There are a few reasons. Gavin's voice work is perfectly fine, but he sounds a bit too "New York" for a California character. Shepard from Mass Effect has the same effect on me, the voice sounds harder than the character as I play them and it takes me out of immersion.

I've also been gaming since Pong and, even as a cis guy who has no intention to transition or any of those tropes associated with guys who choose to play gals, I think women in games have valid stories, and sometimes it matters which gender the character is. It changes the dynamic. And one thing I love about Cyberpunk 2077's voice direction is how various lines (particularly from Johnny) hit differently based on the gender of V. I also think there's more nuance to the story if you make certain choices. Like starting Nomad and picking the Nomad ending (in this case, as male V, because you romanced Panam). But I like the Johnny ending, and it just hits harder when V is female. It's fundamentally changed Johnny and he's gone from hating V, to wanting to save V, to when you decide he should get the body, he's cool with it. It's a shame they make the point that genitals can be swapped out in their world, but Johnny accepts he's a woman now and there's a certain peace to it.

Also, the significance of Keanu Reeves being in Cyberpunk is because he was Neo in The Matrix, about a guy trapped in a simulation. Cherami Leigh also played a person trapped in a simulation in Sword Art Online. V isn't Asuna (Cherami voices her with a deeper voice and more grit, and they sound almost nothing alike), but neither is Johnny Neo. It's just a neat connection and juxtaposition. I wouldn't expect people who haven't seen Sword Art Online (or its English dub) to care about this, but I have, and so, I do.

By contrast, in Fallout 3, I only choose a female Lone Wanderer because of the perk that lets you do more damage against the opposite sex. I feel like it's a better story for the son searching for his father. Likewise in Fallout 4, you gotta go with Nora. It makes less sense that the paralegal is instrumental in this three-way war, but it makes more sense that the mother looking for her lost son would rebuild the Commonwealth. And I ship Nora with MacCready. RJ MacCready really has redeemed himself from Fallout 3 (he was the bratty mayor kid from Little Lamplight, Mayor MacCready) and he really deserves all the love. He's also voiced by Matt Mercer.

[–] skulblaka@sh.itjust.works 6 points 3 days ago

Yes, and it isn't close.

FemV just feels like she fits better into the story, to me, but that probably has to do with the better voice acting. She feels more like she belongs in night city.

[–] TimothyOilypants@lemmy.ca 2 points 3 days ago

For me, I'm just not interested in spending that much intimate time with another dude. Absolutely nothing wrong with it, just not for me.