actions speak louder than words and some
games take this advice to heart welcome
to watchmojo.com and today we’ll be
counting down our picks for the top 10
video game stories told with minimal
dialogue dolly for this list we’ll be
looking at video games told with little
to no dialogue the sprinkling of words
here and there is fine
so long as the bulk of the games
narrative is told through action and of
course as always we’ll only be accepting
one game per franchise number 10 Proteus
Proteus tells a classic circle of life
story as the player you walked through
it’s procedurally generated retro
inspired world interacting with the
islands nature the game’s changing
seasons rotate through new color
palettes transforming everything around
you into something new and inspiring
giving the player a new lens to examine
the world around them
music and sound play a key role in how
Proteus communicates its themes in tone
but the end result is a mesmerizing tale
of the stages of life
number nine machan area Machinarium
follows the plight of a small robot
named Joseph named after Joseph Capet
the man who coined the term robot
discarded into a disposal unit Joseph
puts himself back together and then sets
out on a quest to return home but along
the way finds himself caught up in a
mission to save his city from
destruction pulled entirely through
animations and settings Machinarium is a
humbling story that’s as inventive and
inspiring as they come even without any
words Machinarium is an incredibly
affecting tale number eight Super Smash
Brothers Brawl the world’s greatest
action figures come to life as Super
Smash Brothers Brawl tells a universe
bending story about Nintendo’s iconic
cast of characters plus a few extras in
Subspace Emissary mode Nintendo’s heroes
band together to prevent an unknown and
omnipotent force from splitting their
worlds apart forever
the plot is told without words which
makes sense given how few of Nintendo’s
mascots actually speak making for a
silent but stirring cross character
wrong there’s something infinitely
satisfying about getting to see Mario
Samus and Link team up to fight tyranny
this mishmash of continuity did receive
a mixed reception from fans and critics
but it’s notable for its ambition if
nothing else
number seven a bird story like the other
games by can Gao and Free Bird games a
bird story uses flashbacks to tell a
story about love and coming-of-age the
story follows a young boy who comes
across a wounded bird after school and
decides to take it home in the hopes of
nursing it back to health the bird is an
anchor for the boy and as players we
learn more about his life his family and
his schooling through his actions all
while he cares for the small injured
bird number six brothers a tale of two
sons like the name suggests brothers a
tale of two sons tells the story of two
brothers throughout their quest to find
a cure for their sickly father’s illness
they venture through fantastic lands
reminiscent of classic fables each
brother is controlled independently by
one analog stick on the players gamepad
creating puzzles that illustrate the
bond between the two boys
there’s an innate familial love between
the brothers and the game’s wordless
communication does a fantastic job of
demonstrating this within game action
number five another world
a testament to the quality of its world
building another world was released in
1991 making it a pioneer in
sophisticated game narrative another
world opens on a young scientist
conducting experiments with a particle
accelerator when suddenly lightning
strikes and he’s teleported to an alien
planet from there the player sets about
exploring the planet learning about its
residents both good and bad and trying
to find a way home in large part because
of its emphasis on visual storytelling
the plot of another world holds up
remarkably today an early achievement
for video games
number 4 limbo the visual metaphors in
limbo are so profound that it’s a hard
story to talk about without spoiling it
as its title suggests limbo is a game
about the intermediate the in between
where the ambiguity of your
circumstances are as deliberate as they
are thought-provoking
you play as a young boy traveling
through a dark intimidating forest
followed by a city skyline there are
only a handful of characters sprinkled
throughout this story but limbo manages
to be a visceral and often terrifying
experience that says more with its black
and white shadows than some other games
do dripping with text or dialogue it’s a
triumph
number three Iko Iko begins with a boy
being escorted by guards to a secluded
castle in order to be imprisoned a
precaution after young Eiko was born
with two ominous horns of course all of
this is expressed to the player without
words save me be for a few spoken in a
non-existent language helping the game
create a sense of danger and mystery
around the castle and everything in it
Eiko as a game is a powerful ambient
story about a boy and a girl’s attempt
to escape their symbolic – there are few
games in the history of the medium that
say so much with so little
number – Super Metroid for all intents
and purposes this list couldn’t exist
without Super Metroid it is the de facto
prime example of environmental
storytelling
while there is a pretty dialogue heavy
intro once the game proper starts it’s
no talking from here on out
not only does Super Metroid solidify
Samus is the brave iconic character that
she is but it manages to convey an
entire story of ecology and architecture
through its environment
almost entirely through our correction
level design and action Super Metroid
describes centuries of lore and context
in addition to its exciting linear
narrative Super Metroid is a true
classic
before we name our number one pick let’s
have a look at some honorable mentions
number one journey
without the use of words journey craft
an unparalleled sense of pace
it takes players through desert sea and
snow using visual language and sound to
create crescendos and it’s rising and
falling tensions
by seamlessly dropping online players in
and out of each other’s worlds and
forcing players to learn to communicate
with each other through movement and
chirps journey is able to create a rich
personal story in the midst of an epic
quest
it is a powerful altogether moving game
an astounding story told through action
not dialogue
do you agree with our list what’s your
favorite visual narrative in games for
more spoken top 10s published every day
be sure to subscribe to watchmojo.com
