were so good in fact, that I occasionally play them on YouTube and get goosebumps, just because of how well they were written, voice-acted and fit into PoE’s story and atmosphere. And it’s just few lines from each of them, before you kill them. Things like that can leave quite the impression.
I do agree with you about Lagon’s voice and lines. But I also think you put your expectations too high. For me, Lagon is not like Cthulhu, he’s more like an intelligent giant squid. I’m not sure he has a really dark side or he goes from a dark environment. As Liath and maybe Yulia or Grael say, he’s unpredictable. He can be friendly or hostile, depending on… we don’t know.
So yes, he does not have the right tone and the right words, but I still think you set your expectations too high.
For Liath, I did not have the same feeling. I did not hear a calm and friendly chat. I had the impression I was hearing my mother yelling about something stupid I did or about my messy room. I played the campaign multiple times and I still have this impression, even though I am now almost 51 years old. So for her, I understand what you mean, but I really don’t have the same feeling. I really feel she’s exactly as she had to be.
I agree with you, but like @Shtrak said, I think Lagon is not supposed to be a full-on Cthulhu. I’m a Lovecraft enthusiast as well, and nothing would have made me happier than to have slowly increasing whispers throughout the temple before having delirium-like symptoms or hallucinations during the fight; but it’s not who Lagon is.
That being said, I completely agree that the voice acting left me disappointed. Lagon sounds a bit… plain, or empty, especially for a god, at least for most voicelines. For instance, the “this all you got?” line actually made me chuckle in game.
However, like @Shtrak also said, I think Liath is perfectly fine in her overall tone. If we assume that Lagon is not supposed to be a Lovecraftian god, then it makes sense that she would not be screaming at us to keep the voices and secrets locked away. In fact, she is a guardian, but a completely sane guardian, who only uses her intelligence to manage Lagon’s emotions and avoid any sudden violence from him, and to create constructs that help her achieve that.
But I am glad to see someone mention the voice acting in general, because it is literally the only part of Last Epoch that feels underwhelming to me. Everything else feels either perfect, or on its way to being perfect, but the voice acting was a bit disappointing to me now and then. ^^
Lagon gave me 0 Cthulhu vibes even though I wouldn’t mind if I did (I love me some Lovecraft!). I do feel like the boss fight itself and his voice lines could use work to be more immersive. How repetitive “YOU BORE ME” is, it gets pretty old; it sucks that his attitude doesn’t change as you fight him. Like come on, at least you give him something to do.
Could give the boss fight a little more interest is just making his voice lines change depending on how many lore books you collected in the temple before the fight. There was a final fantasy game with an interesting base mechanic that you couldn’t understand the language of the people around you till you collected all the books to translate it. It would be cool if Lagon words were hard to understand unless you collected lore, collecting all you could finally understand him fully. Could be an interesting way to spice up the dialog.
Just to clarify some replies here… I said that Lagon is most probably inspired by Cthulhu (giant crustacean/squid entity, immortal, locked away, doesn’t concern himself with mortals or their mortal coil, etc.), not that he is Cthulhu. And overall point of this post is that he could use some love in the voice-acting and writing department, so he could leave an impact as Act 7 main boss.
@Vatinas@Shtrak Considering Liath is the only thing between Lagon possibly unleashing tentacle hell on the world (or you know… doing nothing and staying in his temple) and the player prying themselves towards Lagon at every step - the point of it was, that she could be little more emotional. Also, also… It would be interesting if we “released the Kraken” and all upcoming eras and timelines would be changed because of it and we would have to seal him again. Timey-wimey stuff.
