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Your favorite game OSTs
Last night while my wife was going through my Spotify to pick a song to listen to while I was driving, she mentioned that 90% of my library consists of instrumentals. (Most of which are game OSTs) I find it much more pleasant to listen to, instead of song with lyrics.
Which made me wonder, there might be some hidden/not so hidden gems that I might be missing out on!
Please share your favorite game OSTs with everyone. (New gems, old gems! Either the entire OST or even 1 song of a game! we don't discriminate!)
Bonus point if it's on Spotify
What I currently listen to:
- Armored core 6
- Shadow of the Erdtree
- God of War: Ragnarok
- Nier: Automata
- Devil May Cry 5
- Celeste
- Scarlet Nexus
- Zenless Zone Zero
- Silent Hill
- Flipwitch (Which I understand to be an 18+ game, which I have NEVER played. I just happened to find the OST on shuffle and it got me addicted. Try the song "A Witch's Thoughts")
- Cult of the Lamb
- Fable
- Atelier series
My mind immediately went to Bastion, and Transistor. Both games by Supergiant Games.
I think they do have some vocals though, it’s been a long time since I’ve listened to them…but now I’ll probably listen to them while working tomorrow.
Hades as well (and Pyre though the game has nowhere near the staying power). Darren Korb is a fucking legend.
Repent!
Just checked out both of Bastion and Transistor on Spotify.
Thank you so much! While there are a few vocal songs, a lot of them are instrumental and beautiful.
Already added a couple to my favorites!
Transistor has an instrumental/hummed version of its soundtrack.
Bastions is very good, I liked the sound track more than the game
Bastion is one of my favorite games, if not the favorite, and a huge part of how perfect that experience was for me is the sound direction. The genre of music, the timing of songs coming in and out with the story, and Darren Korb's incredible composition just gave the whole game what it needed to live forever in my heart. I'm glad I'm not alone in my life for it and Supergiant's other games.
Donkey Kong Country 2
Diddy Kong Racing
F-Zero X
Halo (series)
Geometry Wars 2
Guilty Gear (series)
StarCraft
Universe At War
VVVVV
Undertale - Megalomania
Gravity Circuit
Ups for StarCraft and VVVVV!
Donkey Kong Country games have such good OSTs. I've never listened to 2 or 3 so I should get on that.
I think I saw one mention, but Ori and the Blind Forest has an amazing soundtrack and is also a fun game. Highly recommend checking it out.
I'm also a big fan of Horizon Zero Dawn's soundtrack, or even Skyrim sometimes when I want relaxing nostalgia.
I'm in complete agreement about Ori. One of the few video games with a stand-out soundtrack imo. The sequel has more great music too.
The Dustforce OST is one of my favorites. I liked the game quite a bit, but I spent way more time listening to the soundtrack than I did playing the game.
If you're into chiptune/electronic, I like the VVVVVV OST too.
Cave Story has a charming soundtrack, but I haven't found any kind of official version on Spotify. It is up on YouTube though.
Edit: Oh, also, if you're feeling in an intense/aggressive mood, Hotline Miami has a lot of great music. M|O|O|N, Perturbator, and Carpenter Brut were all good finds that I first heard in that game.
Loved the Dustforce recommendation!
Already added "Cider Time" and "Elvish Piper Academy" to my favorites!
VVVVVV's OST is really nice too, but will be adding those to my seperate chiptune folder. ;-)
Will look into Cave Story once I get home! Can't access Youtube at work unfortunately.
Dustforce all day every day.
If you don't like lyrics ...I'd recommend getting tested for being neurodiverse.
What's neurodiverse? Google also didn't explain.
Either way, I don't like lyrics because they disctract me when I'm working, and I enjoy the experience of background music more than actively listening to a song. Most of the time when I’m listening to music, I don’t really want to think about someone else’s relationships, life, and social/political issues.
Doesn't mean I hate songs with lyrics though, around 10% of my playlist has lyrics.
Neurodiverse means your brain works in a different way than the (neuro)typical person.
I only suggested it because I'm neurodiverse and my listening patterns are the same (instrumental music because I find lyrics distracting when I'm not actively listening to them, eg. whilst working).
Oh yeah.
I adore Pokémon soundtracks. Gold/Silver in particular is my beloved, and I think the Black/White and Black/White 2 soundtracks did some amazing experimentation within the series's musical structure and the confines of the DS hardware. Legends Arceus is stellar, with some wonderfully dynamic backdrops and beautiful callbacks to the gorgeous scenery themes in Diamond/Pearl/Platinum. Samples: GSC Rival Battle, Colress Battle, Legends Arceus Forest, DPPt Lake Theme
I am SEPARATELY pointing out the Pokémon Trading Card Game game & sequel GB2 because they're some of the coolest fuckin chiptune pop-rock imaginable and shipped on Game Boy hardware without any special post-processing tricks. Just good ol hackery. Medium is the message. Samples: Ronald's Theme, Fortress Leader
The Shovel Knight base soundtrack is functionally a prog rock chiptune album, which is good from a guy who makes prog chiptune albums. Samples: Backed Into a Corner, The Starlit Wilds
Speaking of virt, his non-chiptune stuff slaps and carries the same driving energy. Especially the soundtracks for Mighty Switch Force and its sequel. Samples: Whoa I'm in Space Cuba, Dalmatian Station
I've come to realize that when I play Zelda games, I'm ultimately looking for set-dressing like Wind Waker; its aesthetic, mood, and especially its soundtrack are so varied and magnificent. Zelda music is great, but I don't think anything singularly touches it. Samples: Gohdan, Dragon Roost Island, Molgera
Bemani's music team for DDR, Sound Voltex, IIDX, etc is great. Nekomata Master particularly kills it, though, and Backdrops is a wonderful rhythm game sampler. Sample: Good-bye Chalon
Random shoutout to the Ar Tonelico series, which I've never played but I feel like I don't need to because the soundtracks carry the game's themes and lore beautifully with a wildly unique style and language meshing that itself meshes folk and tech. They have some of my favorite songs.
