10 PERFECT Sound Design Moments That Improved Video Games
It's not all about the music.
When talking about audio in video games, music dominates the conversation. It's hard to imagine Halo 3 without its choral main theme or Civilization IV without the iconic Baba Yetu. However, it can sometimes be the most subtle, unnoticeable sound snippets that impact your playthrough the most.
Sure, it’s hard to appreciate the echoing emptiness of Shadow of the Colossus’ valleys and plains when Kow Otani’s swelling symphonies pump you up for the next titanic takedown, yet sound design is an essential part of game design.
Every interaction the player has with the game world - every attack, loot action, and movement - is almost always accompanied by sound, and finding the right audio can be vital to enhancing a game’s world, tone or even narrative.
So, in this list, let's steer the conversation away from music and focus on moments from great games that use sound design to impact gameplay, intensify magnificent backdrops... or scare the ever-loving bee-Jeebus out of you.