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Did you realize how bad the sound quality in Assassins Creed Valhalla is?

Did you realize how bad the sound quality in Assassins Creed Valhalla is?

  • Yes

    Votes: 495 62.2%

  • No

    Votes: 301 37.8%
  • Total voters
    796
Imur

Imur

Member
Jan 4, 2018
485
Please only vote if you played the game! "No, I didn't notice it because I didn't play it" isn't helpful. Thanks!


First of all, I want to clarify I don't want to shit on the game in general. I just can't believe how bad it sounds and I am curious if this is something Ubisoft can do without any bigger problems. I sure hope not, because if they can, they will do it again. And it's a shame, this gigantic project with a lot of production value just falls short on something like this.

Of course, it depends on your speakers/headphones how big of a problem this is, but maybe you do have good ones and just don't notice it.

If you didn't notice it you may think who is this crazy guy, talking crazy stuff. Let me back my point off with this analysis.

Reddit Thread

The TLDR Version: the Bitrate was bad in the last two AC games, but now they have a variable bitrate that peaks at around 70 kbps. The problem is discussed at the Ubi Forum too and the Support is aware of it. I don't think they will patch it, but there is hope.

Ubi Forum

Maybe I'm more sensitive than others, maybe my very good sound system is a "problem" in this case, but it really destroyed my enjoyment of the game and I will not play it any further. Luckily I just tried it as a part of the Ubi+ Abo I got for Immortals, so this didn't cost me any money.
 
Andi

Andi

Member
Oct 29, 2017
1,316
It's bad. The voices often sound like there is a reverb or as if they are a bit tiny.

Boosting the voice in the option did not help.

I also dislike the viking songs on the ship, they sound way to produced. Give me black flag shanty quality.
 
klier

klier

Banned
Oct 29, 2017
937
I didn't really notice how bad it is. It's serviceable, and gets the job done.
 
Linus815

Linus815

Member
Oct 29, 2017
19,720
ubisoft has a history of questionable sound quality in their games but valhalla is just absolutely terrible
it was noticable right away
 
ravnelis

ravnelis

Prophet of Regret
Member
Jan 1, 2018
651
My first impression was that it was bugged. I though that it sounded horrendous. I got used to it and completed the game, but still...
 
Exit Music

Exit Music

Member
Nov 13, 2017
1,082
I hadn't noticed but then I read about it in here and now it drives me nuts. It's interesting to see that it's variable because I have noticed it's much worse sometimes.
 

Sylvestre

Banned
Mar 20, 2020
763
I played with headphones and kept hearing shit that didnt make sense. Like someone talking to my right and when I look there is no one there. Happend for the whole duration of my paythrough.
 
Anddo

Anddo

Member
Oct 28, 2017
2,854
It's quite terrible on sound bars and 5.1 systems.
I find it more tolerable with headphones.
 
StrangeChatwin

StrangeChatwin

Member
Oct 25, 2017
149
You do acclimate to the audio, but for the first few hours I literally thought my headset was busted. I even went to audio settings to see If something had been changed during a patch.

A quick google search helped restore my sanity...knowing it wasn't on my end.
 
Sylmaron

Sylmaron

Member
Oct 28, 2017
1,506
I didn't play Valhalla yet so I didn't vote but I can't say I'm surprised. When I checked Unity a while back I couldn't believe how compressed the sounds were, extremely hollow and tinny sounding. Good sound is essential in gaming and Ubisoft needs to accept that.
 
dancingphlower

dancingphlower

Member
Oct 27, 2017
12,055
It's horrendous to the point of being actively distracting. Like it takes away from the satisfaction of combat when hits just don't sound good.
 
Muitnorts

Muitnorts

The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
2,141
Yeah coming from Demon's Souls it sounded terrible.
Immortals doesn't sound as bad to me a couple of hours in.
 
Dlanor A. Knox

Dlanor A. Knox

â–˛ Legend â–˛
Member
Apr 6, 2018
4,156
Yeah, thought it was a bug. Eivor is so freaking loud compared to the rest.

Whenever you climb or jump Eivor makes sounds and it annoys me so much because of how loud it is, it also sounds like Eivor's in a cave with all the reverb going on.

I don't remember having this issue in Odyssey though
 
lazygecko

lazygecko

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,628
One of the replies in the reddit thread mentions that this is likely a decision based on console memory limitations and getting time sensitive audio cues to load fast enough to play on time. Ambient sounds aren't a problem because they're not timing-sensitive and are much more easily streamed.

Still puzzles me that they felt they had to go this far in the AC games though, when other high profile titles developed for the same platforms seemingly don't struggle like this with the audio. Maybe they've just painted themselves into a corner somehow with this particular engine and how resources are used and allocated.
 
Poldino

Poldino

Member
Oct 27, 2020
3,334
It's not the best for sure, but I didn't find it that much of a problem honestly
 
Plum

Plum

Member
May 31, 2018
17,278
I did and it turned the game from "maybe play as a 'podcast/youtube' game" to a "fuck no, gonna sell it," game. It sounds especially bad with my current soundbar which, despite being very good in most areas, has a problem with sibilance that is only exacerbated by this game's terrible audio.
 
leng jai

leng jai

Member
Nov 2, 2017
15,117
Origins and Odyssey already sounded bad but Valhalja takes it to another level of shiftiness. The combat is already weightless enough without your weapons sounding like they're made out of cardboard. Even the basic effect of walking in the snow sounds awful. How do you have visuals like that and then destroy the atmosphere with a complete lack of care to the soundstage. Absolutely baffling how a AAA game made with so much money and manpower can produce such dire audio quality.

As someone who cares about audio as much or more than visuals this is the audio equivalent of Cyberpunk running at 18fps on consoles at sub HD.
 
