Especially really good and satisfying gun sound effects.
Well in terms of taking advantage of really good headphones. Senua’s Sacrifice
Headphones absolutely mandatory. Hellblade is the first title that came to mind seeing this thread.
Yeah, great experience with headphones!
That game HAS to be played with headphones or a super good surround sound. The directionality of the voices in Senua’s head is next level.
I was walking while listening to the new trailer and it made me uncomfortable. Can’t wait
This was the first thing I thought of too.
Elite Dangerous has some amazing sound design.
I haven’t experienced anything quite like HuntShowdown. It’s a slower-than-most extraction shooter with several objectives on each map.
Every sound matters. You can hear people shooting in the next compound over, but you can also hear someone crouch behind the wall next to you. You have to watch for sound traps like birds, horses, dogs, etc. Always be on the move because if you stop, someone might already be taking aim to shoot you through the wall.
Yeah it is without hyperbole the best sound engine / sound design of any game I’ve ever played.
This is mine too. I switched from closed back to open back headphones to better experience the sound in Hunt Showdown
Two moments made me fall in love with Hunt:
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My first game was in the early beta when nighttime missions were legitimately dark as hell. I spawned knee-deep in the swamp. Crouchwalking around through a swamp where I couldn’t see anything, hearing all sorts of weird shit everywhere and trying to avoid it like I was stuck in a horror game.
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Realizing that someone was hiding in an outhouse, because I heard them breathing. Just to see if it would work, I stabbed them right through the wood with my bowie knife. Yep, it works.
I had a solo match where I played really well, third partied a lot and almost wiped the server (before the necro change). At the end it was just me, Scrapbeak, and one guy hidden somewhere in the base. I start looking for him, going from house to house, and then I turn the corner going up some stairs and I just instantly die. Dude headshots me with a pistol at the same moment I see him and it’s game over for me. All that work, all that luck, and I die just like that. Hunt giveth and hunt taketh away and god damn I am just sold
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Not the gun sound effects, not the sound track, problably not a lot of things - but the atmosphere the sound effects in Control created, man it’s like 50% of what makes the game what it is, and it’s a truly great game.
Love me some Brutalism so you might have convinced me to try it.
Oh, if you love Brutalism, Control is definitely THE game for you
I came here to say Control.
I always thought of control as “that tech demo game with DLSS”. It’s actually a good game?
If you like action-adventures, the paranormal and strong audiovisuals, absolutely. If character development of the protagonist is important to you, definitely not. The storytelling is solid otherwise, though.
But the sound and visual design work just so well to create this atmosphere or mood that let me immerse deeply but that also let me sigh in relief when I quit the game. It gave me this almost constant sense of dread even though it’s not terrifying like a horror game at all (and I really hate horror games or movies) that fit the story so well. It’s hard to describe, it’s weirdly different but not in a bad way.
If you have the HW power, I recommend playing with RT but without DLSS. Otherwise with RT and DLSS. DLSS does introduce some weird kind of artifacts or such sometimes. Not bad, just better without if you can.
Edit: I guess if you’re looking for epic quests, this might also not be the right game - heck, it’s hard to describe or say what’s good or bad about this game, it’s all kind of intertwined. All I can say that I think the package is an excellent game made with a lot of attention to detail.
I’ll add on that the little notes, journals, and audio files you find throughout the game are some excellent world building.
Control is one of my favorite games. It was a slow burn for me but it’s so incredibly well done in all aspects that it becomes art.
That being said, there’s a rare bug where the character goes cross-eyed but that just seals it for me.
Control is pretty great.
Subnautica. Sound takes you to fear:)
Scariest game I’ve ever played.
Hellblade was already mentioned (prime example imho), so I’d give shoutout to the entire Supergiant’s game catalogue. So much time and effort went into sound design and music in all their games, it’s remarkable.
Oh yes! Hellblade: Senuas Sacrifice was absolutely fantastic with headphones. Probably the best audio experience I ever had in a game.
Doom 2016 - remake of a classic that everyone loved, with the soundtrack being a very large part of it.
The sound designers at Bungie deserve double their pay.
Destiny has plenty of issues but sound design is not one of them. Some of those gun sounds are orgasmically good, and so satisfying to shoot.
The feeling of guns in general is the best in any game I’ve ever played
Agreed. The gunplay is magical.
Given that you asked for guns specifically I’ll go out on a limb and say we are very different gamers!
But Subnautica would be my suggestion. Crazy good sound design.
Been meaning to pick that up for VR and literally shit my pants.
Unrelated and this is very unlikely but is your name a reference to Deep Rock Galactic by any chance?
Rock and stone!
Rock and stone to the bone!
