Portal 2 - Portals, doors and buttons
Kicking off this list we have Portal 2.
Portal combines elements of a puzzle game with sci-fi and first-person shooter and is one of the most beloved games of its generation. Whilst it's challenging yet playful gameplay had players hooked, it was the games audio design that stood out and made the world of the game feel truly alive and believable.
In particular, the sound of the portal gun, as well as the door and button sounds are exceptional and convey so much about the story and setting as the players progress through the mysterious facility.
Skyrim- Dragon Shouts
Skyrim was a literal gamechanger upon its release. The immersive world of the game, combined with an epic fantasy story and unmatched player progression made it an instant classic. Central to the story of Skyrim is the Dragon Shouts. These are spells and attacks that the player can utilise and they have many different effects throughout the game. The shouts are spoken in Dragon Language and each one has a ferocious piece of sound design to go with. The rush of summoning a dragon shout before you charge into combat is one of the many thrills that makes Skyrim such a great game, and the sound design for each Dragon Shout is absolutely perfect!
Battleifeld - Explosions & Destruction
Whether it's storming the trenches with bayonets in WW1 or tank battles across the oil fields of the Middle East, The Battlefield franchise has always delivered a visceral and gritty audio experience for players.
With large scale maps, destructible environments, an armada of vehicles, Battlefield leads the way in delivering a hyper-realistic audio experience that feels both blockbuster and believable.
The sound design and overall mix of the game are impeccable, but we feel that the destruction sound effects deserve the most praise. Nowhere else in gaming is blowing stuff up more fun, and the sound design is the without doubt key ingredient at play here.
Assassins creed - Leep of faith
At a time where stealth games had fallen out of favour with general audiences, Assassins Creed came along and changed everything.
The franchise would go on to become one of the most popular of the last 10 Years and birthed a whole host of epic moments, but none more so than the iconic "Leap of Faith"
The leap of faith sees you jump from a high building down into the safety of a hay bail and it comes with a spine-tingling eagle screech sound effect. The leap of faith usually came at the end of a long chase sequence, so whenever players heard the eagle sound effect they knew they had made it to safety away from the enemies.
Little big planet - Level sounds
Little Big Planet is a charming and innovative platformer from UK studio Media Molecule. The game features a cast of cheeky characters and places a strong emphasis on players being able to create their own experience, levels, game modes and challenges etc. The audio design for Little Big Planet is truly delightful, and pretty much every event in the game has a corresponding sound that is pleasant and satisfying.
Little Big Planet is also notable for being one of the few games to allow players the freedom to choose their own sound effects, which is something we would love to see more of in other games.
We hope you enjoyed checking out this article!
If you enjoyed this post please check out our ultimate guide to audio post-production: https://www.344audio.com/post/the-ultimate-guide-to-audio-post-production-sound-design
344 Audio is an Audio Post Production studio in Manchester.
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