I'm a huge proponent of older games' MIDI sequencing being part of their vibe, and no amount of reorchestration touches how well FFVII and its synths nailed everything. Sample: Main Theme
I think the defining bit of Sonic the Hedgehog music - and really what keeps him alive - is that the series has a pulse on what cool contemporary music to use and what the pop culture zeitgeist sounds like. Sonic R and Sonic Adventure 2 are timeless. ...ly stuck in their 90s and late 90s/early 00s vibes, but God do they do it well. R is so wistfully optimistic, and SA2 smooshes like five different soundtracks together with a glue stick and asks you to throw glitter at it. Samples: Living in the City, Metal Harbor, Supporting Me, all of Rouge's tracks
Neon White helped me nail down exactly what I wanted out of electronic hardcore. You absolutely lose yourself in its music; I've never been interested in time trial gameplay, but damn did I grind out everything in Neon White. Samples: Rigged Game, House of Cards
I laughed out loud!
I originally ripped the soundtrack of Sonic R from the PC game disc back in the 90s. I’ve carried those files forward with me, from computer to computer, ever since. It is currently uploaded to my Apple Music account so I can listen to it alongside the rest of my library.
By modern standards? It’s definitely dated and ultra cheesy. Did kfwyre know or care about that when he was a kid? Definitely not. He was so into it.
It's so cheese, but the bops aged so fuckin earnestly.
If we are being honest, Sonic R is far from having the cheesiest songs.
Though I also unironically love those songs too.
Living in the city, guys. Survive, keep the dream alive - what else rhymes with Eyes??
I'll put the Sonic 3D Blast (Saturn) and Nights Soundtracks up there with earnest late 90s cheese gems.
I’ve done karaoke Dreams Dreams far more times than I’d like to admit.
Yeah, I definitely pretended that I had soul singing the Christmas version in the shower.
Turns out that I have no soul.
I share your love for Sonic music, including Sonic R. Snatched that game up when it released for Sega Saturn and never looked back! Honestly the game has aged very poorly, but at the time it knocked my socks off. The graphics were were on par with N64 games and the sense of speed was very good. The severe pop-in and limited number of tracks and racers were not. Of course we were still getting used to hearing so-called "CD-quality" audio in games, so I think the sheer novelty of it in '97 elevated the soundtrack somewhat for me. Honestly these songs were sooo cheesy even then, but they grew on me over time.
In my head there's a whole category of related music from this time period that is distinctly SEGA. Earnestly cheesy, catchy, and cringy. This includes the music from Nights into Dreams, Daytona USA, Sega Rally, and Metropolis Street Racer. I wouldn't recommend these soundtracks to anybody but they capture a unique moment in gaming history that's entangled with a lot of nostalgia for me.
As for Sonic, the classic soundtracks were legitimately, unironically great, from the first game through Sonic & Knuckles. Sonic 3 famously included uncredited contributions from Michael Jackson. I have to give a shout-out to Sonic Mania here for revisiting so many of the original bangers, and even improving on them in a lot of ways. (That whole game was an utterly fantastic love letter to the original 2D games and I highly recommend it if you're a fan of those and missed it somehow.)
I'm all about those Sega 'butt-rock' soundtracks. Absolutely amazing - especially Sega Rally. Not sure if you knew it, but Takenobu Mitsoyushi (Daytona) sings Ryu's theme song in a tribute album and it's incredible..
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ODWeirgcpQ8&pp=ygUcc2luZyBzdHJlZXQgZmlnaHRlciB0YWtlbm9idQ%3D%3D
Came here to say the Sonic 2 and 3 soundtracks are still stuck in my head, decades after I last regularly played the games. They're so good.
Thank you for all these recommendations!
I am not able to access Youtube at work, so I'll have a look at these when I get home.
Big YES to Ar Tonelico. I am not able to see your link or check the song's name, but off the top of my head I believe my favorite track is called Exec.Sphilia or something similar.
Just love the made up language and it sounds so enchanting.
Lmao yeah it's the second one I linked. Again, NEVER played the game, but having a musical call-and-response back and forth with the entity you're fighting via half faux-programming language half faux-magical cant is so fucking cool.
One of these days you should check out Resonance of Time / End of Eternity. It’s got a similar world concept minus the singing program interfaces, but it’s got a really great soundtrack and a really unique battle system from Tri-Ace. It’s a seriously underrated gem.
You may or may not enjoy listening to some of the music of Noriko Mitose. I would check out the album Yorlga, which features songs written by Yoshitaka Hirota, whom I mentioned earlier in this topic also works in VGM (if I’m right, it’s how the two met).
