While many gamers gush over visual experiences in gaming, such as majestic skylines and striking characters, some games rely just as heavily on soundscapes as they do landscapes. A truly immersive gaming experience requires a pair of quality headphones, such as the HCG1 Pro Gaming Headset, which is compatible with all major consoles and PC.
To be included in this list, titles had to be released in 2020, and had to have some sort of tangible reason for accurate or directional sound recreation to matter for gameplay. Some titles, such as the current number one contender Persona 5 Royal, did not make the cut because the use of sound through voice acting and music does not affect core gameplay.
Halo: The Master Chief Collection - Halo 3 (PC, Metascore 88)
Although one of the talking points is that the Halo: Master Chief Collection on Xbox Series X/S will be playable at 120 FPS, one should not discount how much directional audio can make a difference in a first person shooter. Hearing the grenade bounce off a wall can make the difference between leaping in the right direction or catching the brunt of the blast. However, this title's position in the list is contested, as some players are reporting issues with the game's overall audio quality.
F1 2020 (Xbox One, Metascore: 91)
Formula 1 racers rely heavily on all their senses to keep on top of the fast-paced interaction of cars as they jockey for position on the race track. In F1 2020, being able to hear the moment when the driver ahead downshifts can give a racer the cue to press forward. Hearing any changes in one's own engine can also clue in a skilled racer to impending trouble.
Microsoft Flight Simulator (PC, Metascore: 91)
In Microsoft Flight Simulator the advantage of being able to hear clearly lies squarely in being familiar with one's airplane. Similarly to race cars, an airplane engine running in top shape sounds very different from one that is on the verge of stalling. When one's attention is on the landscape, an alarm going off will likely be heard before it is seen.
Half Life: Alyx (PC, Metascore: 93)
The Half Life franchise was one of the first popular games to embrace the power of sound to give environments the feeling of space, and Half-Life: Alyx carries that legacy onward. Little details like the buzzing of a light overhead or radio chatter in the distance give the player a real sense that they are occupying the space that they are exploring. In this top-selling VR game, a turn of the head can be enough to give the player a sense of where a drone has flown to, even when it is out of sight.
The Last of Us, Part II (PS4, Metascore: 93)
Any game that involves defending one's self from the infected, whether those infected are zombies or something else entirely, tends to benefit from directional sound. If the false protagonist Abby Anderson is in the middle of the woods and a stalker is making its way in her direction, the player would be able to hear its distinct croaking noises long before it attacks.
Get the HCG1 Pro Gaming Headset to upgrade your gaming audio.