Games with Great Audio

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Francisè von Spitroast 26. Juli 2018 um 6:47

Some video games have some superbly done audio, and I'm not just talking about soundtracks.

Easily the biggest stand-out for me is the allmighty Thief series. The greatest set of games ever released. The audio design is phenomenal, and that absolutely includes the ambient soundtrack. The first game in the series was arguably the first to incorporate sound into gameplay. Listening out for guards and hearing your own footsteps across different materials isn't a gimmicky gameplay idea, it feels as natural as using your eyes to scout the area. It is crucial to use sound to your advantage, but you also need to be careful with enemies hearing you. You can use tools to dampen the sounds you make and the noises or chatter of nearby enemies also notifies you of how dangerous they may be or may even provide you with useful info on how to progress the mission.

The soundtrack as well is truly something else. Ambiance with distinct themes that perfectly suit the environment you find yourself in, whether it be haunting soundscapes for your journey through a zombie filled cathedral or sounds of quiet laughter and nature backing a sinister sounding musical loop as you may your way through a madman's playhouse, to a rocking soundtrack that helps make your next heist feel like a badass new adventure. It's beyond atmospheric, and it's beyond genius.

Also the audio design itself is unsurpassed. While sneaking through an opera house you'll hear the echoes of the opera singers practising for their performances. And it truly echoes if you've got the right hardware. Sounds flow through the halls and around corners and is dampened by the material of walls and doors realistically. Clanging on the metal floor in a metal room will echo as it would in real life. Likewise in a purely wooden or stone room everything sounds duller and warmer. As you walk past a candle on a table you'll hear the sound of the flame move across your ear, or as a muttering guard walks past you as you're hiding in the shadows. It's incredibly immersive, and entirely innovative. Still games rarely reach this level of realism, and certainly not to this level of gameplay incorporation. The voice-acting and writing as well is also just fantastic. It's subtle and impactful and the actors play their characters brilliantly. The protagonist is a likeable cynic who never says too much but always makes an impact when he does. Guards can be hilarious with some truly funny dialogue and information is often provided by them subtly, without ever being video gamey in its delivery. And the narrative is encapsulating, due in big part with the performances of the actors. Especially in cutscenes where it lives up to the artistic masterpieces that they are. Seriously, if you haven't seen some of Thief the Dark Project's cutscenes, you NEED to check them out.

Another highlight is the original Unreal released in the same year as the first Thief game. It takes place on a mysterious alien world, and you'll seamlessly make your way through canyons and valleys, the religious temples of the native beings and the grungy, metal ships of the invading creatures. Here the music takes centre place. Alexander Brandon's (among other key members) original soundtrack for the game is my very favourite. Instead of more ambient type music (which it does do also), it far more heavily features catchy music to set the stage. Still, it is beautifully atmospheric in its own way as well. Blasting your way through a spaceship will have a disco fused rock track playing in the background while scaling a truly gigantic spire will provide a haunting melancholic piece and all of it is incredibly catchy. The sound design also is bloody fantastic. It uses the same effects as Thief as this was the year for audio innovation (1998). It's stunning to hear rockets whizzing by and the reverb as you run across a marble floor in ways few other games have been able to do as well.

A far more modern game, Arma 3, is a military simulator with more immersive audio. It doesn't have a pumping soundtrack when playing multiplayer, but hearing distant firefights across the island spreading over the hills is stunning. And the quiet sounds of birds and the wind rustling leaves on the trees as nothing but the sound of your squadmates boots hit the dirt until out of nowhere a bullet whizzes past year from a distant sniper or a gunship flies by is just superb to listen to. Unlike the previous two games mentioned (Unreal and Thief), this game provides a much more realistic soundscape to suit the setting and gameplay and it's almost as impressive.

Just wanted to share the joys of some of the audio design found on my favourite video games. We've come a long, long way since Mario with 8-bit sound effects and simple melodies. If anyone actually read more than a paragraph of this I see you've got as plentiful time on your hands as I :D

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