I can tell you for certain that the Ar Tonellico soundtracks are definitely better than the games. I would play the first one because it’s a really interesting experience. The developer, Gust, was at the time known for making games that seemed really shallow and simple but ended up being deeper and more interesting than you would expect.
That being said, the sequel got an amazingly mangled translation, and further sequels were not well crafted games. Gust has since become an Atelier game factory - though to be fair, those games are pretty great and they look and feel fantastic.
How Zelda isn't on everyone's list here is mind boggling. It is the quintessential video game music. Nothing comes close.
If you like instrumental, mostly vocal-less background metal, there is one word and one word only that satisfies a gaming OST need and that word is...
DOOM
I've been trying to keep going through backlogged games, but am finding a nagging desire to go back and play 2016's DOOM again. Will try to just wait for Dark Ages to come out though.
Bruh how you gonna leave out the Doom Eternal OST?? Honestly anything Mick Gordon touches turns to gold. Love that guy.
I wanted to choose only one instead of a list and I honestly prefer DOOM over DOOM Eternal's OST, but yeah he's done great work in the games I've played (Dooms and Wolfensteins) that he's been on.
Probably the one I have listened to the absolute most is Chrono Cross. Yasunori Mitsuda really knocked the bar out of the park and the vocal ending song is hauntingly beautiful. He later collaborated with Yoshitaka Hirota on Shadow Hearts and that has a crazy interesting soundtrack that isn’t quite like anything else. I would strongly recommend looking for the experimental arranged album called Near Death Experience - it’s an experience all right.
Somewhere in my history there is a whole list of VGM recommendations complete with links to vgmrips to listen to them. I cannot for the life of me find it right now. There are hundreds of soundtracks I like and listen to frequently and I’ve talked about them a lot. I’d recommend perhaps looking up some musicians. Ryu Umemoto is a champion of FM sound design that isn’t well known outside of Japan because most of the stuff he wrote never left the company, but he makes perhaps the most clever compositions you will ever listen to. The soundtrack he is perhaps best known for is YU-NO, but I prefer his other Shu Takumi collaboration in Grounseed.
Motoi Sakuraba is so prolific that it’s almost impossible that you haven’t heard some of his music. He has some really interested arranged albums produced in the late 90s / early 00s, including some really good Valkyrie Profile arrangements.
You can’t go wrong with Sonic soundtracks. They’re full of bangers. But most people have never heard the best one. Knuckles Chaotix
It’s probably obvious that all of these are old. I like FM synth and chiptune and prog rock, all of which are more or less out of fashion, so it’s rare to find new stuff that matches my tastes, especially because I’m not a big fan of “retro aesthetic” games these days. There are certainly some still being made, but they’re just out of my radar most of the time. That’s why I spend a lot of time listening to music on Battle of the Bits.
Edit: I found that old comment. It doesn’t have as many as I remembered but it’s got some great ones on it. https://tildes.net/~music/1bmg/looking_for_chiptune_album_recommendations#comment-b0z5
To this day Xenogears Creid (an arrangement album with more celtic vibes, made by Mitsuda himself) is still one of my benchmark album I listen to whenever I get new audio equipment. I love it so much.
Holy shit! There’s another person who knows about Cried! That’s one of the best Celtic albums of all time in my opinion. Or at least the best of that particular era where there was this odd synergistic blending of Celtic with new age soft rock.
Yay another fan!
Do you know about Kirite (also by Mitsuda) ? I find that it's quite close to Creid (same new agey feelings)
There's also Genso Suikoden2 Orrizonte Music Collection by Miki Higashino that quite close to Creid.
And that Xenogears 20th anniversary concert is really nice.
Yeeeeeeeeeeesssssssssssss! Another favorite of mine.
Though if you want a really deep cut, Mitsuda had a short lived fan club called Hopeful Weeds, for which he released two singles. The first song, Hopeful Weeds, is actually my favorite Mitsuda song altogether.
Mitsuda and Higashino also have a collaboration album! Moonlit Shadow is the soundtrack to a terrible little game called 10,000 Bullets. It’s a frenetic collection of Jazz tracks, and it’s lovely.
Wow, this comment threat just triggered a downloading spree for me.
You should also check out the Pixellated Audio podcast. They haven’t gone in depth like they are known for since the pandemic, but you are practically guaranteed to get a new appreciation for some of their music if you give them a chance. Plus they have interviews with the musicians sometimes.
I've been on a VGMpire and Legacy Music Hour podcast kick recently. I need more options, so thank you!
The fact that you say this for a list of twenty six different soundtracks means you’ve got a very impressive command of game music.
When I came into the topic, I was planning to link that same comment and ping you if you hadn’t already shared it. Thank you again for a great list.
Oh that's very cool. I was going to comment Chrono Cross/ Shadow Hearts/ Valkyrie profile - amazingly you said it all in exactly the order I would mention it.
If I had anything to contribute further, I'm also a big fan of Atlus/ Vanillaware game soundtracks by shoji meguro and hitoshi sakamoto. I listen to them a lot while studying:
You know, I used to absolutely love Hitoshi Sakimoto. He had such an impressive bombastic style. But then I played Valkyria Chronicles, and while his music wasn't bad at all, it was just so boring being as realistic as it was - his style really didn't show through. I wouldn't have possibly guessed he's the same guy who did the music for Gauntlet 4 or Final Fantasy Tactics. I don't know if I really like him anymore.
