What goes into making a great game is a mix of many things, the story, the characters, the world-building, the gameplay, and combat if there is any. However, there's one factor that many players will go without noticing: the audio. While many players understand that the soundtrack helps make the game feel fuller, the part that will get overlooked is the sound design. This is a crucial aspect of any game, it helps combine everything together, and allows the player the feel what the character is feeling. It helps the player get a better understanding of the world and the emotions of the story.
It's rather hard for a game maker to make players feel exactly what is going on in their games, so the sound design like the soundtrack bridges the gap. On top of that, a game with good sound design can make any game much better. Many games have great sound design, but these games do it properly which in turn, has made them more successful than most others.
5 Escape from Tarkov
When a game has no on-screen information it can be extremely hard to play because of that. Escape from Tarkov is a game not for everyone based on how hard it is, but fans of it will say how important the sound design is. With no indication of where the gunshots of coming from, players will need to pay attention to the sound, which has made Escape from Tarkov an ultra-realistic game. As mentioned before, the game has no on-screen HUD aside from what the player has on them and their stance. So while playing, the sound design out-shines the rest of the other elements, because it helps players survive.
Although the audio does have issues and is still a big one, when it works, it helps the player escape or plan their attacks better. Not knowing where the enemy is, or not being able to tell the difference between friend and foe turns Escape from Tarkov into an anxiety-ridden game. With the sound design almost perfect, it adds more to that stress, which forces players to play better. For being a rather realistic shooter, Escape from Tarkov's sound design helps convey that realism. Which in turn, has made the game popular over the last few years.
4 Bioshock 2
Playing this horror game will make any player have their skin crawl. While the atmosphere of the underwater city of Bioshock 2 will pull any player in, it's the sound design the makes helps convey that setting. First off, Bioshock 2 has a very deep story, one that's rather intimate to the player, and the best way to help players understand that is the eeriness that is displayed in the sound design. Even playing the game on the easy difficulty will have players still be cautious, because sound still makes them feel unsafe. This aspect has made Bioshock 2 one of the best horror games in modern gaming.
When Big Daddy appears for the first time, players feel his presence not just visually, but through audio as well which made him feel larger than life, which he is. So when a game can properly convey that in the first few minutes, players will enjoy playing more. The sound design is highlighted as one of the main aspects of Bioshock 2, the one area that stands out, and that players will notice is the tunnels. These tunnels connect the levels together and because they're underwater, the creaking and the water pressure adds depth to the character's feelings of uncertainty, which in turn makes the game better.
3 Doom: Eternal
Now, this first-person shooter takes everything aspect of gaming making and turns it up to eleven. On paper may seem like a bad idea, but in reality, it can be fun to play. That's what makes Doom: Eternal one of the better shooters. From its fluid combat to its old-school type of gameplay, there's something for everyone. However, the game does make players feel like an unstoppable entity, what helps amplify that is Doom: Eternal's audio. When going up against bosses which are massive in scale get bigger, because the sound design makes them feel bigger.
This makes the fights more compelling. Also, Doom: Eternal is an arena shooter, meaning there are stages and sections that are built like areas that aren't that big and force players to move around a lot. This can make things harder, however, the sound design of Doom Guy revving up his chainsaw, or using an execution makes players feel like they are stronger than all other enemies. This feeling which is aided by the sound design, makes players fight better, and get more creative in how they get past each stage.
2 Battlefield 1
The Battlefield games have been all over the place, primarily in issues with gameplay, however, the area where all the games in the series are consistent is the sound design. The best game in the series to showcase that is Battlefield 1. From playing the single-player campaign to playing the massive multiplayer section, players can feel what it's like to be in World War One. DICE did their homework because the sound design of Battlefield 1 does a good job of showing players how massive the Great War was.
Which has made the shooter one of the best games to portray that time period. Unlike most shooters, each gun sounds different, which adds an element of realism to the game, this makes players want to play more because of the attention to detail. Since Battlefield 1 has a single-player campaign, the sound design makes players feel smaller. This is a great feeling for a game like this because players get a better understanding of the soldier felt back then, which in turn, makes the player understand the scope of the game.
1 Alien Isolation
Horror games rely on sound effects and Alien Isolation does a good job at doing that. The sound design amplifies everything in the game, and when players are in the darkness, the crackling of the Alien seems more intense. While the lighting in Alien Isolation conveys that emotion, it's the sound design that really sells the idea. Because players are alone which forces them to be more alert, and the sound design helps with that. On top of that, being hunted by either a Working Joe or the Alien gets even scarier when players can hear the thumping.
The best way for players to get scared is by playing with a headset, at that point, they can really understand and feel what the character is going through. That element in Alien Isolation makes it one of the better games in the Alien series. Unlike a lot of other horror games, the sound design in Alien Isolation really makes players feel alone. This allows players to feel more connected to the game and makes the character's story more believable.