Sound Games Part Two: Atmosphere and Voice

If building a great world is step one to making great sound in games, populating it with great vocal performances is step two

Thomas Jenkins
Jul 10, 2017 · 8 min read

Recently, I published an analysis of some games that create great soundscapes, or atmospheres. These games are great, in part, because they create worlds that feel real and interesting to players. That was part one of a three-part series in which I will examine the auditory parts of games and try to explore what makes these elements so successful. This is the second part, where I combine the world-building aspects previously discussed with great voice acting performances.


Let’s consider a proposition. To have the best possible audio elements in a game, developers and creators should make each individual piece of the overall sound as good as possible. And if making the ambient noises in worlds as good as possible is step one in that process, the second step is populating these worlds with real, believable characters. To do that, games often (though not always) need excellent voice actors to fill everything out. Here are three games that do exactly that.


The Last of Us

I’ll never forget playing this game over late June and early July of 2013. It’s hard to believe that this was four years ago — nearly an eternity in video game years. I completed the story again a few weeks ago, and I was still impressed by its technical excellence on the Playstation 4 remastered version. Anyone who goes back to the original game on the Playstation 3 will probably be jarred by the graphics though, which (as phenomenal for their time as they were) are now four years and a console generation old.

However, the excellence of the game’s sound hasn’t aged a bit. This title has all the hallmarks of great atmosphere, just like the games I wrote about a few days ago. There are animal noise in the “nature” segments, often accompanied by the rush of wind, water, and plenty of other small effects that make the world pop. There’s also an amazing soundtrack. Gustavo Santaolalla wrote the music for the game, relying heavily on strings and acoustic elements. From the menu screen to the gameplay, nearly everything is backed by music that fits flawlessly with the story and characters. It’s difficult for me to explain why acoustic instruments go so well with post-apocalyptic themes, but they just do.

However, this game’s best moments come from truly breathtaking performances from the voice actors. The whole cast deserves credit, to be sure, but Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson — who play the protagonists Joel and Ellie, respecitvely—are amazing. I feel here that I’m running into danger of driving readers off with my constant praise, but I’m not the only one who thought the sounds of this game, and especially the vocal performances, were fantastic. I don’t hyperbolize at all when I say that Baker and Johnson were better and more believable in this game than most movie actors.

In the initial review for IGN, Colin Moriarty wrote:

The interplay between Joel and Ellie, as well as the other characters you meet on your adventure, is one of the great highlights in The Last of Us. Voice acting is not only consistently superb, but the game’s graphical beauty makes the events of The Last of Us overflow with realism.

In this review, voice acting serves as one of many layers of game design, and that’s fair. Vocal performances mean little without characters, writing, and a great setting to support them. But I think Baker and Johnson deserve even more praise than being part of an excellent larger whole. Their voices drive this narrative forward, filling the (fantastic) writing with emotional depth that would be impossible with actors of lesser talent. There are many reasons that The Last of Us is my favorite game ever, and why it is one of the highest-review games of all time, but voice acting is one that deserves a great deal of attention.

Ellie may be the best video game character of all time, even if not the most instantly recognizable. Without Johnson’s performance, that isn’t possible.


Horizon Zero Dawn

Playstation’s new franchise took the world by storm when it released in late February this year. I had only followed its development tangentially, and wasn’t at all enthused by the cover art or the trailers. But when it received critical acclaim from publications, I bought it and instantly became a fan.

One of the most noteworthy accomplishments of this game is that it came out around the same time as The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and Mass Effect: Andromeda. These were two highly-anticipated games, franchises with massive fan bases that were similar in genre and design to Horizon. Looking back, a game that released right next to two much more popular games that also relied on open-world design seems destined to fail.

Horizon blew away all expectations, though. Yes, it benefited from the fact that Andromeda was a huge critical disappointment. Breath of the Wild, however, is now one of the highest-rated games ever, and I’ve read countless posts and listened to many podcasts where critics compare Link’s latest adventure to Sony’s new franchise. These two games are similar in many ways, and deserve another post to fully compare them. The point here, though, is that Horizon made waves and money despite competing with some of the most popular franchises in video games. From both a financial perspective and a critical one, this game couldn’t have had a more successful release.

