Summary
Games are often about so much more than just the plot itself. Whilethe ending(ormore accurately, the endgame) ofDragon’s Dogma 2is garnering praise, most people agree thatexploring the world is better than saving it. That’s not true of every game, but it is a common theme in the open world genre (everyone will soon rediscover this as they head back to Fallout). Games are rarely A to B plot machines. I understand that. But I still want shopkeepers to shut up and sell me something - especially inStellar Blade.
This is a problem you encounter from time to time in video games too. You, as the player, head to shopkeepers for a few reasons, but they all involve cash. Maybe you’re buying. Maybe you’re selling. Maybe you’re looking to see if they have that one quest item you need (they don’t). But you’re not chatting, and these merchants need to get with the program.
World Building Shouldn’t Come At The Cost Of Player Experience
I know I’m being somewhat hypocritical in praising games for in-depth world building and feeling alive, yet criticising them forhaving the audacity to make conversation. You might be thinking of me in the same way I think of peoplewho complain about sex scenes in movies that add nothing to the plot.
To that end, all I can say is I’m not a big stupid goofy baby who lives with their parents and needs their crusts cut off.
A merchant that has some personality that cracks through in their voice lines while I’m perusing their items is perfect. A merchant who has a specific quest to give me is also fine, because then their primary function is not to give me gold in exchange for junk, but to offer a new adventure.
In Stellar Blade, Kaya at Sister’s Junk does this at first, telling you there are supplies in the Wasteland. Unfortunately, every time you go back she has paragraphs of words to spray at you endlessly. I just want some polymer, Kaya. I need it for my dress.
Some chatty merchants, like the one inResident Evil Village, get a pass because they mesh with the world and play a role in the main plot. There’s a difference between adding something because you tie into the main narrative, the themes of the game design, or because of how you connect to the protagonist, and ‘adding something’ through the simple mathematics of an extra character with extra things to say.
Chatty Merchants Delay Stellar Blade’s Pacing
The worst thing is Kaya actually starts well. It’s not an exciting mission, but it’s easy, it’s right next to another one, and takes you to a fresh part of the map. Eve connecting with humans is even a theme of the game, but I just don’t care about Kaya enough to keep doing it.
You meet them and they go ‘hey how are you nice to see you, my cat is stuck in a tree, what can I do for you?’. Naturally, you do the quest and are a big cat hero… but then all the merchant talks about is the cat. And actually it was her sister’s shop. And the sister’s dead. Or maybe she’s just lost - that’s not a quest just thought you should know. Oh actually now it is a quest, here’s the whole conversation again now you’ve beaten that boss. It makes you regret interacting with her in the first place.
The thing is, when I’m presented with the chance to chat (with dialogue options to press on specific topics or skip to shopping), I’ll usually hear them out. I may skip some lines if I can read the subtitles faster and it’s clear this is dull information regurgitation, but I’ll give them a chance. Kaya doesn’t give you that opportunity, and somehow always has more to drone on about.
Sorry about the devastation this dystopia has rained down upon you and your family, but I really do just need that polymer to make a new dress.
How much I can tolerate NPCs talking at me usually has a strong correlation with my enjoyment of the game. If I love a game, I want to see every inch of it and relax into full conversations. If I’m not having a great time but just want to finish it, I’m going to keep my head down through town. Kaya made me less likely to seek out everything in Stellar Blade because I knew all I’d find at the end of it was dull conversation.
Stellar Blade
WHERE TO PLAY
Stellar Blade is an action-driven game from Shift Up, originally revealed as Project Eve. It follows the aforementioned Eve as she battles the alien Naytiba invaders, in a bid to reclaim the Earth for humanity.
