Summary
- Silence in open-world games can enhance the atmosphere and sense of isolation, allowing the environment to speak for itself. (99 characters)
- Visual storytelling through exploration and clues can be more impactful than relying heavily on dialogue with NPCs. (113 characters)
- Minimal dialogue allows players to focus on the main selling point of the game, such as exploration or survival mechanics. (111 characters)
Open-world games are defined by having a setting that the player has some degree of freedom to explore at their own leisure. This makes it important for the world to be meticulously thought out, it almost needs to feel like a character in its own right. After all, it's the main selling point so it needs to do a lot of heavy lifting. A common feature of open-worlds, however, is the ability to uncover information and interact with its inhabitants, something which naturally makes dialogue a common thing to encounter. In many cases, this can be effective. Being able to interact with NPCs is a great way to gather information, find potential objectives, or obtain useful items. However, sometimes it's better to let the setting do the talking.
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While dialogue can be effective, its absence can sometimes have an even bigger impact. As many experimental filmmakers can attest, minimizing or even removing dialogue altogether can produce some very interesting effects, depending on the nature of the project. There is a reason why "show, don't tell" persists as a rule of storytelling. The reasons why this approach is used can vary. It might be a practical decision, motivated by a limited budget for voice actors. Or it may be done to heighten a sense of isolation. Sometimes the world just works better when the player is able to piece together the clues instead of having everything handed to them at once. Or it may be a combination of all of these things. Regardless, there is little doubt that minimal dialogue can be a powerful tool in the right open-world game.
6 Dredge
Silent Terror
Dredge
- Released
- March 31, 2023
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- E10+ For Everyone 10+ Due To Animated Blood, Fantasy Violence, Mild Language, Use of Tobacco
- Developer(s)
- Black Salt Games
- Genre(s)
- Adventure
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X
Dredge is a deceptively simple game about a fisherman trying to get by in a bleak open-world archipelago. The apparent simplicity of catching fish (through a very easy mini-game) and then selling them is betrayed by the grotesque world as dark secrets make themselves more apparent. It's a setting that's designed to feel hopeless and oppressive from the get-go, and one way the game manages to facilitate that is by letting the environment do a lot of the heavy lifting.
Sure, the protagonist can interact with NPCs in ports, some of whom provide quests and services, but the bulk of gameplay concerns the lone protagonist driving his boat alone through dangerous waters, which get especially treacherous at night. It's a world that feels like it's trying to kill him at every turn, from how easy it is to crash into rocks to the occasional sea monster. And a lot of it is done purely visually.
5 No Man's Sky
Silent Spectacle
No Man's Sky
- Released
- August 9, 2016
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T for Teen: Fantasy Violence, Animated Blood
- Developer(s)
- Hello Games
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC, Nintendo Switch 2
Who needs dialogue when there are sweeping vistas of outer space that speak for themselves? The main selling point of No Man's Sky is its proceedurally generated universe, and the ability to freely explore new worlds and new settings. While there are options for the player to interact with various alien NPCs, verbal exchanges tend to be brief, and spoken in made-up alien languages anyway.
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Even if the player can recruit aliens to help with specific tasks, the bulk of gameplay is structured around working alone, with options for multiplayer or a pet after the "companions" update. Plus, a lot of the game's life forms appear as flora and fauna that lack a means of communicating with the player. Limiting dialogue to theh points where it is absolutely neccessary allows No Man's Sky to put a lot more focus on its vast cosmos and fully embrace the philosophy of "show, don't tell."
4 Praey For the Gods
Silent Atmosphere
Praey for the Gods
- Released
- December 14, 2021
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- Teen // Violence
- Developer(s)
- No Matter Studios
- Genre(s)
- Action-Adventure, Survival
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, PC
Praey For the Gods takes place in a small open-world comprising a frozen island in a dying world. And one of the biggest things that makes this world so intense is the isolation experienced by the game's heroine. She is almost completely alone, besides a mysterious wolf who may or may not be her friend. There aren't a lot of characters to interact with as a result, just the remnants of previous inhabitants, so not a lot of opportunities for dialogue.
Instead, most of the storytelling is done visually. The island is coated with ruins, drawings, and occasional journals through which the player is left to piece together its history. The only voiced character in the game is limited to a few brief, though important, cutscenes, which makes their presence a lot more striking.
3 Sable
Silent Contemplation
Sable
- Released
- September 23, 2021
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- e
- Developer(s)
- Shedworks
- Genre(s)
- Adventure
- Platform(s)
- PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
This open-world indie adventure follows a girl's coming-of-age journey in a peculiar sci-fi setting. It's a planet called Midden, apparently existing in a future where humans have colonized it and now live in a society where everyone wears a mask for reasons not made clear. Aside from its non-linear open-ended structure, and its simplistic gameplay, a big part of what resonated with players was its reliance on visual presentation.
The little dialogue that does appear is limited to text boxes, with no voice actors. But a large portion of the game involves exploring vast landscapes and drawing conclusions from visual cues. Since there's no real combat, the player has a lot more room to take in the environment around them and piece together clues about the planet's history, though they are ultimately left to draw their own conclusions.
2 Sid Meier's Pirates
Silent Adventure
Sid Meier's Pirates!
- Released
- November 22, 2004
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- E10+ For Everyone 10+ Due To Alcohol Reference, Mild Language, Mild Violence, Suggestive Themes
- Developer(s)
- Firaxis Games
- Genre(s)
- Strategy, Action-Adventure
Sid Meier's Pirates deals a lot with being a pirate, but the developers made some interesting decisions when it came to character interactions. Characters speak in a simlish-esque made-up language, with subtitles for dialogue when it appears. The thing is, there aren't a lot of opportunities for dialogue. The player can have short conversations when they visit the governor or the tavern in any port, but even then they're pretty quick and, at most, the player can respond with yes or no answers.
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Beyond that, the closest thing is the occasional text prompt with information about things that are happening. The upside is this allows the game to focus largely on its main selling point - being a pirate. By reducing character interactions, players can quickly get back to pillaging and plundering on the high seas.
1 Subnautica
Silent Isolation
Subnautica
- Released
- January 23, 2018
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- E10+ for Everyone 10+: Fantasy Violence, Mild Language
- Developer(s)
- Unknown Worlds Entertainment
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
The original Subnautica wanted its alien planet to come with a strong sense of isolation. One of the easiest ways to do that was to make Ryley Robinson a silent protagonist. Being alone in the middle of an alien ocean doesn't exactly leave a lot of people to talk to. And for much of the game, the only speaking role is his automated computer system.
To make things even more haunting, we only hear other voices in the form of radio transmissions and audio logs, most of them from people who clearly died before their recording was heard. The resulting silence just adds an extra layer of hopelessness to the situation, reinforcing just how alone Ryley really is. Although the sequel Below Zero would experiment with a voiced protagonist to great effect, many fans still felt the first game's minimal dialogue was far more effective.
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