Interesting you bring up Subnautica, because I remember thinking when I played it “Wow, this game sounds a lot like Half Life!” And wouldn’t you know it, the devs started out as Half Life modders. It goes without saying that the sound design in Half Life is impeccable, and truly iconic. Clearly they learned something!
Definitely seconding this suggestion.
TIL! Makes sense now you mention it though!
Both Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom have fantastic sound design. The environmental sounds of wind, water, trees and wildlife accompanied by that understated soundtrack makes you feel out in the wilds even though the graphics are minimal.
Hi-Fi rush.
Thank me later.
Absolutely magnificent game. I wish we got more mid sized games instead of every new game being a 100h+ second job.
Do you have any suggestions for games like HiFi? I found it super comfy. Doesn’t need to be music based, I just found the design, style and character interactions nice
Not really. HiFi Rush reminded me a little bit of Lego Star Wars (which also Had a mechanic that made you deal more damage if you attacked on beat with your lightsaber!), but that may have been my nostalgia for the Lego game more than some deeper similarities
I’m surprised no one here has mentioned Returnal. On the PS5 with a headset it uses the “3D Audio”. It’s pretty amazing.
I’m not really into roguelikes, but that description intrigues me, especially because it’s an included game for PS+ Extra subscribers like myself!
It’s not really a full on roguelike. You do “upgrade” weapons as you use them, so when you die it’s not a complete loss. Also once you beat a boss you never have to fight them again if you don’t want to. You just make it through three areas (3 bosses each), and then you unlock the next 3, but you don’t have to start from the very beginning for the last 3.
Maybe it helps if you think of it as an arcade version of a soulslike game? Play it in 30 minute increments, don’t stress about beating it and naturally you’ll get better enough to beat it.
The story and setting is pretty unique and awesome as well.
The game is absolutely amazing. It being a roguelike is really secondary. There’s also decent progression, and I didn’t think it was that hard, you just have to get a good loadout running. Occasionally you’ll just get RNG’d within 10 minutes of a run and just start over.
That’s good to hear. I had heard that you could just get RNG’d out of a run after like 45-60 minutes of good play, so I was just immediately turned off even though the bare premise I’m aware of seems at least interesting. Because it’s free for me, and my time ROI will probably be only like an hour, I will definitely try it! Thanks!
Yeah, I would recommend looking up some build suggestions. You can definitely get RNG’d later, but it’s way less likely to happen if you have a good build plan going after the first 10-20 minutes. If you just take whatever looks good in the moment, without considering how it fits into your overall build, you’ll get screwed down the line.
Also, I missed a ton of story because I didn’t die enough. So it really is an intended part of the experience.
Also, I missed a ton of story because I didn’t die enough. So it really is an intended part of the experience.
This is a massive relief. Roguelikes and roguelites are stressful for me because I hate the idea that I’ve just wasted a bunch of time on a run with nothing to show for it, so it’s nice that even dying could be a form of progression lol.
Is there significant risk of encountering meaningful spoilers if I look up builds?
I wouldn’t think so, besides some boss spoilers, but the bosses really need to be played and heard to appreciated, they’re not the most interesting visually.
I would say play 30 minutes of the game, then go watch GamesRadar’s overview video. That should be enough, but you can also look at specific builds (even if you can’t always build into them.)
And GamesRadar’s video is correct: just get the Electro Pylon Driver. I mean, play with all the weapons, but that thing is OP.
Edit: Oh, and I played with a controller that had back bumpers (Elite Series 2). I think that’s probably the main thing that made it easier, jumping and dashing while keeping both thumbs on the sticks made combat way easier.
Edit 2: Oh, and after you beat the game, watch this video essay. Actually, go ahead and watch the first 2:30m of the video now. It’s one of the greatest lore/story/interpretation breakdowns I’ve ever seen and gave me a huge appreciation for the absolute gem of a game this was. It’s an absolute piece of art and heady as hell. If you bounce off the game, and you are sure you’ll never beat it, go ahead and watch the video anyway. It’s really that good.
While not the greatest games, I’ve found that the newer Star Wars Battlefront games have some of the best sound design in any game I’ve ever played. Especially the thermal imploder. Definitely a highlight of an otherwise alright game.
Any Dice game, really. The Battlefield games have always had incredible sound design.
Disclaimer: I haven’t played the latest one.
STALKER (Shadow Of Chernobyl or Call Of Pripyat).
Music: off
Headphones: On
Good luck not getting spooked out of your mind by random industrial noises.
Well, there is a game that’s been designed specifically for that. Metal Hellsinger, you can play a demo for free. It’s a doom style shooter that rewards you for shooting and reloading to the beat of metal music, which is dynamic to how well you are doing and the situation. Really cool concept and really rewarding to get a combo going.
Never heard of it. Thanks.
