Dialogue is one of the most important features of many games, especially for the likes of RPGs, as players will likely need to talk to NPCs to discover quests or various contexts for the world they are a part of. However, it isn’t just RPGs that have incredible dialogue systems, as some of these role-playing games alsocontain amazing open worldsfor the player to explore.
These games focus on more than implying giving players a variety of activities to complete within the world around them but instead, also allow them to have conversations with those they meet. These dialogue systems make the open-world titles feel more alive as players can really get involved in the world around them. Therefore, these are by far the best dialogue systems in open-world games.
Open-world games don’t require the player to have a voiced protagonist for the dialogue system to be impressive in an open-world experience. The classic RPG titleSkyrimhas a surprisingly high-praised dialogue system that allows players to express their character in various ways within the dialogue available among the different NPCs they are likely to encounter while adventuring across the open world.
This is especially seen when completing various quest lines, such asthe Dark Brotherhoodwhere the player can give into their dark side when they encounter their assassination targets, as they can confidently walk up to them and talk to them to scare them before their death. This includes talking to NPCs during random encounters while they explore.
Some players may not considerDragon Age: Inquisitionto be an open-world game. However, unlike the other titles in the franchise, Inquisition has a focus on larger separate maps ofdifferent areas in Thedasthat give the player the feeling of an open world experience, as they can freely travel between the different areas. Like anyDragon Agetitle, dialogue is a vital aspect of the RPG experience, with players being able to make not only choices but also react in different ways to the events that are occurring around them.
One highlighted way thatInquisitiondoes this is players being able to give an emotional response to something that is defined by different images. Players can react to something confused, angry, supportive, or upset, as well as many other emotions that the Inquisitor is able to display through the player’s choice.
Bethesda has made a variety of open-world RPGs across various themes that don’t just include theElder Scrollsfranchise, with theFalloutfranchise being another with an impressive dialogue system that Bethesda has continued to experiment with.Fallout 4was the firstFalloutgame in the franchise to use a voiced protagonist and this meant that the dialogue system had to be done slightly differently.
Players may not know the exact words they are responding with, but they can either be friendly, sarcastic, or aggressive towards the NPCs they encounter. Not to forget to mention that the charisma skill also played a vital role in bribing, threatening, or even flirting with some of the NPCs.
Assassin’s Creedis a franchise that has seen many changes happen to it over the years. Besides, the game becoming far more open world as seen inAssassin’s Creed Odyssey,where players are able to travel between the different Greek islands, players are also able to be far more interactive with the various characters they encounter during both the main story and side quests of the title.
This allowed players to define the main character ofAssassin’s Creed Odysseymore. Unlike past games in the franchise where players were given characters that were already established in their personality and reacted on their own without giving places a choicein the franchise.
The Witcher 3is an action RPG that allows the player to once again take on the role of Geralt the monster hunter in an epic adventure. While players are freely allowed to explore the open world ofThe Witcher 3: Wild Hunt,the dialogue system within this RPG is one of the best, not only for talking to NPCs but also due to the importance it has to the story.
Depending on how the player chooses to react to the people around them, they can even define which ending players get once they finally finishThe Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.This includes specific combat skills to be used in dialogue too.
CD Projekt Red expanded upon not only their open worlds but also their dialogue systems when they later createdCyberpunk 2077. Talking is a large factor inCyberpunk 2077, as players are able to interact with not only theregular NPCsbut also define their character through the relationship they have with the man inside their head, Johnny Silverhand.
Besides the regular dialogue options, depending on the skills the player has and the attributes they invest points in, players will even have a unique dialogue to do with those things, making each V they create feel unique in their own way. While the attribute of Cool is the most common for getting a good deal or winning someone over, Body can still have its uses in dialogue too, such as intimidating someone.
Out of all the open-world games, one that pushes the dialogue system in gaming above and beyond the others isDisco Elysium. Talking is a vital part of the player discovering more about their character as they play a detective that must solve a crime while they themselves have completely lost their memory. Through the different emotions within them, players are able to react in different ways to the people they encounter within the open world to make every attempt at the RPG feel different.
From focusing on a more dramatic character that tends to overreact in conversations, to instead being a very aggressive person. Discovering the positives and negatives of the character the player has created is by far one of the most interesting aspects of talking inDisco Elysium.
