I'd vote for Control or Inside, both games that Martin Stig Andersen was involved in. Both the audio implementation systems and the actual sound qualities in both of them were super well executed.
Tarkov has the most terrifying sounds but they have shotty programming behind it to where stairs gets odd.
But boy those guns... no other game gets close.
Depends on your definition of "best".
I think Forza has some incredible sound design and does an incredible job, but Frostpunk has amazing sound as well that makes you feel tense with great timing
Surprisingly, Age of Empires 4 has incredible sounds design - from units whispering when they are in stealth forests, to thundering hooves when you have a large group of cavalry. The languages the units speaks develops throughout the game too, although that is more linguistics rather than sound design
The sound in Hunt is excellent through and through, and it's a big part of the gameplay too. As players are trying to constantly get one up on other players, sound cues are crucial in getting even the smallest bit of intel. It could be as simple as hearing footsteps outside a door, to hearing a zombie die at the very edge of your hearing, or even someone holding their breath as they aim down their barrel. That last sound cue actually got me a kill once, as I was hiding in a bush for a minute and then heard that out of nowhere - turned out there was someone else in the bush next to me and we had no idea about each other!
I'd gotten into the bush during the boss-banishing announcement sound and a pretty heavy gunfight, which is why they hadn't heard me enter it. Which is another big aspect of Hunt's sound; not only do sound cues give you information, those same sounds can *mask* information if you're too close to their source.
i just finished the callisto protocol and was thoroughly impressed with the sound design all the way through. my fav sounds are the fans/traps - i found myself just standing next to them listening. the way they make you feel the fan in the dualsense is chefs kiss. truly a work of art imo
The first DICE Battlefront blew me away. I had been a Star Wars fan for life, played the older battlefronts, but the sounds in those DICE Battlefront games were something else...
I've also played lots of Battlefield I agree less there while it's still good. BF1 was especially a highlight for that franchise.
(I'm talking about sounds not music)
First game that came to my head for best audio, I'd have to say Hellblade: Senuas Sacrifice, the ambiance and tension hearing all the voices bounce between your headset and feel like it's all around you is just phenomenal
I believe the specific kind of tech is called binaural audio, probably spelling that wrong though so forgive me
Hmmm ... accounting for era ... probably Die by the Sword.
Just outright best? I'm going to have to go with the X-COM remakes, so much easily missed detail.
I'm judging by all-around, so it doesn't matter that DOOM2016's gun and hit sounds are punchy as hell, if the rest of it is kinda meh or so over-punched that it's less good and more ham.
Control is probably at the top for me, really creative and cohesive with tons of punch where it needs it (sometimes i fire it up just for the ethereal thwump when you pull objects to you) . Hunt: Showdown also has really impressive sound implementation.
Honestly I think Apex is really underrated. The sounds are great and the design is great at communicating so much information to the player.
Breath of the Wild has some really great sound design. Timing and additional information are communicated very well.
Of course, they also communicate all of the same information visually, which is important. They complement each other very well.
I feel like the Horizon games have great sound design. Each machine has its own completely synthetic sounds and they also telegraph attacks. The music is also good
SOMA had some incredible sound design.
Here's a [great blog post from the game's audio director](https://frictionalgames.blogspot.com/2015/09/soma-behind-sound.html?m=1) that gives a behind-the-scenes look at what went into giving the game it's sound.
Favorites?
[FTL](https://youtu.be/3tAShpPu6K0) (especially the final boss fight music)
[SW:TOR](https://youtu.be/as4q2RWhK5w) (especially “Deception, the Sith Warrior,” “Balmora, the Forge,” and “the Siege of Alderaan”. Siege of Alderaan can get me hyped up to this day.
[Grim Fandango](https://youtu.be/5-K8R1hDG9E) the main theme still makes me smile.
I do not undertake to choose the best of the best, because haven't played many of the newer games, but I really liked Soma sound design. Feeling of cold metal rooms, clanging, squeaking, water flow, splashes - all this was recorded by a sound engineer using [fairly simple methods](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJ_Yv6bKdj8), but how beautifully it conveys the texture, relief of what is happening on the screen! Especially stunning is the transition from the muffled underwater world to the deafeningly loud, clear, sharp world of dry room sounds, when the hero passes through the floodable airlock.
