2025 was the year I figured out how much just simple sound effects and feedback and the way a game feels to play is probably the most important fundamental. Clair Obscur E33's parry slow motion deep bass impacts made that game significantly better.
Vampire Survivors, you barely "play" the game yet it hits you with sound effects and crunch that makes you feel like you are and there are loads of flashy sound effects for game mechanics that dump dopamine on you.
The haptics triggers on the PS5 controller showed me that games aren't as good without that feedback, Space Marine 2 for example feels noticeably less weighty without it among many other games. The difference is staggering after you've played the game for a while with haptics and then have to go without.
But just those small sound effects and the way a game FEELS, Why is it so often that games fail to get this right? Am I understanding this correctly? Why do we get games that feel like they are floaty or having no weight through sensory feedback? Why are devs not using the haptics?