games take this advice to heart welcome
to watchmojo.com and today we’ll be
counting down our picks for the top 10
video game stories told with minimal
dialogue dolly for this list we’ll be
looking at video games told with little
to no dialogue the sprinkling of words
here and there is fine
so long as the bulk of the games
narrative is told through action and of
course as always we’ll only be accepting
one game per franchise number 10 Proteus
Proteus tells a classic circle of life
story as the player you walked through
it’s procedurally generated retro
inspired world interacting with the
islands nature the game’s changing
seasons rotate through new color
palettes transforming everything around
you into something new and inspiring
giving the player a new lens to examine
the world around them
music and sound play a key role in how
Proteus communicates its themes in tone
but the end result is a mesmerizing tale
of the stages of life
number nine machan area Machinarium
follows the plight of a small robot
named Joseph named after Joseph Capet
the man who coined the term robot
discarded into a disposal unit Joseph
puts himself back together and then sets
out on a quest to return home but along
the way finds himself caught up in a
mission to save his city from
destruction pulled entirely through
animations and settings Machinarium is a
humbling story that’s as inventive and
inspiring as they come even without any
words Machinarium is an incredibly
affecting tale number eight Super Smash
Brothers Brawl the world’s greatest
action figures come to life as Super
Smash Brothers Brawl tells a universe
bending story about Nintendo’s iconic
cast of characters plus a few extras in
Subspace Emissary mode Nintendo’s heroes
band together to prevent an unknown and
omnipotent force from splitting their
worlds apart forever
the plot is told without words which
makes sense given how few of Nintendo’s
mascots actually speak making for a
silent but stirring cross character
wrong there’s something infinitely
satisfying about getting to see Mario
Samus and Link team up to fight tyranny
this mishmash of continuity did receive
a mixed reception from fans and critics
but it’s notable for its ambition if
nothing else
number seven a bird story like the other
games by can Gao and Free Bird games a
bird story uses flashbacks to tell a
story about love and coming-of-age the
story follows a young boy who comes
across a wounded bird after school and
decides to take it home in the hopes of
nursing it back to health the bird is an
anchor for the boy and as players we
learn more about his life his family and
his schooling through his actions all
while he cares for the small injured
bird number six brothers a tale of two
sons like the name suggests brothers a
tale of two sons tells the story of two
brothers throughout their quest to find
a cure for their sickly father’s illness
they venture through fantastic lands
reminiscent of classic fables each
brother is controlled independently by
one analog stick on the players gamepad
creating puzzles that illustrate the
bond between the two boys
there’s an innate familial love between
the brothers and the game’s wordless
communication does a fantastic job of
demonstrating this within game action
number five another world
a testament to the quality of its world
building another world was released in
1991 making it a pioneer in
sophisticated game narrative another
world opens on a young scientist
conducting experiments with a particle
accelerator when suddenly lightning
strikes and he’s teleported to an alien
planet from there the player sets about
exploring the planet learning about its
residents both good and bad and trying
to find a way home in large part because
of its emphasis on visual storytelling
the plot of another world holds up
remarkably today an early achievement
for video games
number 4 limbo the visual metaphors in
limbo are so profound that it’s a hard
story to talk about without spoiling it
as its title suggests limbo is a game
about the intermediate the in between
where the ambiguity of your
circumstances are as deliberate as they
are thought-provoking
you play as a young boy traveling
through a dark intimidating forest
followed by a city skyline there are
only a handful of characters sprinkled
throughout this story but limbo manages
to be a visceral and often terrifying
experience that says more with its black
and white shadows than some other games
do dripping with text or dialogue it’s a
triumph
number three Iko Iko begins with a boy
being escorted by guards to a secluded
castle in order to be imprisoned a
precaution after young Eiko was born
with two ominous horns of course all of
this is expressed to the player without
words save me be for a few spoken in a
non-existent language helping the game
create a sense of danger and mystery
around the castle and everything in it
Eiko as a game is a powerful ambient
story about a boy and a girl’s attempt
to escape their symbolic – there are few
games in the history of the medium that
say so much with so little
number – Super Metroid for all intents
and purposes this list couldn’t exist
without Super Metroid it is the de facto
prime example of environmental
storytelling
while there is a pretty dialogue heavy
intro once the game proper starts it’s
no talking from here on out
not only does Super Metroid solidify
Samus is the brave iconic character that
she is but it manages to convey an
entire story of ecology and architecture
through its environment
almost entirely through our correction
level design and action Super Metroid
describes centuries of lore and context
in addition to its exciting linear
narrative Super Metroid is a true
classic
before we name our number one pick let’s
have a look at some honorable mentions
number one journey
without the use of words journey craft
an unparalleled sense of pace
it takes players through desert sea and
snow using visual language and sound to
create crescendos and it’s rising and
falling tensions
by seamlessly dropping online players in
and out of each other’s worlds and
forcing players to learn to communicate
with each other through movement and
chirps journey is able to create a rich
personal story in the midst of an epic
quest
it is a powerful altogether moving game
an astounding story told through action
not dialogue
do you agree with our list what’s your
favorite visual narrative in games for
more spoken top 10s published every day
be sure to subscribe to watchmojo.com
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