Battlefield 1: A Game for Sound
Critically acclaimed and beloved by fans, Battlefield 1 is a beautifully crafted game. With it's stunning graphics, addictive gameplay, rewarding multiple player experience, a moving and diverse campaign, and animation so realistic it can be downright gruesome in the best ways, it's no wonder why over 100,000 players connect to their serves.
Since it's release in October of 2016, hundreds of thousands players across PS4, Xbox One, and PC have absorbed themselves in Battlefield 1's virtual Great War. There are many aspects that entice players to join rank and charge into battle, but there's one that truly immerse gamers:
Sound
Battlefield's excellent sound design absolutely ties up the experience together into a multi-sensory masterpiece. It's apparent that DICE's sound designers paid close attention to detail and took the extra mile when creating the audio landscape for the game.
There's the obvious essentials for great audio like realistic and unique gun sound effects and booming explosions, which Battlefield excels in, this game shines when you take the time to appreciate the little things. Now, I highly recommend tuning into some Turtle Beach headphones to notice the finer details because there's plenty to hear. Soldiers yelling commands, gratitude, or warnings at each other that are varied and reflective of the situation at hand, be it a medic healing a wounded ally or a squad of soldiers spotting an enemy tank. The soundscape has an incredible sense of realistic depth and distance giving each sound the appearance of physical placement. With a well trained ear, this accurate audio data that informs players on enemy locations, where shots are landing around them, and action happening throughout their environment that can help make snap life-or-death decisions.
The sound design adds realism to our auditory system. When you die, an unfortunately frequent occurrence in my gameplay, the sound of the killing bullet is chillingly informative, creating a form of echo located cue of where you got hit. You won't see the enemy's headshot, but you'll definitely feel it, trust me. And when things start to hit the fan and everything is blowing up around you from grenades, mortars, artillery strikes, and various war vehicles trying to kill you, you'll find each thunderous round crash into the ground and buildings around you. The sensory overload makes the experience that more realistic as your heart pounds from the overwhelming effect audio adds to the explosions.
It's easy to get lost in the gameplay and visuals that Battlefield 1 has to offer, but the audio is what refines the game. Each sound is impactful and adds audio feedback on the actions happening in gameplay. In this case, sound design is what perfects this genuinely immersive video game.