The creatures of
God of War
Ragnarok
Sweet Justice x SONY SANTA MONICA STUDIO
SWEET JUSTICE confronted our inner fears in close collaboration with Sony's Santa Monica Studio and PlayStation Studios Sound to conjure the most horrific, signature creature sound design we possibly could. Let’s begin.
Creature audio is one of the hardest things to get right in sound design. It's also one of the things studios come to us for most. Before anything ships, a creature needs a voice that's distinct to the title, true to its lore, and built for gameplay.
SKETCHING IT OUT
We start with sonic paintovers, the first step in a process we keep close. Concept art, in sound. We refine them until the design clicks, then build the in-game assets from that foundation. Here's a small selection, from the many we did for God of War Ragnarök.
Awaking the Voices
Our approach is to always use sources true to reality: recordings of animals, of props, of things you wouldn't normally expect but that exist in the real world. The processing on these recordings is light. The skill lies in listening: choosing the right sound, understanding how layers interplay to create a voice. Keeping it grounded and believable is the hardest part, and the most important.
Deep Layers
An example of one of the sessions for a single story cinematic in the game. Where dialogue, music, sound design and foley come together to be mixed. The layers run deep.
CONJURING
THE NOKKEN
Chapter I
THE NOKKEN presented a unique opportunity to explore sound as both a mechanic and a storytelling device. As a creature of the forest woven from plant material and magic, she weaponizes her voice, with each song carrying distinct gameplay consequences.
From dissonant, body-rattling shrieks that erode sanity, to eerie harmonic murmurs that revive enemies, her vocalizations are fully embodied and deeply unnatural. We leaned into uncomfortable textures; the creaking of woody limbs, chattering growths, and atonal crescendos to express a being that's part camouflage, part curse.
EXPLORATION A
DAVE FARMER
Exploration B
JAY JENNINGS
Exploration C
LUKE HATTON
Exploration D
MICHAEL LEANING
“We treated the Nokken as a sonic mirage, an unsettling presence you feel before you see”
RATHER than relying on traditional creature tropes, we treated the Nokken as a sonic mirage, an unsettling presence you feel before you see. Her audio design is full-body and trance-like, a performance that echoes through the forest and manipulates the battlefield.
Each vocalization was built with the idea that it should do something to you, not just be heard — whether it's grating into your nerves, healing her allies, or slowly pushing you toward madness.
MASTERS OF
THE AIR
Chapter II
The Air Dragon is a towering, intelligent force. Regal and terrifying in equal measure. We pushed for a diverse range of organic vocal textures across each attack type, all grounded in a sense of biological realism. Nothing synthetic. Everything felt.
GOOSE + WALRUS
Pain
Contrast is one of the most powerful tools in creature audio. Here, the high screech of a goose blends with the low growl of a walrus, a characterful pairing that becomes a single voice element.
Cactus + violin bow
ANGER
Performing sounds with props and unexpected objects, then processing them lightly, is one of the key ways we create interesting textures. The hard part isn't the processing, it's knowing which objects, in which hands, will make something expressive.
Dolphin
PRESENCE
Keeping things organic through processed recordings that have character always provides the best source
Coffee Steamer
INTENSITY
A coffee steamer, processed into a horrible gurgle. The right source doesn't have to be exotic, just heard differently.
“Of all the dragons, this one is the most refined, demanding an audio approach that matches its sophistication and scale.”
Descriptive words and phrases let us sketch a creature's personality before a single sound is placed. Once the sonic sketch is complete, we break it into assets and hand over to PlayStation Studios Sound, who refine and evolve the sounds as gameplay develops.
Lead Sound Designer at PlayStation, Beau Jimenez: "The Combat team came to us with a specific challenge: the Air Dragon's breath attack needed an incredibly clean and distinct vocal tell so players could immediately recognize when an attack was coming and know when to dodge. The sound needed to cut through an already dense gameplay mix while still feeling organic and terrifying... This became a defining element and ensured the Air Dragon's attacks felt iconic and readable while retaining the organic and terrifying character we wanted from the creature."
INGRID THE
SENTIENT
SWORD
Chapter III
We had the privilege of designing the combat sounds for the wonderful Ingrid, the sentient sword in God of War Ragnarok that accompanies Atreus on his journey through the nine realms.
The challenge here was to sell her power and sharpness, she isn’t a typical sword, she levitates and moves with speed and precision. It was important to compliment her expressive vocals with combat sounds that were equally expressive.