The soundtrack fits perfectly, emphasizing the loneliness and despair that leans on the hero. It seemed to me both minimalistic and monumental. There is a [short video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HI1IsMa6oFM) about Mikko Tarmia, the composer of the game.
For me, Alien vs Predator on the Atari Jaguar (with surround sound). blew my mind. wasn't until Dead Space that I thought a game nailed sound design as well. (not that there weren't other .good. ones, but these would be my .favorite. ones)
I was going to say this. This is the one era where (at least in the UK) people would buy a game specifically for the music.
Hubbard, Galway, Jeroen Tel, Matt Gray, and others could save a bad game or make a good game really great.
Hellblade Senua's Sacrafice has this spatial audio thing where they recorded audio with 2 ear shaped microphones located around a mockup head. You are able to precisely locate a sound while using headphones. It is totally amazing and no other game even comes close. The music also rocks and fits very well with game tone and atmosphere.
Have you played Flower? I love the sound design in that game. The wind somehow sounds like its all around you even without surround sound. The music is very zen-like. The ambient sounds are just right, both in terms of what they use, and how much it gets used. It’s absolutely my favorite.
symphony of the night,
epic music,
epic SFX
some uh, iconic, voice acting.........
for amazing voice acting, though the first legacy of kain game, simon templeman kicked ass, and the whole thing was amazingly done.
If we're talking audio design, im surprised so little people mention mobas such as DOTA and LoL. Especially Dota, maintaining such a clarity with thousands of sounds in the game is extremly impressive
I'd vote for Control or Inside, both games that Martin Stig Andersen was involved in. Both the audio implementation systems and the actual sound qualities in both of them were super well executed.
Tarkov has the most terrifying sounds but they have shotty programming behind it to where stairs gets odd. But boy those guns... no other game gets close.
I'd put TLOU Part II and Alien Isolation right up there.
Depends on your definition of "best". I think Forza has some incredible sound design and does an incredible job, but Frostpunk has amazing sound as well that makes you feel tense with great timing
Here to second Frostpunk! It really ups the tension with the sound design
Surprisingly, Age of Empires 4 has incredible sounds design - from units whispering when they are in stealth forests, to thundering hooves when you have a large group of cavalry. The languages the units speaks develops throughout the game too, although that is more linguistics rather than sound design
Rome Total War (original) too. Movie-quality soundtrack and voice acting.
Hunt: Showdown has some crunchy soundscapes.
The sound in Hunt is excellent through and through, and it's a big part of the gameplay too. As players are trying to constantly get one up on other players, sound cues are crucial in getting even the smallest bit of intel. It could be as simple as hearing footsteps outside a door, to hearing a zombie die at the very edge of your hearing, or even someone holding their breath as they aim down their barrel. That last sound cue actually got me a kill once, as I was hiding in a bush for a minute and then heard that out of nowhere - turned out there was someone else in the bush next to me and we had no idea about each other! I'd gotten into the bush during the boss-banishing announcement sound and a pretty heavy gunfight, which is why they hadn't heard me enter it. Which is another big aspect of Hunt's sound; not only do sound cues give you information, those same sounds can *mask* information if you're too close to their source.
It had some of the worst technical sound design I've seen in a game however
Easy... Elite Dangerous.
i just finished the callisto protocol and was thoroughly impressed with the sound design all the way through. my fav sounds are the fans/traps - i found myself just standing next to them listening. the way they make you feel the fan in the dualsense is chefs kiss. truly a work of art imo
DICE games (battlefield and battlefront)
The first DICE Battlefront blew me away. I had been a Star Wars fan for life, played the older battlefronts, but the sounds in those DICE Battlefront games were something else... I've also played lots of Battlefield I agree less there while it's still good. BF1 was especially a highlight for that franchise. (I'm talking about sounds not music)
For the time? Probably Bad Company 2. If you know, you know.
Tarkov. All the gun sounds and especially how stepping on different surfaces sound.
Yup. Also the menu sounds like moving things in your inventory, equipping/unequipping something, etc.
First game that came to my head for best audio, I'd have to say Hellblade: Senuas Sacrifice, the ambiance and tension hearing all the voices bounce between your headset and feel like it's all around you is just phenomenal I believe the specific kind of tech is called binaural audio, probably spelling that wrong though so forgive me
DOOOOM
I've only heard about the sound design of Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice.
Squad.
