Whether you’re aware of them or not, many video games have very distinctive sound profiles. We’re not just talking about music, filming noise, etc., but they certainly matter. It’s a combination of them along with all the accidental noise and atmosphere that makes the game sound.
It’s easy to appreciate this with a good speaker or soundbar, but if you really want to immerse yourself in the auditory components of your game, it’s about connecting a pair of headphones.
Wearing high-quality headphones while playing the game will lead you to a more intimate environment than using speakers. You’ll also appreciate all the elements that make up the game’s soundtrack as if they were right next to you.
In some cases, headphones can help you actually play the game, but in other cases they properly rate the atmosphere. Really, there are no games that get worse by headphones, but if you want games that are clearly improved by them, these are the ones I recommend.
10
Resident Evil 2 (2019)
There’s something around the corner
Until the first entry, the Resident Evil series’ High Point has the ability to create an oppressive atmosphere. You are all alone in dark, narrow corridors and boundaries, and you are not sure when the zombies will turn the corner.
Resident Evil 2 remake represents a fusion of its classic vibe and modern tech, making it one of the best games to play on headphones.
Apart from a few big, overblown set pieces, most of Resident Evil 2 is without a soundtrack and only experiences ambient sounds. Despite being a slightly different kind of action game, the old vibe of Raccoon City PD is cramped and dark, with rainy corridors fully capturing the strategically placed zombie corridors.
I remember playing Resident Evil 2 with headphones when the Wild first appeared in the characters. I didn’t know where it came from, but I heard a clear click crack in the claws along the ceiling and knew I was about to join in it.
Metals live on
It’s not surprising that rhythm games fit naturally into headphones, but it’s not just about finding the beat that follows. Metal: In Hellsinger, the pounding metal soundtrack is both the key to the main gameplay loop and its defined atmosphere components, and deserves to be experienced as fidelity as possible.
Metal: Hellsinger uses dynamic music. Kicks as the lyrics and additional instruments increase your score and grade. Wear headphones and follow along the beat of the track to keep your score and fight enemies. This makes the backing track even more amazing. This is like a freestanding feedback loop for heavy metals. Of course, the best kind of self-supporting feedback loop.
In fact, it took me forever to get into metal. Helsinger didn’t like it, but because he had to find time on days when nothing else was happening so that he could properly evaluate the music with his headphones on. It’s a soundtrack enough to set up a schedule.
8
Hellblade: The Sacrifice of Senua
Welcome to her heart
The main attraction of Hellblade: Senua’s sacrifice is that the honorable protagonist suffers from acute psychosis, and hears his voice and experiences hallucinations. Living together in real life is a debilitating state, and if you’re interested in what it would be like for the person dealing with it, playing Hellblade with headphones will probably make you realistically possible.
The Hellblade developers are working with a variety of neuroscientists and behavioral psychologists to make the depiction of a state as accurate as possible, and to make it succinct and brilliantly upset. The voice that Senua is hearing is almost constantly whispering to her, to you, to you.
When you wear headphones, these voices will endlessly squeal from around you, chatting during battle and misleading during your exploration.
I actually you can’t Because they’re playing Hellblade with their headphones on and they say they’re overstimulating and their voices are upsetting. But that’s not a knock on the game. That’s exactly what it’s aiming for, and if you’re feeling it, you can take the full brunt of it yourself.
7
Dead Space (2023)
Muddy, mechanical noise
If there are two adjectives used to describe the overall sound profile of Dead Space, they will be “slurred” and “mechanical.” The swells of the necromorphs, the flesh of tears, and the “mute” from “mechanical” from all the big machines that make up the Ishimura. If you are not troubled by the abundance of such a variety of sounds, I don’t know why to play this game if you are, but headphones are an enhanced experience.
Like Resident Evil 2, Dead Space is very good at creating an atmosphere of oppression, although slightly different from abandoned police stations.
Rather, the corridors of Ishimura, filled with rumbling, rusty machines, are separated by the sounds of necromorph claws on metal floors, showing a distinct kind of oppressive and intimidating atmosphere. Even without monsters, it hardly feels like a place for people to live.
Even in the midst of a shootout, these audible devices never diminish. The fear factor in the necromorph is to slice one of the limbs with a plasma cutter and proliferate only when it comes to the sound of tearing the flesh.
6
I died in the daytime
Visual and Sound Game
It is standard practice to wear a headset while playing online games of almost all genres. After all, headphones help you keep out the intrusive noise and focus on competitive play. But for most genres, this is just an advantage. Games like Dead By Daylight require boundaries, whether you’re playing as a survivor or a murderer.
