Critical Flaw: “Let me repeat that again, again...”

Been a while I wrote one of these, and this will be a relatively short one.


This is something quite a few open world games with companions are guilty of.
You think of giving your companions some snappy catchphrases for combat or certain situations, huh? Here's a good suggestion, DON'T DO IT unless you have a few hundred phrases they can chose from!

I think by far the worst offender so far is “Risen 3” where your companions each have a felt dozen of phrases for initiating and closing combat. In a game where you initiate combat several hundred times you can imagine they start to repeat... a few times.
Doc Bones, who is one of your earliest companions seems to be an avid TF2 player seeing how many times he shouts making a hat out of someones skin.

Similarly the Fallout games fall victim to that, by the 50th time you hear about sweating not being an option for Nick Valentine in FO4, or how much Veronica in New Vegas wants a dress you kinda feel like unfriending them with both hands around the neck.

And sadly the same counts for enemies that keep cycling though their phrases again and again. Especially when the phrases are rather specific to the situation and yet keep happening.


A solution for this is as simple as it's inconvenient, have the voice actors record more than just a few repeat phrases, optimally make a few hundred phrases, additionally make it so their phrases can be interrupted when they get hit or are under fire as if they HAD to stop.
Similarly for the attacking enemies do it like F.E.A.R did and make most of their phrases short and generic expressions, “Move”, “Take Cover”, “I'M HIT”, “Flank”, NEED HELP” and such. And again, if they have catchphrases, record SEVERAL of them, not just a handful.
Also make their phrases more apropriate to the situation. Don't have them shout like an idiot while you are sneaking or a long one liner in a heated combat or while nearly dead.

As a final suggestion, at least for your companions. Have an option to tell them “SHUT UP!”