Atlas and Vanillaware games are real mixed bags for me. They're generally made up of stuff that on paper I like, but together they don't work for me. While I like Meguro's music typically, they are ruined by being in the games they are in somehow. I don't hate them or anything, they just kind of rub me the wrong way.
Aww I love them! Shame you don't like Atlus, those games were a great time in my life but I get it.
Funnily enough I've not actually played or listened to Valkryia chronicles, Gauntlet, or Final Fantasy Tactics. Thanks for the recommendations (above and here) - will give them a listen.
Valkyria Chronicles has a spin off called Valkyria Revolution and it actually has a soundtrack by Yasunori Mitsuda. The game is ok but has terrible pacing. (“We’re gonna have a revolution any second guys, I swear! Now please stop asking me why because I won’t tell you!”)
Also, gauntlet: https://vgmrips.net/packs/pack/gauntlet-iv-mega-drive-genesis
That version of gauntlet also has some interesting history behind it if you want to look it up.
Interesting about your experience with Sakamoto and Chronicles - was it that bad?
I love LOVE the tactics soundtrack, but for me, VC wasn't bad at all. Like somebody such as Mitsuda, he has worse out there too.
It’s not bad, it’s just bland. I got excited about a new Sakimoto soundtrack and was disappointed.
Mitsuda has some bland ones too but to his credit a lot of the songs he is commonly credited for aren’t actually his, instead being made by his employees at Procyon.
And speaking of Procyon, I’m still waiting for Mariam Abenassar to get free rein on a soundtrack.
Ooh - could you point me toward some winners from Procyon?
Came here to say Sonic, and you were right: I haven't heard Knuckles Chaotix. Will give it a listen and report back.
Self-replying to say I've listened to a good bit of these now and I gotta say that I wish I'd played this game back in the day, because it sounds pretty great but without the nostalgia goggles it just doesn't hit for me like the others. Thanks for bringing it to my attention, though!
Some games with solid OSTs that I haven't seen mentioned:
I have it like this - if the sountrack is well done, I'm not hearing it in the game; it fits the scene/game so well it becomes part of it and is not there just as background music.
Having said that, there are not that much OSTs that come to my mind due to this very reason.
But if you made me listen to one soundtrack, I would pick Stardew Valley. As I write this the melody already plays in my head. And not because it is not one with the game (as I described earlier) but due to me actually listening to the OST from time to time in my car while I drive.
I also bought vinyl record of Final Fantasy X soundtrack, I believe this alone testifies something.
Morrowind has the right theme (Nerevar rising), but I wouldn't say the whole soundtrack. The same goes for Lineage 2 back in the days (Call of destiny).
And one shouldn't forget about MEGALOVANIA from Undertale. As I haven't played the game, I can't say much, but I believe soundtrack is really big part of the game (well, the game was kinda made around the soundtrack if I'm no mistaken).
IMHO you should try playing Undertale, it's not a big time investment but it was still one of my favorite games in the last few years. (And it is indeed a big part of the game. Toby Fox did essentially the entire game and soundtrack himself, with art contributions from Temmie Chang. The titular Undertale track comes with a big emotional gutpunch in the storyline that I don't want to ruin.)
It's so stellar. A mix of what I loved about Earthbound and Thunder Force - a mashup I never knew that I needed!
I know he is composer and he made the game by himself (didn't know about the art contributions).
I boight ut like a year ago and I want to play it, but I still didn't commit. I totally should, I believe it is a great game and I want to play it. Just not now.
Also I think (based on kinda final boss battle that I've seen) that it will be kinda tough reaction based and I suck at those. I also know it is emotional game and characters can be made happy or sad (suffer?). But I know nothing else. And I don't want to know :-) I want to experience it myself.
Stardew Valley is so peaceful. Most of all, the winter songs get me right in those childhood nostalgia feels, and I'm forty years old.
Mass Effect (!!!)
Halo Reach
The Witcher III
Red Dead Redemption and RDR II
Looking in this thread for the correct answers, but came up empty. The two best video game soundtracks are:
#1 Civilization 4 (Uses mostly existing music from "age" and it's beautiful and really makes you feel the progression of time!)
Most of the soundtrack
#2 Katamari Damacy (Obviously amazing)
Here
Chris Tin is a treasure.
Apparently it’s become a joke in choral circles that it’s impossible to find someone who hasn’t performed Baba Yetu in concert.
Here's what's on my various playlists, in no particular order. Some of these I actually associate with specific D&D campaigns / my fiction writing / specific times in my life rather than with the games they originate from, and some I like because of the memories of the game. It's a wild mix.
I might add even more later if something skipped my mind.
OMG Jazz Jackrabbit! (I only played the original though, so I don't recognize that.)
And that comment on Obra Dinn is gold: i would give myself brain damage just to forget this game and play it again
Some great reminders, thanks!
I had some hangups about Metroid Prime, but the soundtrack's ambient-electronic direction was absolutely perfect.
My favorite video game cover is probably this long violin-piano medley of Metroid music and it hits Phendrana Drifts along the way. It's a wonderful sample of the series that's arranged well for the instruments; I love how the two instruments trade off carting either the melody or a percussive harmony / counter-melody. The space from a missing dedicated rhythm instrument has some quality to it that channels the open, eerie mood of the games really well.