Sound Palette 1
Source Content
A selection of source audio (think of it as ingredients) created to build out the sound for Ingrid.
Sound Palette II
Expressive Vibrations
More source, this time focussing on metallic vibrations that felt like a sword primed and ready.
“The design palette consists of sharp light metal tones, shimmers, buzzes, fast textured whooshes, magical sweeteners and powerful impacts.”
LINEAR MEDIA
Chapter IV
We were entrusted with over four hours of story cinematics for the title. With the game playing out without camera cuts, we worked closely with the PlayStation Studios Sound team to keep the style and storytelling seamless between interactive and cinematic audio, while still carrying the weight and gravitas these moments demanded.
At the desk
One of many (many) late nights on the mix.
Remain in light
The scene of freeing Týr from captivity was the first scene we worked on for the title, and was a test bed for the audio transitioning between gameplay and cinematic.
CINEMATICS
WOLF CINEMATIC
A heartbreaking farewell. The mix stripped back, giving the intimacy of the moment all the space it needs.
Table Cinematic
Gods at the door. The mix leans into every silence and every creak of the room, you should feel the pressure without being in it.
Moonscene Cinematic
Day turns to night in a howling symphony. The mix follows the wolves, letting the scale of the moment swallow everything else.
Mermaid Cinematic
Fantasy, kept grounded. As the spear takes shape, the mix plays the interior against the underwater.
Bar Brawl Cinematic
A bar brawl in Asgard. The mix leans into the chaos rather than fighting it.
Paper Boat Cinematic
A moment's calm mid-escape, then off a waterfall and into the realm gliders. No rest for the mix either.
The
Credits
Chapter V
SWEET JUSTICE TEAM
Csaba Wagner (supervising sound editor), Samuel Justice (supervising sound editor), Ben Minto (senior audio artist), Chris Sweetman (senior audio artist), Harry Cohen (audio artist), Luke Hatton (audio artist), Michael Leaning (audio artist), Barney Oram (audio artist), Zachary Quarles (audio artist), Stefan Rutherford (audio artist), Paul Stoughton (audio artist), Joe Thom (audio artist), Graham Donnelly (audio artist), David Farmer (audio artist), Eilam Hoffman (audio artist), Jason W. Jennings (audio artist), Bryan Jerden (audio artist), Fred Pearson (audio artist), Stephano Sanchinelli (audio artist), Thomas C. Brewer (audio artist), Tim Walston (audio artist)
SONY AUDIO TEAM
Frank R. Favre (Audio director), Michael Kent (supervising sound designer), Jeremy Rogers (supervising sound designer), Alex Previty (sound design lead), Beau Anthony Jimenez (sound design lead), Bryan Higa (sound design lead), Stephen Schappler (sound design lead), Justin E. Bell (sound design lead), Nicholas Tomassetti (senior audio artist), Aaron Sanchez (senior audio artist), Ash Read (audio artist), Dennis Bestafka (senior audio artist), Derrick Espino (senior audio artist), Jeshua Whitaker (senior audio artist), Lewis Everest (senior audio artist), Noburo Masuda (senior audio artist), Tsubasa Ito (senior audio artist), Andres Herrera (audio artist), Chris Kokkinos (audio artist), Danny Barboza (audio artist), Danny Hey (Audio ARTIST), Kei Matsuo (audio artist), Kouji Niikura (audio artist), Lewis Barn (audio artist), Maria j Rascon (audio artist), Presley Hynes (audio artist), Prin Keerasuntonpong (audio artist), Robert Castro (audio artist), Satsuki Sato (audio artist), T.J. Schauer (audio artist), Sean LaValle (technical sound designer), Cameron Sonju (technical sound designer), Daniel Ramos (technical sound designer), Enoch Choi (technical sound designer), Gavin Booth (technical sound designer), Roy Lancaster (technical sound designer), Charles Dworetz (technical sound designer), Bradley Gurwin (technical sound designer), Mallorie Lesher (technical sound designer), Dave St. Jean (technical sound designer), Klaudia Schaffer (technical sound designer), Aaron Cendan (technical sound designer), Ashton Faydenko (technical sound designer), Jessie Chang (technical sound designer), Skylar Chen (audio programmer), Stepan Boev (technical sound designer), Blake Collins (foley editor), Joanna Fang (foley ARTIST),