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Summary by chatGPT
The article on Xbox Wire highlights the innovative audio design in "Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II," focusing on its use of binaural audio to enhance player engagement. Ninja Theory’s audio director, David Garcia Diaz, discusses how the game's advanced sound technology and larger team create an immersive experience that authentically portrays Senua's psychosis and emotional journey. This cutting-edge audio design is pivotal for deepening player engagement by offering a unique and immersive auditory experience.

Headphones Required - Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II’s Binaural Audio Is Like Nothing You’ve Ever Heard - Xbox Wire

Hellblade’s extraordinary audio design made for an unforgettable experience. Audio director David Garcia Diaz shows and tells us how.

news.xbox.com

2017’s Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice was an exceedingly special game. A bold, brash direction for Ninja Theory, the decision to craft a short, narrative experience revolving around mental health was a brave leap, but one that ultimately paid off. Now, seven years later, the studio is gearing up to reveal a sequel to Senua’s story, built with the same love and care, but expanding on the debut in every conceivable way.

In the run up to launch, we’ll be bringing you the story of Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II from inside the studio itself, as well as stories and lessons from Hellblade’s creative leads. This is Ninja Theory’s ultimate form, filled with industry-leading talent, groundbreaking technology, and one of the most unique approaches to game development you’ve ever seen to fulfil the ultimate goal – the pursuit of true immersion.

“We are not just recreating a sound, we are creating a character’s reality, and this is our way of interpretating these emotions.”

David Garcia Diaz

Hyped

 

[Del_X]

My HE1000se are ready.

 

[GymWolf]

I was expecting non-binaural audio for inclusivity sake.

 

[Alan Silvestro]

ok

 

[Skifi28]

Is this going to interfere with the voices I already hear?

 

[Luipadre]

First already had great audio and im always playing with headphones so challenge accepted.

 

[Kurotri]

Yeah, uh, cool. I was expecting some samples instead of an article..

 

[Magic Carpet]

Getting the family out of the house so I can play would also be nice.

 

[adamsapple]

Oh yeah, anyone whose played the first one knows how much better it is to play with a pair of decent headphones.

 

[Kataploom]

I got a pair of TurtleBeach Stealth 700 Gen 2, I hope it's good enough, have never failed me (except for its leather wearing out)

 

[Tsaki]

Damn the marketing seems to be on OVERDRIVE MODE!
Bless the Greenburger

 

[Majormaxxx]

I was expecting non-binaural audio for inclusivity sake.

 

[Dontkidyourselfjimmy]

Author has clearly never dated a blue haired chick.

 

[sigmaZ]

Yeah baby! GAME PASS DAY ONE!

 

[Punished Miku]

I usually detest cameras that are super up close like this (and I still wish it was further back). But I will say that in the 1st game the great audio does help a bit since you can make out more of your surroundings through audio. Definitely a huge part of the game. Of course playing with headphones.

 

[Eiknarf]

Headphones Required - Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II’s Binaural Audio Is Like Nothing You’ve Ever Heard - Xbox Wire

Hellblade’s extraordinary audio design made for an unforgettable experience. Audio director David Garcia Diaz shows and tells us how.

news.xbox.com

Hyped

Cool. It'll sound psick on the Pulse Elite headset when it definitely comes to the PS5 in eleven months time.

 

[Imtjnotu]

I'm fucking ready

 

[Flabagast]

My Maxwell PS5 Edition is ready

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

I have heard binaural audio

 

[N1tr0sOx1d3]

Rocking’ these bad boys….

 

[LordCBH]

I’ll give them this: the audio in the first game was insanely cool.

 

[amigastar]

My HE1000se are ready.

Nice
my Hifiman HE-500 are ready too.
and Hifiman HE400se (superb headphones for its price)

 

[tommib]

I have heard binaural audio

Stereo is the future!

 

[Gamer_By_Proxy]

I'm playing the first one now with headphones.
I don't think the headphones thing is as impressive anymore.
Seems like a lot of games use directional audio.

 

[nemiroff]

Is this going to interfere with the voices I already hear?

You can depress those with voice-cancelling headphones.

 

[Agent_4Seven]

Don't have headphones at all.