Disco Elysium's soundtrack is phenomenal!!! Not only that but it is an incredible game as well!!! The people who made the OST (Sea Power) also made an album in which they use some of the songs on the OST for their songs (it might be the other way around, where the Disco Elysium songs are their songs without vocals on it). But in any case Whirling in Rags 8AM is soooo good
Oh wow - the Martinaise overworld theme gives me Biosphere vibes in the best way, and that church music is so so good.
The whole game has such a unique vibe - hilarious, dismal and adult all at once.
My god yes! I love the Disco Elysium music. Every now and then I'll hear that trombone in a youtube video or somewhere out in thr world and it immediately jumps out to me, and I go right into that introspective liminal headspace induced by playing that game.
A thousand times over, OP: Disco Elysium.
(also strongly suggest playing the game; it's phenomenal)
The one I own and has probably gotten the most plays is the Outer Wilds soundtrack. Great background music for working/reading/writing and also gives me warm fuzzy memories of playing one of my favorite games.
I'm surprised that nobody has mentioned Astro Bot or Hollow Knight yet. Both games have good music.
When I need some raw energy:
Metal Gear Rising: Revengance - one of my most listened to albums in recent years, plus it has instrumental versions of all the tracks.
When I need something calmer:
Deus Ex: Human Revolution - although listening to this often makes me sad, because there will never be a conclusion to the games story
So many of my favorite games are my favorites in part for their OST.
Celeste, Minecraft, Outer Wilds, any Supergiant game, Ori, Disco Elysium, Hollow Knight, etc.
I want to give a particular shoutout to two OSTs that, in my opinion, make the game what it is.
Furi is a game with a lot of rough edges. The story is hard to parse, the visuals lack polish, and a lot of the bosses don’t feel that different.
The soundtrack competes with Celeste’s for my favorite OST of all time. I have often muted games to listen to Furi’s OST instead. I think the game knows this, too: each level begins with a long walking section, so you can hear the introduction to each song, and then wait for the crux in the boss fight.
Katana Zero has one of those OSTs that’s able to set you in the atmosphere of the game immediately. The game is a story about a supersoldier with PTSD, and the soundtrack helps put you in the protagonist’s head. Of course, it helps that every level begins with the protagonist plugging in his casette tape to start the music.
These games are definitely worth playing, but they are unique to me in that I’m not sure I would recommend them if they didn’t have their respecitve OSTs. Definitely give the tracks a listen.
I really like the Furi soundtrack, though I must admit the game never seemed like my jam. All the featured artists have quite a presence in my playlist rotation. Danger in particular though has an elevated spot, and notably produced another two amazing game OSTs:
The Haven soundtrack which is at most times more calm but also has its moments. Love it, as well as the game (which is from the same developer as Furi as I just noticed)
And the recently released Windblown OST, which is more in the vibe of his contributions to the Furi soundtrack. Though I have not played the game yet.
Some other lovely soundtracks to games I have played:
Danny Baranowsky's Industries of Titan OST though I also have a soft spot for the early access "Under Construction" version, where I have actually played and enjoyed the game <.<
Chipzel's Crypt of the NecroDancer: AMPLIFIED OST is an amazing chiptune remix album of the already fantastic original OST. I do have a really hard time keeping my rhythm in the game.
DM DOKURO's The Tale of a Cruel World isn't quite a game's OST, rather the amazing soundtrack for the Calamity expansion mod for Terraria. Well worth a listen, although the mod was a bit too hard for me.
And finally a few more soundtracks of games I haven't played but still enjoy immensely:
Heaven Pierce Her have done an amazing job scoring for Ultrakill, I particularly enjoy the Imperfect Hatred OST
The Makeup and Vanity Set Brigador OST, where really all four EPs are a great synthwave-y treat
Power Glove's Trials of the Blood Dragon OST is another lovely jam in that vein. Pretty sure it played a mentionable part in bringing me into that genre
Daniel Deluxe with the first Ghostrunner OST
The Anno Mutationem OST
For me another Danny B classic is the Desktop Dungeons OST though I never got around to playing it.
And finally ZUN's Perfect Cherry Blossom and far too many other official or inspired Touhou music which I've certainly enjoyed more than the small attempts at playing the seventh game of that series of bullet hells
I'm sure someone in here has mentioned the Minecraft soundtrack, so I'm going to be weird and recommend what's becoming my favorite C418 album Cookie Clicker.
I'm also a huge fan of Outer Wilds' soundtrack, but there's so much more from that game that you'd have to search a bit for. My favorite Outer Wilds song is by far Older Than the Universe or Reprise
I'm glad someone linked the Outer Wilds soundtrack. There's something about the main theme that's just comforting to hear, and it inspired me to pick the banjo back up a few years back. Apparently it took almost a decade for Andrew Prahlow to get it just right, which is absolutely insane to me.
I agree with this statement, but I would advise against doing so. Outer Wilds is a game that can only really be experienced to its fullest extent once, and any spoilers you run into before you play it diminish that experience. Get the main OST, but play the game before searching for more.
FTL: Faster Than Light and the advanced edition soundtracks are great.
I love that every track (or maybe just most tracks?) have two versions — the quiet peaceful version that might be a little tense, but not too much, and then the exact same track with a bunch more drums etc to turn it into a combat scene.
In-game, the game seamlessly blends between them without skipping a beat as you enter and leave combat, and I love it so much! I wish other games did more of the same thing!
!!! SEGA RECOMMENDATIONS INCOMING !!!
