Current Events > Can you play video games without the sound on?

(+) Yeah! (+)

I'm not talking games on mobile cause I mean, you do that all the time.

Are you gonna typically play a video game without the volume at all? I feel like I can't. Like I would be doing something wrong, unless I was grinding something just to gain more resources.

But if I'm actually progressing the narrative? Nah I need the audio on.

yes

Why would I? I want the video game audio. Always. I have it coming over my sound system in my home theatre when I play.

Occasionally I've found certain games I'll play without sound once I've played it so much but it became a bad habit just to keep booting up and listen to YouTube videos.

My last one was brotato

depends on the game

Low, but not off. Same on mobile. I need some kind of audio.

If there's voice acting I usually feel the need to have the audio on.

But sometimes if I'm playing an older RPG I'll listen to my own music while I play.

Some games, yeah.

Especially things like BL3 or D3 where I can throw on a playlist while grinding for gear and the storyline doesn't matter anymore.

There are two select situations where I can play without the game sound just fine:

1) If I'm playing a slow turn-based RPG, I can easily play the game without any sound at all, but I'll turn the sound back on for story scenes if they're voiced and I haven't seen them yet. On that note, lmao Gamefreak, what a joke that Pokemon still doesn't have voice acting in this day and age.

2) If I'm doing something really mindless like killing waves of zombies in Call of Duty's Zombies mode, I sometimes like putting on music to accompany the grind. I can't do it in total silence, but I can play without the game sound if I have some music.

I do it all the time on PC or Switch games. Rougelites like Slay the Spire, Dead Cells, and Binding of Issac, who cares about the sound? Put it on mute and watch a movie or long YouTube video on the second screen. Or games like Borderlands 2 where I played through the campaign at least 15 times to grind characters, so I would put that on mute since I knew everything that was happening.

Basically any repetitive games (or sections of games) or games where sound doesn't matter at all, I'll put it on mute and watch something else on another screen.

I was working at home when I had this dilemma.

My job was spying on me and I only knew because I was playing FF7 on my Switch and they could hear the battle animation. A manager brought it up in reports on me. I tried to play without sound and couldn't get into it the same way.

I'd play video games at work if I could but I really can't

honestly, when i used to play Europa Universalis 4, after the first 1000 hours or so i got bored with the background music and sound effects, so i just muted the game and listened to some random playlist or a podcast or something

ezpz on 8bit games with terrible audio

I usually turn on other music if I do. Usually games without voice acting or much of a story.

yes. Only multiplayer tho. I dont like missing story with single player.

Sometimes if I'm playing a sports or racing game, or just messing around in GTA, I'll listen to music instead.

Almost all the time.

I just choose my own soundtrack.

I almost always turn off the background music but keep the effects on.

If I'm grinding yes

I typically have twitch or YouTube on if I'm doing any kind of grinding

Ya i played elden ring without sound sometimes. helped me focus on large bosses. I got freaked out too much by the soundtrack and giant noises. Like same effect I have when I play horror games (I suck at horror games with combat because my mind freezes up by the scary noises).

I almost always have sound off when I play dmc 3. I just listen to my playlist. This game has sections that are entirely dependent on a player's mechanical input cuz enemies are relatively docile compared to traditional action games. In these cases I feel that fast energetic music helps me play (mash) faster tbh lol

Depends. In racing games that I've played a lot, I'll just kill the volume and play my own music.

Sometimes if I'm being courteous, but usually no.

But I do play 96% of the time with 0 music.

Sometimes I mute something so I can listen to music, but it's mostly for games I've played extensively and won't really miss out on.

RPGs where I'm grinding. I also recently did it with MK1 when I was doing the seasonal stuff (although I only turned off the music and kept the sound effects on and had Apple Music used at the music for the game)

I kould for most games, but for the most part, I wouldn't want to. I like being immersed. Also, I never really listened to the radio or bought CDs growing up partially because the music from my games was enough. This lasted until I got a job and needed audible help getting through the day.

These days, if I'm not feeling a game's music or want to hear something else, I turn the game's music down while leaving the voices/sound effects on.

most of the games i play have audio cues for things so i don't think i could play them without sound.

That's pretty much how I play most games... With the sound low or off and have either other music or YouTube videos playing next to me...

My hearing is bad so unless I have the TV loud or use headphones, I have trouble hearing parts of the game... So I've just gotten used to having the sound low

Its difficult, but I sort of can. I play almost exclusively fighters and it really helps to have audible cues to time my combos. But when Im at my friends house and we have 3 or 4 monitors set up, we can get pretty loud, and I have to deal with it drowning out the sound :<

Since its not just the 6-8 people playing who are talking; others are watching and cracking jokes and stuff lol.

If I'm playing something like a fighting or action game, I usually have the sound on, but slightly lower than something else I'm listening to or watching.

If it's a game known for its soundtrack, I'll likely be listening to the game more. And ofc, I'll always pause the other thing I'm watching if there's a cutscene in the game.