this post was submitted on 25 May 2026
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Soulslike - Discussion, News, Memes
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This is a community for discussion, news, and memes pertaining to the video game sub-genre "soulslike".
Given Lemmy's size, the definition of soulslike may be treated relatively loosely. While games like the numerous FromSoft titles, the recent Star Wars Jedi games, Lies of P, Nioh and similar games should be the focus, games that incorporate soulslike elements - like Hollow Knight and Blasphemous, for example - may also be discussed here.
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[BB] This enemy is so difficult!
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Add these sound effects to the man-serpent lookout in Elden Ring
Actual answer: I think the small thing that annoys me most about all of From's games is that you often need to use the dialogue interaction several times to hear an NPC out in full but there's no indication for when you have actually heard all of their lines, so you wind up repeating the last one a lot. As such, I'd like a small marker added to the "talk" icon that shows up if the NPC has something to say that hasn't been said yet in this playthrough. I think that just means a tiny icon to be made and one IF check, so I think it fits the premise of the question
Oh, this is a nice QoL change that I would really like :)
I’ve read many complaints about the need to speak to NPCs multiple times in Souls games, but I really like this behavior; it just feels more immersive for me. But I can’t tell you how many times I’ve repeated the last of the available dialogue. Your change is nice and unobtrusive. I would like for it not to be an icon but a border around the talk button prompt, like, for example, a golden border if they still have something to say and no or a blue border if they have nothing new to say.
I don't know, to me it never really added any immersion. But maybe you can sell me on it if you explain how it works for you.
Seeing as there isn't a dialogue system in Souls games it doesn't really feel like you're actually having a dialogue with the NPC at all, so it's not really immersive for me in any shape. It just feels like an unoiled dialogue dispenser that you need to keep banging on the side of every now and then to keep the gears grinding. "Oh right, gotta remember to keep pressing A on everyone until they run out of dialogue". If anything for me it takes me out of immersion.
Oh, you put me on the spot here. I never had to really articulate why it feels so immersive to me…
Different topics and different thoughts get dispersed in different dialogue prompts. So the NPCs don't just exposition dump you. You talk to them, they go back to their task - smithing, reading, having depressive thoughts (mostly that); you talk to them again to start a slightly different topic, they interrupt their task and talk to you again. For me, it also adds, in a way, a progression of time to it? Like you talked, you could do something else, then you talk again. But even if my character doesn't do anything in between, it still feels like a progression to me; does that make sense?
But I also really like the dialogue in Souls games. It's well voice acted and well written (for the most part), and I simply like how it's presented with "player-controlled pauses".
I'm not really satisfied with my explanation of why I find it immersive… Maybe I could at least give you a small insight?
Addendum
Having an indicator on the NPCs dialogue would also eliminate the need to listen to the eloquent 'go away' dialogue that so many NPCs have, making the dialogue feel probably significantly shorter and less of a chore.I mean, I agree that an NPC giving you a whole monologued spiel in response to you saying "hello" is also not immersive. I just don't think the Fromsoft way is particularly immersive either. To me it just feels like a design choice that Miyazaki or whoever wanted because it adds friction, like every part of the game has to actively fight the player. It adds to the sense of "this game is weird and difficult", but (for me at least) not really to immersion.
But then I don't really get that progression feel either. If it was the case that there was a timer built in, then yes I could see it. Coming back later and the conversation progressing because time has passed. But again, that is not what is happening in practice. What is happening is just going up to everyone and pressing A repeatedly until they tell you to go away. Maybe an indicator would be better, but I mean... in itself it's kind of unimmersive that you can mind read that the NPC has run out of dialogue. Though honestly, in a game that does not have dialogue options and has a completely silent protagonist I am unsure how immersive it is even possible to make NPC dialogue full stop. It may just be an unsolvable problem.
Also, none of this has anything to do with the quality of writing or voice acting. I really enjoy the characters in Fromsoft games, they're charming, unique and interesting, even small things like tending to end with laughter in various ways definitely adds a lot to the "strangeness" of these games and their distinctive vibes and atmosphere. Fromsoft do have a way of writing that evokes a mood that very few others can emulate. Closest I've felt to it was Withering Rooms. But that has nothing to do with the way it's integrated into the game mechanically.
Oh, a border around the existing icon is a better idea. That's exactly the kind of subtle-but-useable thing I mean