Dead is, first and foremost, a sound game. Unless there is a special loadout, it is not often in the way of visual information. However, there is plenty of information to hear, from the clear putters of the generator to the footprints of the survivors. Needless to say, the heartbeat of the killer’s terror radius.
The headphones will keep you adjusting properly around you. Both will help you survive as a survivor and hunt your prey as a killer.
I always wear headphones when I’m dying in the sunlight, as I can’t concentrate well without them, even for casual play. I take how much pride I am killing how many survivors I am killing just by listening to my steps.
Silent Soldier
The key to being stealth is not just to become invisible, but to keep an eye on the sounds that both you and the world have created. Three-dimensional perception is more important than its predecessor, as the open world design allows threats to emerge from almost any direction.
Put your headphones inside the Metal Gear Solid 5 mission and sync with the Snake’s hearing. By opening your ears, you can hear accidental noises from nearby soldiers, such as tweets and footprints. This is important if you missed tagging a soldier with binoculars in advance, as it’s unlikely to be caught off guard.
Even outside of mission goals, experiencing the atmosphere of desert and jungle environments allows you to find yourself throughout the game. I was actually able to pin the bird I was looking for. Because I could hear him run through my headphones.
4
Alien: Separation
In the universe, no one can hear you scream
In the alien franchise, one of the greatest assets of the honorable extraterrestrial hunter is its enhanced hunting feel. It allows you to hear your voice through your walls and smell the smell of your fear. If you want to survive being near aliens, isolated and the best approach might be to beat it in its own game.
The best way to avoid being killed by aliens: Quarantine is to deliberately avoid conflict, such as regular human combatants, Joe android work, and occasional xenomorphs. Rather than relying on gadgets, you can expose if you’re not careful. Just a careful listen will help you know who is looking where.
A pair of headphones used in parallel with the game’s mini map will continue to hide you even if there is a threat above you.
Of course, since aliens are primarily horror franchises, experience the atmosphere directly through headphones is in itself an incentive. I have a fair bit of fun, cold sweat hidden in my locker, waiting for the Xenomorph to disappear.
3
Melatonin
Your dream beat
As mentioned before, headphones are always well combined with rhythm games, but not all rhythm games are fully absorbed into soundtracks and facial gameplay. Some of them are about making you a softer, smoother, more reflective groove, including the heavenly rhythm of melatonin.
All of the various rhythmic mini-games of Melatonin require a high score as well as tapping one or two buttons in time on the backing track to clear them. Like its main inspiration, melatonin is not often used in HUD or overlay methods. You should catch beats almost exclusively through the backing track, and to a degree a clear visual element.
It can be difficult to ride the level if you don’t listen to the track clearly enough. A pair of headphones is useful.
I like to play melatonin on my headphones late at night. I’m already a little sleepy. There are no intense songs on the soundtrack, so it’s a great way to relax and focus your thoughts.
2
control
Some sounds were not intended to be heard
The soundwork is bread and butter for the supernatural Creepypasta community, with many classic urban legends and SCPs associated with clear and otherworldly noises. Part of what controls such an impressive and immersive experience is the ability to experience these indescribable noises in playable format.
The best example of sound design during control comes from its main antagonist, His, which is like a meme auditory virus. When you wander through the FBC’s shift halls and come across infected people, you can hear them tweeting hiss mantras in distorted voices.
This is just an example of supernatural sounds that can be experienced with control, and even more can be sourced from other unusual objects.
Even if the strange sounds aren’t doing it for you, the game also has some great soundtrack moments, especially the rock backing of the cigarette maze. When Asgard’s old gods begin, I always wear headphones, with no exceptions. You listen as they shake.
1
Subnautica
Darling’ It’s better in a damp place
Have you ever sat at the bottom of a pool for a while? Do you actively swim in the water, share space, or just float around in the water? It calms down at the same time, but it is repressing about the sounds that come with sinking into the water.
It’s very quiet, but you feel its presence around you. A game that perfectly captures that particular sound flavor is probably not surprising, but Subnautica.
As a game that is played almost entirely underwater, there is a lot of submerged vibes to bring headphones with you. You can hear the constant shaking and shaking of water, bubbles flowing from the seabed, schools of flying fish, and the occasional low moans of giant Leviathans. It’s the perfect sound for creating an hour-long atmosphere video on YouTube.
Playing subnautica with your headphones on is a relaxing and stressful part. Everything is whimsical as I swim together materials. Then suddenly, I hear a roar in the distance and know it’s time to book it.
