Summary
- Enemies in Metal Gear Solid 5 remember and adapt to player tactics with the "Revenge System."
- Fallout: New Vegas NPCs and factions remember player choices and actions throughout the game
- Villagers in Minecraft gossip about player interactions, affecting prices and protection in the game.
They say that there are two deaths. The first occurs when a person's body dies, and the second occurs when all memories of a person are forgotten. If open worlds are gamers' second lives, then it is a sad thought that most NPCs have no memory of the player. Perhaps for NPCs sharing a world with a particularly bloodthirsty player character, it is a blessing.
In either case, giving NPCs memories is a great way to demonstrate a game's reactivity to the player's actions in the open world, whether showing off reactions from friendly characters to favors, choices, or dialogue choices, or expressing a long-term rivalry with an enemy or hostile faction.
6 Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor
Creating Personal Foes On The Fly
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor
- Released
- September 30, 2014
WHERE TO PLAY
- The Nemesis System produces emergent rivals for the player based on their actions in battle, victory, or loss
The gameplay feature that Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor is most famous for is its Nemesis System, in which every Uruk enemy remembers past encounters with the player. Survivors (or victors) of battles may rise through ranks, bearing scars and grudges, leading to personalized rivalries that evolve throughout the journey through Middle-earth.
For example, a low-ranking grunt who bests the player with a lucky strike might return later as a war chief, proudly boasting about the time he took the player down and mocking them for their failure. No two playthroughs will be the same, as Orcs are created emergently for each new game. While the idea of other games borrowing the Nemesis System is tantalizing, it was only ever limited to two games due to WB's patent in 2021.
5 Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain
Enemies Remember Snake's Techniques And Learn From Them
Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain
- Released
- September 1, 2015
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Strong Language
- Genre(s)
- Action, Open-World
- Players who rely on certain tactics too much throughout their missions may be surprised to find that soldiers can remember, learn, and adapt to their actions
It is difficult to balance open-world games. There are so many variables and build types to consider that combing over every playstyle requires an enormous amount of time, consideration, and deliberation. Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain sidesteps this issue by getting enemy soldiers on the field to do it themselves, thanks to the "Revenge System." Any time Snake comes up with a strategy that seems unbeatable, soldiers will begin to adapt based on their recollections of previous run-ins.
If Snake excessively uses Fulton balloons to remove guards, soldiers will keep an eye out for them in the air and will rapidly shoot them down. The same goes for relying on the cover of night, which will result in night-vision-goggled sentries. In short, each mission in the open-world stealth sandbox can change significantly based on Snake's previous tactical choices. Although less extensive, Snake's allies on the battlefield, from his horse to his sniper backup, benefit from bonding time, which unlocks extra abilities and equipment for them after enough palling around.
4 Fallout: New Vegas
The Long Memory Of The Mojave
Fallout: New Vegas
- Released
- October 19, 2010
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Use of Drugs
- Genre(s)
- RPG
- The player's actions and choices are remembered by the various factions, large and small, across the Mojave
The Mojave Wasteland in Fallout: New Vegas is not only laced with danger and intrigue but also branching story options and impressionable characters and factions. In stepping out into Goodsprings, players are immediately greeted with a choice: help the town fend off a dangerous gang, help the gang, or ignore them both. Whatever the player decides will change the way its inhabitants see them for the rest of the game.
This repeats multiple times across New Vegas' map, but it isn't just the local NPCs who are observing and remembering. As Courier Six rises to fame or infamy, powerful actors will take note. In meeting them, they will recall and recount many important decisions the player made across Vegas and may even change their next few moves with those facts in mind.
3 The Sims 3
Living At Home, Out In The World, And In The Memories Of Loved Ones
The Sims 3
- Released
- June 2, 2009
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T For Teen due to Crude Humor, Sexual Themes, Violence
- Genre(s)
- Simulation
- Sims are deeply emotional and impressionable beings who can remember events long after they occur
Building relationships is foundational to the Sims series, but The Sims 3 brought this into an open world. Sims can bump into strangers and forge meaningful or painful bonds, which in turn come with memories. Having a great date, making an enemy, or being betrayed by a cheating lover all put Sims into different states that alter their moods, behaviors, and desires.
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Having a bad interaction is easier to patch up than a broken bridge created by humiliating a once-close Sim. Memories aren't just for the short term; a Sim can relive happy or sad moments spontaneously. Players can see their Sims' memories, both those created with others or during important life events, with the Memories scrapbook.
2 Minecraft
Sticking Their Noses Into Other People's Business
Minecraft
- Released
- November 18, 2011
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- E10+ For Everyone 10+ Due To Fantasy Violence
- Genre(s)
- Sandbox, Survival
- Villagers will remember if the player attacks, cures, defends, or trades with villagers and will gossip about it during the day
Although the NPCs in Minecraft might not look like the most sophisticated or realistically rendered virtual people, their capacity to remember things, especially the player's actions, is surprisingly deep. While they spend most of their time growing crops and making weird noises at each other, villagers will "gossip" about the player and their interactions with them.
For example, they might talk about a lucrative emerald trade. Lots of villagers with a positive sentiment about the player will result in better prices and closer protection from iron golems. Curing villagers from their zombified sickness will give the player a high reputation, but attacking or killing villagers will make them an enemy of the village, prompting golems to attack and villagers to shun the player.
1 Red Dead Redemption 2
A Hard Land Even For Lone Rangers
Red Dead Redemption 2
- Released
- October 26, 2018
WHERE TO PLAY
- NPCs out in the world will remember acts of politeness, trading, violence, and robbery
- Arthur's fellow gang members will remember Arthur's contributions and reward them with character moments, skills, and map locations
Red Dead Redemption 2 is renowned for its realistic world, and not just the graphics. Putting on a black hat and acting violently, selfishly, or rudely will cause townsfolk to shun Arthur Morgan as he passes by, or kindly request that he not cause any problems again. Shopkeepers will remember if Arthur robbed them and speak accordingly. Most impressive of all are the characters in the Van der Linde gang.
Like strangers out in the world, they can be interacted with positively or negatively, but the consequences of either can be felt throughout the story. Forming strong bonds and contributing to the gang's supplies will see them open up more around the campfire. Arthur can receive hints about treasure across the map and even learn abilities from those who remember his kindness. Selfishness in the group is met with punishment, as Arthur can lose his membership for too much bad behavior.