Can't decide which to buy - Beyer 770 Pro 80/250 Oms or 900 Pro X open back. Both (and especially 900 Pro X) are insane in terms of price here. I've pretty decent audio reciever to drive them so there's no problem here.

 

[iHaunter]

My Maxwell PS5 Edition is ready

You know I kind of forgot about those. I really ought to get a pair.

 

[TerribleAtThisGame]

 

[Black_Stride]

Ready!!!!!!!!

 

[Insane Metal]

Will benefit from PS5 's tempest áudio

 

[Chronos24]

I spent a good while tuning my headsets with dolby Atmos and I've definitely reached what I believe is a perfect balance (Xbox wireless headset/astro A50) gonna test them out when this finally releases.

 

[Big Baller]

Amazing, but I'll stick with my surround set thank you

 

[PendekarRajawali]

Binaural​

Is it a new gender?

 

[alucard0712_rus]

Will benefit from PS5 's tempest áudio

Tempest audio is gimmick, nothing special at all. Also no hardware audio ray-tracing.

 

[vaibhavpisal]

Don't have headphones at all.

Can't decide which to buy - Beyer 770 Pro 80/250 Oms or 900 Pro X open back. Both (and especially 900 Pro X) are insane in terms of price here. I've pretty decent audio reciever to drive them so there's no problem here.

Definitely 900pro X if you can afford them.

Can also consider Sennheiser hd599. For gaming they would suffice. 900x would be overkill. More suitable for music listening.

 

[Astray]

Despite not really liking HB1, I might pick up 2 on heavy sale to test out my new pc rig.

Also got some Audezes on the way that should be perfect for a test run.

 

[Black_Stride]

Will benefit from PS5 's tempest áudio

Actually wont.
Binaural works with simple stereo....so any extra channels would actually be detrimental to the experience.

Off Topic
I wonder how they will master the Dolby Atmos for this game?

 

[Agent_4Seven]

Definitely 900pro X if you can afford them.

Can also consider Sennheiser hd599. For gaming they would suffice. 900x would be overkill. More suitable for music listening.

Since I don't have headphones for music (the last ones broke long time ago and I haven't replaced them with anything), 900 Pro X then

 

[Mr Moose]

Tempest audio is gimmick, nothing special at all. Also no hardware audio ray-tracing.

So, we've covered optimised settings, but what about optimised audio settings? In what may be a first, Returnal taps into RT hardware for ray-traced audio (a feature also embedded in the PS5 original).

 

[Orbital2060]

So how does the audio mix in the game work with Dolby Atmos for headphones? Ive got both Atmos and DTS on console, and was going to try both and see. Is it better to just run a clean signal and let the game do all of the mixing?

 

[Magic Carpet]

I saw some burb yesturday that Steam OS has native Airpod connection support. Whats that all about? Is it just regular ole bluetooth or did Apple allow them to use whatever special sauce protocall they got going on?

 

[Pedro Motta]

My Dolby Atmos setup says no.

 

[Robochobo]

 

[Imtjnotu]

Binaural​

Is it a new gender?

 

[LiquidMetal14]

I'm gonna be very happy to not spend full price on this.

 

[Robb]

That was the case with the first one as well imo. They’re really good at sound design over at Ninja Theory.

 

[dcx4610]

I’m not normally a headphone guy but it was a must for the first game and will be a must for the 2nd. One of the most memorable gaming experiences I’ve had.

 

[RadioactiveLobster]

Amazing, but I'll stick with my surround set thank you

My Dolby Atmos setup says no.

I mean, obviously you do whatever the fuck you want but if a game is made specifically with binaural audio in mind it can actually be an objectively worse experience when using speakers/surround sound.

I play a lot of Hunt: Showdown and the audio in that game is specifically designed to be played with headphones due to the way audio works in the game.

I tried playing it on a surround speaker setup and also tried using virtual surround in a headset and it was objectively harder to play the game. It messed with the audio mixing and was not a fun experience.

 

[TransTrender]

I wouldn't let crazy this close to my ears

 

[Three]

Is this that Aaron greenberg marketing I've been hearing about? An article about audio on xbox.com?