10 Amazing Games With No Dialogue

While a very specific set of standards governs the AAA games industry, indie games enjoy more creative freedom.

As a result, it’s practically impossible to imagine a blockbuster without dialogue, as it’s one of the most popular methods to develop a game’s story.

On the other hand, indie titles have fewer constraints, which has given us many gems with great narratives without having to say a word.

Whether through mechanics, setting, animations, or even colors, experience the magic of silence with these ten amazing games with no dialogue.

10 Little Nightmares

The Bad Side of Dreaming

Regarding the horror genre, recent years have led me to the conclusion that indies handle it much better, especially thanks to examples like Little Nightmares.

The game puts at your disposal every imaginable audiovisual device to convey a story subtly, allowing the player to freely interpret the circumstances.

Because it focuses on showing and not telling, the story and events are much more impactful, creating an authentic connection between its world and the player.

Little Nightmares has such a well-developed atmosphere that the act of speaking itself becomes alien, enhancing its magnificent setting and immersion.

9 Neva

A Muted Struggle

Neva is one of the best indies of 2024, and the consolidation of Nomada Studio as a developer that knows very well how to create an emotional story without uttering a word.

The music and colors speak with a depth that language couldn’t reach in the game’s context, which focuses more on the sensory experience than on the cognitive one.

Thus, Neva is much more about feeling than thinking. By focusing on grief and overcoming loss, its way of connecting with audiovisual stimuli becomes even more relevant and delicate.

I would be lying if I said I find it superior to its spiritual predecessor, but the beauty and authenticity the game transmits are unique and worthy of praise.

8 Abzu

The Dream of Diving

If I had to name a video game that feels like a dream, one of my first choices would be Abzu.

Its ability to evoke wonderful sensations through natural representation is magical, creating a space where reality and fantasy aren’t at odds.

The absence of words is logical because they wouldn’t be able to describe the title’s immersion, which uses an excellent combination of mechanics and sounds to make you feel relaxed.

With a perfect length to be light and memorable, Abzu is one of those games that seeks your heart above all else, and it achieves this with an ease that is almost overwhelming.

7 Tunic

An Adventure In Every Sense

Honestly, Tunic can be frustrating. Not only because of the lack of dialogue, but because of the absence of a language that could allow you to understand its world and your role in it.

However, as the hours go by, you realize that adventure is the only language the game speaks, and there is no turning back from that epiphany.

Once you understand its intention, the feeling of discovery Tunic gives you is only comparable to that of masterpieces such as The Legend of Zelda or Dark Souls, its greatest inspirations.

Although I still find it occasionally uncomfortable, its boldness and identity have my full admiration, as it puts everything on the line to make you live a true journey, even if that implies scaring many people away.

6 Cocoon

Worlds Within Worlds

If I had to sum up everything Cocoon represents as a video game, I would say it is both a puzzle masterpiece and a fever dream.

With its fluid and imaginative way of traveling between worlds, it poses curious and creative challenges that are really demanding, but even more spectacular thanks to its tremendous setting.

The story is certainly confusing and takes time to digest, partly because the game focuses more on gameplay than plot, but it’s engaging enough to make you increasingly interested in the outcome of such a special campaign.

In the end, Cocoon is one of the best Annapurna Interactive video games, and that says a lot about the exceptional quality it has.

5 Jusant

A Tale Through Remnants

Without dialogues, telling a story you can connect with is a difficult task, but Jusant proves it is far from impossible.

Through just a few texts, a great environmental narrative, and a superb use of level design and cinematics, the game tells you everything you need to know about its world and more.

Even through the climbing mechanics, intimately tied to the story, Jusant narrates hundreds of years of events in a matter of hours with subtle but sensitive mastery.

Considering its superb use of sound and the great immersion its gameplay generates, the entire experience is as sublime as it is fascinating.

4 INSIDE

The Power of Atmosphere

INSIDE is an indescribable experience with one of the most remarkable atmospheres in the interactive medium, allowing everything to be told without telling it.

Playdead perfects the sensations achieved by Limbo through an intense title that never stops developing its story and universe despite being a puzzle game.

Every background, environment, challenge, and event is designed to be impactful, silently generating feelings of discomfort and anticipation that prevail during the entire adventure.

Along with perfect lighting and disturbing sequences, INSIDE starts as quickly as it ends, sneaking into your favorite games before you even realize it.

3 GRIS

A Silent Beauty

Making a video game feel impactful in an industry that presents thousands of works a year is a titanic feat, one that the extraordinary GRIS achieves.

Using shapes, colors, and architecture, the title conveys a tale among the most heartbreaking in gaming history, bringing tears to the player as if it were nothing.

The game has a lot to say, but it knows that doing it traditionally would not be as impactful. So, GRIS is a struggle between joy and pain, perfectly using contrasts to manifest that duality.

Therefore, its mechanical simplicity facilitates the appreciation of its aesthetics and music, aspects through which it exposes its grief and burns itself into your memory as few titles will ever be able to.

2 Hyper Light Drifter

Exploring the Unknown

While action games often take advantage of traditional narrative forms, Hyper Light Drifter takes a direction that is not at all common in the genre.

Instead, it places you in an unfamiliar world, with strange characters and circumstances, forcing you to put yourself in the shoes of an adventurer who must discover everything necessary to survive.

There are dialogues, glyphs, and messages, but they are all incomprehensible to you because you are an outsider.

Right off the bat, the game communicates the nature of your avatar and you as a player, whose greatest challenge will not be the bosses but the very act of venturing into the unknown.

So, you will spend the whole of Hyper Light Drifter not knowing for sure what is being said, but that will not stop you from enjoying its pleasant fun, magnificent soundtrack, great artistic design, and captivating lore.

1 Journey

A Magical Voyage

It’s hard to say anything new about a title that has been widely cherished since its release, but I think that is the greatest evidence of Journey’s excellence.

Despite being an indie game, it has managed to connect millions of people in ways only possible within gaming. Journey can afford to be wordless only because interaction serves the narrative function perfectly.

Even without its mind-blowing soundtrack and glorious setting, Journey feels mystical from the start. Although you know it’s going to leave a mark, it’s a voyage that will still surprise you.

Consequently, gaming has evolved thanks to works like Journey, which breaks the mold and transcends the usual standards. As such, it isn’t just a masterpiece, but a revolutionary game that will be studied for generations.