What is ‘the loudest PS4 game’ in the world?

Venom
4 min readAug 1, 2019
A woman holding her ears surrounded by the 3 loudest PS4 games and a noise meter
What is the loudest PS4 game in the world?

This is a test to find ‘the loudest PS4 game in the world!’ I test two different PlayStation 4 models with three different games using a decibel noise meter.

Video test of the 3 loudest PlayStation 4 games in the world

PlayStation 4 consoles can get noisy. So loud in fact that they can drown out your TV volume. So I’m going to see which PS4 game is the loudest using a decibel noise meter. Obviously, it’s not the game that makes noise, but it’s the power demands of the game that can increase fan use, so really this is a test to see the game that makes your PS4 the loudest.

I will be testing a launch model original PS4 and a launch model PS4 Pro. I’m leaving out the PS4 Slim because it is the quietest model — and because I don’t have one!

I will be testing 3 games that, anecdotally, are regarded as the loudest. They are No Man’s Sky, Uncharted: The Lost Legacy and God of War.

The test is not under perfect scientific conditions but should indicate the different noise levels of each game. The video is being recorded in an area where there is a lot of ambient noise. However, I will be able to show the ambient noise so that can be viewed as a baseline for which to compare to the game. I will be measuring sound from the front of the console.

I’m going to be using the built-in microphone of my camera so that it can capture a better sense of the sound as a gamer might hear it.

No Man’s Sky Next

PS4 Pro
Being that this is essentially an indie game I didn’t think it would be very demanding. But as the game booted up I heard the fans rev up for hyperspace. It hit 62.2 decibels

On the Pro it’s so loud I’m considering re-buying it on Xbox just so the fan sound doesn’t ruin the game, although that would mean missing out on the upcoming VR mode.

Original PS4
So I thought that if the game went hard on the Pro’s fans, then they would on this too. In fact, they reached a relatively quiet 53.1 decibels.

Uncharted: The Lost Legacy

PS4 Pro
This is a game that’s actually made me turn my Pro off because the volume has got so loud. It’s been nearly 2 years since release and I still haven’t gone back to complete it — but I think that’s more to do with making the god-awful z-list character Nadine Ross and the reskinning of fan-favourite Chloe Frazer.

PS4 Pro
On PS4 Pro it hit 61.5 decibels.

Original PS4
On the original PS4, it hit 58.2 decibels.

God of War

Lastly, God of War. A lot of people have been playing this game and I have read a ton of comments about the volume. It IS loud. How loud?

PS4 Pro
On PS4 Pro it goes up to 61.5 decibels. The same as with Lost Legacy

Original PS4
On the Standard PS4, SHOCKINGLY, it hits 61.1 decibels. That is almost exactly the same which makes me wonder if both models have the same fans?

I’m shocked by this as I would have expected the original PS4to be louder. But it seems they both reach the same (approximately) maximum volume but the Pro’s greater power demands mean it pushes the fans to the limit more often.

Decibel noise level chart of the loudest PS4 games in the world

What this all means

So, whilst No Man’s Sky on the Pro got ever so slightly the highest volume multiple tests would be required from different save games to see if it outright IS louder than God of War.

However, No Man’s Sky on the original PS4 is much quieter, whilst the loudest game on the standard PS4 is God of War. So, if we go by the average the loudest PS4 game in the world is God of War! Of course, I haven’t tested every game out there but if you have found a louder game, record it under the same conditions and let me know.

I bought a PS4 Pro because I wanted the best performance. But playing triple-A games on the console is less fun than it should be because the console gets so damn loud.

Are there any takeaways from this? Yes! That with PlayStation 5 Sony, Mark Cerny, whoever makes the decision, should ensure that the PS5, whilst being built to be powerful, is also built to be quiet.

Watch more Venom videos at VenomQuest here: https://www.youtube.com/user/VenomUK

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