A large part of that success comes from sound. The soundtrack is phenomenal, and fits the sci-fi/post-apocalyptic/exploration genre of the game flawlessly. The ambient sounds are also great. The pause menu, for example, is accompanied by haunting sound effects that underscore the danger and excitement in the world. I got chills when I would pause the game early on and see the vastness of the map around me. Even as I slowly uncovered more and more of the world, I never lost that initial feeling of wonder that depends on large part on its accompanying sounds.

In addition, the voice work is great. Ashly Burch plays Aloy, and does a great job of portraying a fearless, interesting, and complex protagonist. It’s important to note that this comes in spite of occasionally awkward dialog, one of the game’s greatest flaws. I often missed how good Burch’s performance was since the lines she delivered were often, frankly, bad. Anyone who can get past this weakness of the game will find a remarkable performance though, and the rest of the game’s sounds make up for writing missteps.

I like Horizon because it’s another example of a game that combines voice work and environmental noises to create a fully fleshed out world. Even in the moments where I was tired of the bland conversations Aloy had with her peers, the world around me was still fascinating and inviting. And in the moments where the dialog shines, which does happen from time to time, there’s no mistaking the excellence of Burch’s portrayal. The end result is an open world that feels handcrafted and loved. Horizon’s upcoming DLC looks interesting in large part because I want an excuse to return to Aloy’s world.


Uncharted (1–4)

Some fans anxious for another chapter in The Last of Us are probably upset that Naughty Dog and Sony have spent so much time and money on the Uncharted series, but there’s a very good reason for that. The four Uncharted games (with a fifth soon to release) are some of the best games available on the Playstation 4. Without Uncharted, there would be no The Last of Us, and many of the same directors and voice performers are present in each franchise.

The sound elements that shine brightest in the Uncharted games are the same ones that make The Last of Us so good. The ambient noises are excellent, which is particularly impressive given the wide variety of locales that protagonist Nathan Drake visits across these four titles. From Scotland, to Madagascar, to France, and various unidentified areas strung across continents, Naughty Dog uses Drake’s surrounding environment to add depth to the stories it tells.

Wind blows through the trees, raindrops smack into the ground, engines and trains blow smoke and carry the sounds of machinery. A burning house crackles and pops. All of these effects, and more, accompany Drake and his compatriots through their different adventures. There are also plenty of other ambient sounds that are worthy of note, but escape easy definition or recollection. Uncharted games always push the limits of their respective systems, creating beautiful worlds to explore and push through. Even if the sound design isn’t as obvious as the graphical mastery, it’s also an integral part of the experience.

Just as with the other two games in this post though, Uncharted benefits from exceptional voice work. Nolan North is now something of a minor celebrity for his work voicing Drake, and Troy Baker joined the fourth game to voice Drake’s long-lost brother, Sam. As the two siblings explore, fight, and get into trouble on the latest release, the dialog and chemistry they share is one of the pieces that made Uncharted 4 so memorable. Of course, that excellence goes out to the entire cast as well. Sully, Elena, Chloe, and everyone else are all believable characters thanks to great performances.

Uncharted is something of a little brother, at least critically, to The Last of Us. But Nathan Drake has been a Playstation staple for much longer, and the creative inspirations behind these franchises came from many of the same people. These games are fantastic, and their sound design is worthy of deep exploration.


The Coastline is Quiet

A personal blog for my thoughts on music, video games, books, podcasts, history, and anything else I feel motivated to share.

Thomas Jenkins

Written by

Writer, among other things. Here, you’ll find my thoughts on a host of subjects, but primarily history and video games.

The Coastline is Quiet

A personal blog for my thoughts on music, video games, books, podcasts, history, and anything else I feel motivated to share.

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