Top 10 Video Game Stories Told with Minimal Dialogue

Proteus tells a classic circle of life story. As a player you waltz through its procedurally generated, retro-inspired world interacting with the island’s nature. The game’s changing seasons rotate through new colour palettes, transforming everything around you into something new and inspiring — giving the player a new lens to examine the world around them. Music plays a key role in how Proteus communicates its themes and tone, but the end result is a mesmerizing tale of the stages of life.

Machinarium follows the plight of small robot named Josef, named after Josef Čapek (the man who coined the term ‘robot’),. Discarded into a disposal unit, Josef puts himself back together and sets out on a quest to return to home, but along the way finds himself caught up in a mission to save his city from destruction. Told 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.

The world’s greatest action figures come to life as Super Smash Bros. Brawl tells a universe-bending story about Nintendo’s iconic cast of characters. 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 romp. 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 it’

Like the other games by Kan Gao and Freebird 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 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.

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 analogue stick on the player’s 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 demonstrating this with in-game action.

A testament to the quality of its world building, Another World was released in 1991 — 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 is teleported to an alien planet. From there the player sets about exploring the planet, learning about its residents—good and bad— and finding a way home. In large part because of its emphasis on visual storytelling, the plot of Another World holds up remarkably well today — an early achievement in games.

The visual metaphors in Limbo are so profound it’s a hard story to talk about without spoiling. As its title suggests, Limbo is a game about the intermediate — the in-between, where the ambiguity of your circumstances are deliberate and thought provoking. You play as a young boy journeying through a dark, intimidating forest, followed by city skyline. There are only a handful of characters sprinkled throughout its story, but Limbo manages to be a visceral and often terrifying experience that says more with its black-and-white shadows than some games dripping with text. It’s a triumph.

Ico begins with a boy being escorted by guards to a secluded castle to be imprisoned — a precaution after young Ico was born with two ominous horns. Of course all of this is expressed to the player without words, save for maybe few spoken in an non-existant language, helping the game create a sense of danger and mystery around the castle and everything in it. Ico is a powerful, ambient story about a boy and girl’s attempt to escape their symbolic tomb. There are few games in the history of the medium that say so much with so little.

For all intents and purposes, this list couldn’t exist without Super Metroid — it is the de facto example of environmental storytelling. While there is a pretty dialogue heavy intro, once the game starts its “no talking from here on out”. Not only does Super Metroid solidify Samus as the brave, iconic, character that she is, but it manages to convey an entire history of ecology and architecture through its environment. Almost entirely through art direction, level-design, and action, Super Metroid describes centuries of lore and context inaddition to its exciting linear narrative. Super Metroid is a true ‘classic.’

Before we name our number one, let’s look at some honourable mentions.

“Fire” (2015)
“A Boy and his Blob" (Remake) (2008)

Without words, Journey crafts an unparalleled sense of place. It takes players through desert, sea, and snow using visual language and sound to create crescendos in its rising and falling tensions. By seamlessly dropping online players in and out of each other’s worlds —and forcing players 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 are your favourite visual narratives in games? For more spoken Top 10’s published daily, be sure to subscribe to Watchmojo.com.