Sonic and Musical Realism in Historical Games

Pietruszewski's article argues that the audio-musical layer of historical video games is an underexplored source of immersion, one that has received far less scholarly attention than visual and narrative realism. The author contends that sonic authenticity in historical games is usually achieved through stylization and deduction rather than strict historical accuracy, and that reconstructing ancient soundscapes, such as those of Egypt, is inherently speculative even when the results are plausible. The central thesis is that deliberate use of period-appropriate musical forms, instrumentation, and geographic placement can enhance player immersion, while collective-memory associations do much of the work of signaling "the past" to listeners.

The empirical core of the study is a survey of 70 historical games, drawn largely from the IMDb Top 50 History Video Games list. The author sorts soundtracks into three categories: historical music, historicizing stylization tied to a geographic location, and freely applied music. Historicizing stylization proves the most common approach. Non-historical scores tend to rely on large symphonic-style orchestration, electronic instruments are rarely used in historical settings, and authentic period music appears in only a small number of titles. A case study of Stronghold illustrates the pattern: its medieval atmosphere is built with instruments such as the oboe and cor anglais, which developed only in the Baroque era, alongside modal scales that evoke an older sound.

The study concludes that strict geohistorical accuracy is not a requirement for effective game audio, since soundtracks prioritize emotional engagement and player experience over reconstruction. The work's scope spans a wide range of historically themed strategy and action titles from multiple countries, with a focus on how sonic design shapes perceived authenticity rather than on measuring historical fidelity directly.