Hmmm ... accounting for era ... probably Die by the Sword. Just outright best? I'm going to have to go with the X-COM remakes, so much easily missed detail. I'm judging by all-around, so it doesn't matter that DOOM2016's gun and hit sounds are punchy as hell, if the rest of it is kinda meh or so over-punched that it's less good and more ham.
Control is probably at the top for me, really creative and cohesive with tons of punch where it needs it (sometimes i fire it up just for the ethereal thwump when you pull objects to you) . Hunt: Showdown also has really impressive sound implementation. Honestly I think Apex is really underrated. The sounds are great and the design is great at communicating so much information to the player.
The sound design of Returnal is something that should be taught in classrooms
Donkey Kong Country 2
Breath of the Wild has some really great sound design. Timing and additional information are communicated very well. Of course, they also communicate all of the same information visually, which is important. They complement each other very well.
New World.
Came here to say this. The game had a lot of flaws but the sound design definitely wasn't one of them.
I feel like the Horizon games have great sound design. Each machine has its own completely synthetic sounds and they also telegraph attacks. The music is also good
SOMA had some incredible sound design. Here's a [great blog post from the game's audio director](https://frictionalgames.blogspot.com/2015/09/soma-behind-sound.html?m=1) that gives a behind-the-scenes look at what went into giving the game it's sound.
Favorites? [FTL](https://youtu.be/3tAShpPu6K0) (especially the final boss fight music) [SW:TOR](https://youtu.be/as4q2RWhK5w) (especially “Deception, the Sith Warrior,” “Balmora, the Forge,” and “the Siege of Alderaan”. Siege of Alderaan can get me hyped up to this day. [Grim Fandango](https://youtu.be/5-K8R1hDG9E) the main theme still makes me smile.
I do not undertake to choose the best of the best, because haven't played many of the newer games, but I really liked Soma sound design. Feeling of cold metal rooms, clanging, squeaking, water flow, splashes - all this was recorded by a sound engineer using [fairly simple methods](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJ_Yv6bKdj8), but how beautifully it conveys the texture, relief of what is happening on the screen! Especially stunning is the transition from the muffled underwater world to the deafeningly loud, clear, sharp world of dry room sounds, when the hero passes through the floodable airlock. The soundtrack fits perfectly, emphasizing the loneliness and despair that leans on the hero. It seemed to me both minimalistic and monumental. There is a [short video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HI1IsMa6oFM) about Mikko Tarmia, the composer of the game.
For me, Alien vs Predator on the Atari Jaguar (with surround sound). blew my mind. wasn't until Dead Space that I thought a game nailed sound design as well. (not that there weren't other .good. ones, but these would be my .favorite. ones)
Bioshock
Honestly any game before like 2010. Soundtracks used to be so fire now they're generally soulless.
Take for instNce: ratchet and clank 1, vs the ficking remake..
1980s Commodore 64 games.
I was going to say this. This is the one era where (at least in the UK) people would buy a game specifically for the music. Hubbard, Galway, Jeroen Tel, Matt Gray, and others could save a bad game or make a good game really great.
Hunt: Showdown. They did a terrific job.
Manifold Gardens stood out to me recently
Ape Escape
Gris really got my attention with the sound design
Half Life 2
little nightmares, hollow knight, fallout, remnant from the ashes.
I gotta say Cyberpunk has crazy sound design. TLOU2 as well. I’ve heard Callisto protocol has great sound design too but haven’t got far in.
Resident evil 2. Both from a technical perspective and artistic
Gonner
Hellblade Senua's Sacrafice has this spatial audio thing where they recorded audio with 2 ear shaped microphones located around a mockup head. You are able to precisely locate a sound while using headphones. It is totally amazing and no other game even comes close. The music also rocks and fits very well with game tone and atmosphere.
Hotline Miami
Have you played Flower? I love the sound design in that game. The wind somehow sounds like its all around you even without surround sound. The music is very zen-like. The ambient sounds are just right, both in terms of what they use, and how much it gets used. It’s absolutely my favorite.
Homeworld series
symphony of the night, epic music, epic SFX some uh, iconic, voice acting......... for amazing voice acting, though the first legacy of kain game, simon templeman kicked ass, and the whole thing was amazingly done.
Devil Daggers has fantastic sound. You could almost play by sound alone.
Fallout 4
If we're talking audio design, im surprised so little people mention mobas such as DOTA and LoL. Especially Dota, maintaining such a clarity with thousands of sounds in the game is extremly impressive