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I’m willing to bet you play video games with subtitles on.
Most players do - I did for a long time, too, right up until last year.
Here’s why I play games without subtitles and why I think you should, too.
Subtitles: “I’m breaking your immersion.”
Dialogue is key in narrative-driven games likeThe Elder Scrolls V:Skyrim,Detroit: Become Human,orSOMA.
Then, the music and sound effects come in.
So why reduce all that work to a few lines of text at the bottom of the screen?
Then, I came across an article from our own Lance Ulanoff onwhy Gen Z loves closed captioning.
A fresh perspective brewing in my head, I booted upSteam.
Are these subtitles or spoilers?
Subtitles aren’t just immersion breakers, though - they can be downright spoilers.
It really irks me when a character would’ve actually made a pretty good joke with solid comedic timing.
Similarly, many subtitles spoil the names of mysterious characters before we’re meant to know them.
One that jumps to mind immediately isThe Illusive ManfromMass Effect 2.
Of course, this doesn’t reveal everything you’re meant to learn about The Illusive Man.
And it doesn’t happen if you don’t have subtitles enabled.
It’s not just the names of characters, either.
Don’t care, got the general idea.
Cut subtitles out, play story games again.
I can’t even see the game!
Lastly, some subtitles just look downright terrible.
I used to think, “yeah it looks terrible but Ialwaysplay with subtitles on.”
Don’t do it - they’re actively making your game look worse.
In spite of it all, we need subtitles
Of course, subtitles aren’t all bad.
They’re an extremely important accessibility feature that needs to be included in every game that comes out today.
Gamers with hearing impairments or auditory processing disorders rely on subtitles to glean key information and objectives.
They’re also vital for players who are trying out games in another language from their native tongue.
But lately, I’ve been wishing more games had aBaldur’s- Gate- 3-style conversation log.
You might feel ‘naked’ at first, turning subtitles off, like something is missing.
I know I did.