In terms of pure earworm magic, these are my picks:
Shining Force - A classic old-school swords ‘n’ sorcery RPG. The game is fun, if a bit simplistic… but damn if that soundtrack isn’t catchy. You wouldn’t believe how often I find myself humming the overworld tune when I’m washing dishes or whatever. And it’s been YEARS since I’ve even played it.
Skies of Arcadia - This is my favorite JRPG of all time, and the music is probably 50% of the reason why. Listen to the themes from Sailor’s Island, Nasrad, and Ixa’Taka and tell me you’re not instantly transported to another place.
Jet Set Radio - No post about Dreamcast-era music would be complete without mentioning this legendary soundtrack. It’s all incredible but special shout-outs for Sneakman, Rock It On, and Let Mom Sleep.
Yeah, the Shining Force series has some of my favorite music! I find it a bit hard to recommend to others though, especially the earlier stuff.
Motoaki Takenouchi is the composer who took over for the middle of the series starting with the Gaiden series and he is a very under appreciated artist. He described his work as trying to get the best possible sound out of the hardware and it led him to some very inteeestinf places. His work on Shining Wisdom is not well appreciated because of how different it is from the rest of the series but it’s actually fantastic on its own right. There is an album version of that soundtrack that is slightly arranged using a Korg M1 and it has a vocal introduction track that you have to listen to in order to believe it.
Sega dorks punch above their weight on Tildes - I love this.
Currently playing Shining force 3 but loving the music from 2 especially. Skies has some of the best adventure music of the era, too. I'm said that Kodama-san is gone and cannot supervise the 'someday sequel'.
Speaking of Hideki Naganuma, his contributions to Bombfunk are great and (somewhere on the web) there's a bunch of hidden tracks from JGR/JGRF that were never in the official soundtrack, but that a bunch of fans have ripped and compiled in full quality.
Oh man, I’m gonna need that link!
The internet provides.
https://www.reddit.com/r/JetSetRadio/comments/x8ozjv/a_lossless_audio_collection_containing_every/
Nice! Much appreciated! As thanks, I offer this pair of JSR-inspired fan mixes I archived from an old Reddit thread too.
Ooh yeah - that's perfect. Not sure how steeped you are in Japanese rock, but there's plenty that does something real similar to what Naganuma does. I'm just learning about it now and I'm loving it.
Can't believe
the onlythere's not more Halo in hereso far is one mention of Halo: Reach! All of the Bungie Halo games have fantastic OSTs, and the 343 ones aren't half bad either (4 and 5 are good but just don't feel like Halo IMO, while Infinite is pretty solid). I was going to try to recommend one or two in particular but they're all so good. Combat Evolved is what kicked everything off and established the themes and styles of the music. 2 and 3 are just epic and expansive and emotional. ODST is dark and moody. Reach takes the original themes and injects so much tension and desperation into them. It's incredible how the themes transform over the course of the series, and how they always serve the story so well.I grew up with these games and this music so I'm definitely biased but I know from talking to others over the years that I'm not the only one who feels this way. Highly recommend giving them a try!
I can't believe it either! Because I mentioned the series in my comment :)
Ope my mistake! I see it now!
I'll show my age here, but the Iconic game soundtrack of my youth (besides, of course, Mario) was Full Throttle, by Lucasarts.
What a rocking album that game was set to. Great voice acting too. It all just came together so well.
In terms of other great soundtracks, Gunpoint, Superbrothers: Swords and Sworcery, Grim Fandango and recently, Astrobot, come to mind.
Thanks for mentioning both Grim Fandango and Astro Bot. Both of those are great! (Even if Astro’s theme rips off Muse’s song Starlight lol)
I'm so happy with all the replies, and happy to see I'm not the only game OST fanatic out there.
There are a lot of recommendation but I'm slowly giving them all a go.
Adding a couple!
The first Life is Strange game has such a good soundtrack!
That game introduced me to Alt-J for which I am forever grateful.
I'm a big fighting game fan, and I'm willing to argue that it's the genre with the highest banger soundtrack density.
My personal favorite is the soundtrack to the indie Japanese fight game series Under Night In-Birth. In particular:
But almost every popular game in the genre has brought some heat. My favorite King of Fighters tracks are:
Street Fighter has:
Guilty Gear:
Tekken:
Cheating by including tracks from the Granblue fighting game instead of the rpg:
Various:
A shocking number of fighting games have an all-star cast of contributing musicians. Particularly for games around the late 90s and early 00s.
Check out Fighting Layer if you haven’t already. That soundtrack has some truly crazy compositions, including one that switches between crazy time signatures.
Yeah Arika punches insanely high above their weight class when it comes to music.
I recently gushed about the soundtrack of the Ace Combat series and Project Wingman in the what are you playing topic and I will do it again here.
The final mission / boss music (Megalith, The Unsung War, Zero, The Liberation of Grace Maria, Kings) are all epics in different ways. The base is symphonic music, but some have more electro undertone and other more traditional. Shout out to Zero and it's crazy Spanish guitar. Other rec is Shodown and Redline from Project Wingman (some happy 80-90s anime vibes), Daredevil from Ace Combat 7 (famously commissioned at the very last minute because the mission lacked a good track ; and this delivers) and really the rest of the AC7 soundtrack (Magic Spear is so good).
Classic Heroes of Might and Magic (I to IV) have a consistently great ambient soundtrack thanks Paul Romero.
