I recently started playing GTAV again and sometimes I’ll get in my car and let the radio stations play while I do house stuff. Favorite stations are the 80s one with Kenny Loggins, and West Coast Classics and Rock Radio.
There are games with amazing music that sets the perfect atmosphere — Celeste, Hades, Zelda (especially BotW/TotK).
And then there are games soundtracks I would also happily just put on to listen to — FFXIV, Persona 5, one particular song from Hades (Eurydice).
Fallout got me, a Metal Head, listening to 50s rock and lounge music.
I’ve been listening to the FTL soundtrack since high school!
Into the Breach’s soundtrack is also outstanding, by the same composer for the same developer.
I used to put this on to drift asleep to. Fantastic soundtrack.
Outer Wilds
I just break out into tears any time I hear the title menu theme.
Aaand now I’m reliving that awesome existential crisis/awakening
Fez
Disasterpeace is amazing. Also did the soundtrack for It Follows.
- Bastion
- Castlevania (series, special mention for Symphony of the Night)
- Chrono Trigger/Cross
- Dead Cells
- Destiny 1/2
- Dragon’s Dogma (mainly Into Free, but still…)
- Final Fantasy (series, but special mention for XI and XIV)
- Persona 4/5
- Portal 1/2
- River City Girls (probably 2 as well, but still waiting on my LRG copy)
- Scott Pilgrim vs the World (the game (the soundtrack))
- Tony Hawk (series); a bit of a cop out, as they’re all licensed songs
- Zelda (series, special mention for the Cadence of Hyrule soundtrack)
And then just a lot of old nostalgia for NES games (Duck Tales, River City Ransom, TMNT, etc) and SNES/PS1 RPGs (Lufia, Super Mario RPG, Suikoden, Thousand Arms, etc)
But that main list contains the ones I either bought or downloaded because I loved the music so much.
The Chrono Trigger soundtrack is a goddamn masterpiece. I haven’t played it for years and the songs still randomly pop into my head.
Agreed. I never even really played that game. I was a Genesis man back in the 16 bit days, and I’ve found I can’t really play those old JRPGs without the nostalgia factor (and even that’s lost its luster). But even with me not having played it, Chrono Trigger still has one of the best soundtracks ever.
Maaannn, the Tony Hawk games introduced me to so(!) many(!) great songs, bands, and genres of music! I’m so damn thankful for those games and their soundtracks. They definitely had a hand in shaping who I am today.
You can usually find playlists people have put together of the soundtracks for each game (at least the songs that are available on the platform) on YouTube and Spotify. I still listen to them! Naturally, they hold up really well.
Nier Automata and Nier Replicant, also Metal Gear Rising: Revengence. Id mention more but my other picks are probably already mentioned here.
This. I’ve played hundreds of games from many decades and nothing comes close to how amazing the Nier and Nier Automata soundtracks are.
I’m definitely going to have to say that Persona 5 Royal has one of the best Soundtracks of Gaming in general.
Risk of Rain 2 with Celeste being a close second!
Hollow Knight
In no particular order:
Final Fantasy XIV and XVI (Soken is a genius)
Transistor
Nier Automata
Genshin Impact
Destiny 2
The World Ends With You
Persona 5
Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1/2
Honestly though the FF series as a whole kinda deserves its own special mention. The games have always had stellar soundtracks.
Nier Automata has a great storyline and the ost just elevates that totally in nearly all occasions. It’s an one of a game which just mesmerizes you in it’s soundtrack while playing the game during any time.
Ugh yes, +1 for Final Fantasy and especially XIV. At this point I think I mostly run content for the music. Shadowbringers and Endwalker have some bangers.
Just like the other commenter, the Outer Wilds main motif (travelers) makes me emotional because of how good the game was. Disco Elysium also has had an amazing soundtrack, with the main BGM faintly using sounds from the final song, which made it really cathartic for me.
Ultrakill deserves a lot of praise, especially for the P-2 music (https://youtu.be/MG5L-1pI8bI). It works perfectly for how intense the level is, and it’s absolutely nuts that the game still manages to up the ante after you’ve perfected every single other level. I’ve listened to this type of music quite often before, but I’ve never felt it in my blood and muscles before playing that level.
When judged on the music alone though, Hotline Miami (1) and Furi have to take the cake. Both soundtracks are just iconic, and easily stand out on their own.
You just mentioning the Outer Wilds’ motif gave me goosebumps. That should tell you how well that game uses its music.
My favourite bit of music from that is (iirc) titled '14.3 Billion Years. I’ve listened to it hundreds of times and it still gets me every single time.
I’m surprised not to see any of the Monster Hunter games yet! Maybe that’s because most MH soundtracks are more a collection of individual themes than a unified soundtrack for a world, but a lot of those tracks are pretty great.
I don’t know whether it is considered polite to link to youtube recordings of tracks here. My particular favorites from World are all zone themes: “Rulers of the Wildspire”, “Dancer in the Coral Highlands”, “Roars across the Hinterlands”. You hear these tunes a lot - whenever you’re fighting something in that zone that doesn’t have its own theme - so they’d better be good. Fortunately almost all of them live up to that standard!
Honestly I’m shocked and surprised the Risk of Rain soundtrack hasn’t come up. Both 1 and 2 are bangers. Chris Christodoulou (the lead composer) has a yt breaking down the soundtrack.
Stellaris’ ost is also up there for memorable leitmotifs and just plain understanding the assignment.
I also quite like redout 1 and 2’s soundtrack.
Quite a few folks have mentioned Outer Wilds, so I’ll add the DLC soundtrack. The titular song (Echoes of the Eye) that plays at the end of the DLC makes me burst into tears every time I hear it. But in a good way, haha.