Zen_Master

Zen_Master

Member
Nov 15, 2020
279
I play using my monitor's internal speakers which are serviceable, can't say I've noticed anything but I'm also not using the best setup.
 
2Blackcats

2Blackcats

Member
Oct 26, 2017
16,054
Optional HD sound should be a thing like HD textures. I'm sure all the audio exists in great quality somewhere. It's just the compression algorithm they use. Do they state anywhere how much audio recordings are in the game? Wondering if it's RAM related optimization or if it's just about storage ..
 
leng jai

leng jai

Member
Nov 2, 2017
15,117
Zen_Master said:
I play using my monitor's internal speakers which are serviceable, can't say I've noticed anything but I'm also not using the best setup.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Using your monitor's internal speakers is why you can't tell, that's like playing a game with a SD TV and not noticing the resolution is bad.

2Blackcats said:
Optional HD sound should be a thing like HD textures. I'm sure all the audio exists in great quality somewhere. It's just the compression algorithm they use. Do they state anywhere how much audio recordings are in the game? Wondering if it's RAM related optimization or if it's just about storage ..
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Even if the compression wasn't ridiculous it would still sound bad because the sound design and mixing isn't good either.
 
DSync

DSync

Member
Oct 27, 2017
661
I've been playing it and never really noticed an issue?

then again I watched Tenet the other night and didn't have an issue with the audio there as well...
 
Lampa

Lampa

Member
Feb 13, 2018
3,573
It's not just the quality, the mixing is horrible as well. I play on PS5 and I had to turn on the dialog boost to even hear the other person in dialogs. If I had raised my TV volume, everything outside of dialog would be way too loud.
 
AncientReptileBrain

AncientReptileBrain

Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,454
i can not believe the game was shipped in this state. like, it's truly horrendous.

some low quality sound effects, okay whatever — but spoken dialogue? including spoken dialogue in major cutscenes? what're we doing here.

like, everyone sounds like they're talking through a tin can.
 
NewDust

NewDust

Visited by Knack
Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,586
Can't be worse than the original AC, right? Even for that time the audio quality was absolutely horrendous.
 
Era Uma Vez

Era Uma Vez

Member
Feb 5, 2020
3,205
Yeah, it's bad, but nothing new for Ubi or Assassin's Creed franchise.
AC: Origins to this day still sounds like trash on the PS4, from dialogue to background music.
Can't remember about Odyssey but it's probably the same.
I mean, it's Ubi, they are not known for their polish.
 
Plax

Plax

Member
Nov 23, 2019
2,818
I definitely noticed it as it was the first game I played after Demon Souls. A huge step down in terms of sound design and impact.
 
leng jai

leng jai

Member
Nov 2, 2017
15,117
The audio in Legion too is rubbish too btw.

Zen_Master said:
I wouldn't necessarily equate internal speakers with not being able to discern differences in sound quality, but that's a different topic.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

It's possible to tell the difference if you know what to listen for and really pay attention, though some built in speakers are that bad that the difference would be very negligible. Using better audio equipment will make it really obvious and impossible to miss.
 
Snake Eater

Snake Eater

Attempted to circumvent ban with alt account
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
11,385
Origins was terrible, can't imagine it being worse
 
Ales34

Ales34

Member
Apr 15, 2018
6,455
Yeah, it's pretty bad. Audio is a very important part of any game for me, and it was jarring.
 
Lys Skygge

Lys Skygge

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,745
Arizona
Absolutely terrible. I thought something was wrong with my headphones (Pulse 3D), but everything I played previously sounded great. I tried my soundbar, different headphones, and other games. Valhalla just sounds terrible.
 
basefree

basefree

Member
Jan 24, 2018
189
It's horrible. If size is a concern I wish they'd at least give the option for a free download as a high quality addon, kinda like how some games have official HD texture packs, or even optional language files.
 
Papercuts

Papercuts

Prophet of Truth
Member
Oct 25, 2017
11,013
It's been driving me nuts since I thought something was straight up broken at first. It's super low and tinny, it really sucks the air out of the room during some bigger raids when everything lacks impact. There's a kill animation where Eivor chokes an enemy out then yells afterward that falls completely flat with how inaudible it is.

It's such an important part of a game that it's a total head scratcher to see so much manpower behind a project that sounds so poor.
 
Dirtyshubb

Dirtyshubb

Member
Oct 25, 2017
17,555
UK
I didn't think the actual sound quality was that bad itself but the game has tonnes of moments where it seems audio is missing or delayed.

I actually loved Valhalla and thought it was the best creed game in years but it does have tonnes of small technical issues that pop up all the time. Nothing major but enough to be noticeable.
 
JasoNsider

JasoNsider

Developer
Verified
Oct 25, 2017
2,144
Canada
I tried the opening hour on PS5 with headphones and the sound was so awful I turned it off. The only time I've been so distracted by bad sound quality. Something must have happened with their Tempest 3d implementation??

If you turn off 3D sound in the OS it improves but that shouldn't be necessary. Demon's Souls and Miles Morales sound amazing.
 
RPGam3r

RPGam3r

Member
Oct 27, 2017
13,465
I'm noticing a trend where visual/audio flaws have little to no impact to me (often only hear about them here).

- low fps? acceptable
- frame pacing? didn't even know what this was and still not sure I do
- chromatic aberration? have a hard time seeing this unless I zoom in on screenshots when it's pointed out
- sound issues? I've played 70hrs of Valhalla and had no clue
 
Zarshack

Zarshack

Member
May 15, 2018
541
Australia
The quality of the audio is noticeably lower quality then you would expect. What annoys me more though is the horrible birds at all the synchronisation points, literally just looks like 2D sprites with 15 fps animations, such a bizarre and glaring flaw that really breaks immersion.
 
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