Trials of Mana OST is burned into my mind. Incredible how solid those composition are (and how little they changed for the remake).
SpaceChem has this relentless rhythm that's ideal for work.
Links, both of Ace Combat final mission OSTs and one personal favourite from each:
Ace Combat 4 OST - Bunker Shot: A tense track that plays over the Strangereal equivalent of the Normandy Landings, an incredibly dangerous and costly operation that neverthelessis also the turning point in the war as the allies, ISAF, finally go on the offensive.
Ace Combat 4 OST - Megalith Agnus Dei [Digitally Remastered Remix by DarkIce]
Ace Combat 5 OST - Rendezvous: A track reflecting rising tension, as the fleet you're escorting is ambushed by a surprise attack.
Ace Combat 5 OST - The Unsung War
Ace Combat Zero OST - Diapason: A triumphant early victory, as the capital of your occupied country is liberated and the people celebrate in the streets, before the counter attack of the invaders begins in the following act.
Ace Combat Zero OST - Zero [Digitally Remastered Remix by DarkIce]
I'm currently listening to the Ace Combat 7 soundtrack a lot. It's a bit same-y but I'm finding that in it's favour - I can listen to it over a workday without it being repetitive or having the music jump massively between intensities.
Highly, highly recommend both the OST and the game for Tunic. Spotify link
I have an OST station on Pandora but it mostly plays film OSTs... so when we get in the car and bf's game OST Spotify plays, I get some game OST exposure!
Anyway, I'm here to recommend Lineage II's soundtrack because I ask him what it is EVERY time. Bill Brown is the composer. It gives me the good vibes like the LotR soundtrack. Never played the game, just listened to the soundtrack.
Seconding Chrono Cross because I also ask him about that one all the time.
Ori and the Blind Forest is also nice, if I recall correctly from his time playing it.
My favorite OSTs tend to lean towards jRPGS. Here are some off the top of my head
My phone rings tones have been segments of that last one for ages, usually the metal covers by the Mini Bosses
I’ve never played any of the Xenoblade games, but the Xenoblade Chronicles soundtrack was on my rotation of study music in college.
It’s a great OST.
Xenoblade Chronicles 2 holds a special place in my heart. The music across that entire trilogy is amazing and I feel like it never got the recognition it deserved.
XBC 2 is great, though I felt like the gacha style mechanic for getting new blades kept it from being my favorite of the series.
Yea that mechanic was upsetting. 250 hours across two playthroughs and I never pulled KOSMOS. The Xenosaga trilogy also holds a special place in my heart, I was upset it got cut short.
I also never got KOSMOS! More like Xenojerk Chronicles :)
I still love the game, but man...
Seeing fellow Xenosaga enjoyers in the wild in 2025 brings me much joy! I'm so sad that they are seemingly not interested in revisiting the series. It's certainly not as mainstream friendly as the direction they've taken the XBC franchise, but one can dream.......
I like the (original V1.0) Factorio Soundtrack; I spend a lot of time in-game with it, and it's wonderfully soothing and relaxing to me.
Cuphead original OST is full of bangers. Not to take away from the other tunes but, when I have tasks that need to get done, Ill often throw the linked playlist of boss themes on in the background. This album is simply full of energy and charm
u/no_dog mentioned Revengance but imo the entire Metal Gear series deserves attention. Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater and Metal Gear Solid 5: Phantom Pain frequently make appearances in my playlist. Harry Gregson-Williams MGS sound has always been distinct and I love the common themes shared throughout the series paired with the unique motifs that are part of each game
Octopath Traveler has a great soundtrack. Cliftlands is on constant repeat lately and I'm trying to put my finger on what song it reminds me of.
It also shouldn't surprise anyone that I have a lot of the Soulsborne music going from time to time, but I'd have a hard time picking a favorite. But one series I have an easier time picking a favorite of is Zelda. I have a soft spot for a lot of the Ocarina of Time OST. Gerudo Valley is one of my all-time favorite pieces from a game.
To echo Perry, though neither of us are contractually obligated to mention Hollow Knight, it has to be said. Great soundtrack from start to finish. Unrelated to games, pianist Brian Crain has some thematically similar music that I also like.
For some metal vibes, the Guilty Gear Korean OST is, well, metal as fuck.
Edit: Forgot to mention Dear Esther (trigger warning). The music is beautiful and so is the game (a ~2 hour walk through the story), but it is deeply tragic as is the music.
A bit late to this convo, but I'd just like to offer up Journey OST. It slaps, and comes from my favorite game to get non-gamers to play.
Terraria! hats off to Scott Shelly, My favorite is the Vol. 1, incredible warm and relaxing chiptunes.
Touhou and Xenoblade has been some of my favorites for many years.
Recently(Think 7 years maybe) Etrian Odyssey has been up there, it got me somewhat more interested in Koshiro’s other works.
I enjoy listening to Outer Wilds since last year as well, but could be my fondness of the game doing the work.
There is probably more but 3 things that are always on my mind when someone asks me that and a recent thing on it.
Aah shit, I forgot to list Etrian Odyssey! I'm awful at the games but absolutely, they're top tier FM synth and Yuzo Koshiro is astoundingly good at the craft. Like, the YM2612 chip on the Genesis had a distortion bug at low volumes called the Ladder Effect, and he used it on stuff like Streets of Rage - even though he wasn't composing directly on the console and wouldn't hear it until it converted over. (He also invented a form of sample-switching on the SNES so he wasn't constrained by a particular set for ActRaiser.)
