How Saros turns everyday recordings into an alien soundscape

Saros uses sound to communicate danger as well as atmosphere. In a 27 October PlayStation Blog feature, its audio team explains how recordings, spatial sound and controller feedback help players read Carcosa's combat.

Ordinary recordings, alien results

Processed didgeridoo recordings underpin the Eclipse and Yellow King palette. Mechanical-drone audio draws partly on floppy disks; the Yellow Shore ocean uses manipulated food recordings. These are the team's techniques, not sounds we recorded.

Keeping busy combat readable

Enemies and projectiles have different sonic identities. Threats are prioritised using distance, visibility and combat state, keeping important warnings audible among many effects. The team also describes ray-traced acoustics responding to nearby surfaces.

Useful listening options

Reported controls include Dialogue Priority, separate combat/exploration music levels, bass and treble, dynamic range and reduced high-pitched ringing. DualSense feedback changes as ammunition runs low. This account of developer methods is not an independent accessibility or audio-quality verdict.

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