He's also incredible at arrangement. Cherry Tree Bridge is one of my favorite pieces of music, and he nailed the instrument version for Untold 2. Same thing for the umpteen versions of Scatter About. Even between chiptune versions he'd throw things in like the chord change in the III version to give it a different feel. Amazing stuff; every EO battle theme is worth listening to for people who like chiptune rock.
Since I haven't seen them mentioned yet - I've really enjoyed the soundtracks for Gris and Manifold Garden.
Gris
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6rufOlNyYM
Manifold Garden
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqV8vxI0u-Q&list=PLBO2h-GzDvIZA1xNUwVo_EZOyx8gJ3zNB
I am remiss nobody has mentioned the Payday 2 OST yet!
Ode to Greed was the track for "The Big Bank" heist that had some sick neoclassical architecture, there was a random chance that the techno remix would play, with opera vocalists singing.
8Bits are Scary is a chiptune remake of an older song on the soundtrack called Clowns are Scary. To be honest, I think the chiptune version is better.
Code SIlver 2018 remake of the original Code SIlver which was in the first Payday game. Excellent track.
Hot Pursuit inspired by Hotline Miami and released with the Payday 2 x Hotline Miami crossover. So good!
In order of how much I like them, all three songs made by Le Castle Vania for Payday 2: Use of Force (that string part at the end, whew), Fully Loaded Epic Win, and Infinite Ammo
And the two songs released in conjunction with the Reservoir Dogs (yes, like the Tarantino movie) heist are great too. Trouble Always Inbound and Mr. Purple.
The entire Payday 2 OST is gold but these are all ones that I think work well even when not playing the game.
Honorable mention to the Yakuza 0 OST (Koi no Disco Queen, is great and so is Judgement) (seriously they could have just licensed a bunch of tracks from the 80s but they made all new ones? that's so cool)
I think no one has mentioned it yet, but the music from Ragnarok Online is my all time favorite, specifically the tracks by SoundTemp! Here's a few tracks that appear to have been performed live (these are great, found them just now while checking if SoundTemp is on Spotify):
https://open.spotify.com/artist/4DW0PuAoJNUkwhpInI8U4d
Here's a playlist (unofficial) of all the tracks on YouTube https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWa6qxs0LO-v6pR8B9vVmqN-asyi8Crpp
There's also a 10th anniversary version of some of the tracks that slap https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLa4azu9lpwcK3pEUEqs24AhPKPSv-AjgJ
They did other games too, but I'm not as familiar with the music (Flyff, Granado Espada)!
Oh man, this is perhaps my favourite topic. A good OST can elevate a strong 8/10 game to a perfect 10/10. Usually -- like with movie soundtracks -- the OSTs don't work alone very well, but rather require the experience of having played the game. Therefore it's usually not easy to just get into someone else's suggestion.
But anyway, I'll list some less mentioned ones.
Off the top of my head:
Honourable mentions:
I was scrolling to see if Europa Universalis IV was mentioned. Good suggestion!
Paradox in general is some good stuff, the music in Hearts of Iron IV are also some great that make me hum along.
I'm not a big fan of music in game. I know they often work hard on it, but I generally watch TV while playing.
That said, I write like the soundtrack to Sunless Seas. It's mostly creepy, nautical, and dark.
My vote goes to Paradox Interactive's Stellaris. Particularly the early stuff by Swedish composer Andreas Waldetoft.
I don't personally play any more, but it's always a real joy to hear the vastness of the melodies in the background of Quill18's playthroughs.
The Shapez and Shapez 2 soundtracks by Peppsen are fantastic, as is the rest of their music.
I'm a huge fan of Starbound, Ace Combat (4, 6, and 7 are the best IMO), and Minecraft's soundtracks. Excellent background music for working.
I also enjoy a few chiptune and 'fake video game soundtracks'; good dog adventure is a personal favorite.
Starbound does have a pretty soundtrack, good recommendation.
Another SEGA music enthusiast here.
I'll champion those that I haven't seen yet. Panzer Dragoon Saga has a wonderfully bold and melodic soundtrack that meets its prequels on intensity but surpasses them with the mystery it adds to the story and series.
The entire Phantasy Star original series has great music but I'll post a remix version of the second game's OST. It's a four to the floor medley that slaps all the way to Algol and back
Thunder Force (Especially IV) are really where the genesis soundchip shines as well. A YouTube commenter says it sounds like Power Rangers meets the DOOM soundtrack lol
Aside from music, the podcast VGMPire and Legacy Music Hour are both hilarious, reflective discussions around old game music.
Diggin' in the carts is also an amazing little documentary series about old game composers in Japan. So enjoyable.
My head goes to games I've played recently, so Casette Beasts and Ultrakill. Both are full of bangers.
Oh man, there are so many games where I love their soundtrack, it’s usually one of my favorite parts of games. I think a short list would be Mass Effect, Halo (1-Reach), Horizon Zero Dawn and Forbidden West, Dark Souls, FTL, Doom (or any game with some sick metal), Elder Scrolls, World of Warcraft, Assassin’s Creed (any of them), and Destiny!
I’m not going to share an entire library of links, but I do want to share my three favorite Destiny tracks! The soundtracks for those games are genuinely insane, it’s almost unbelievable that one game can have so much great music, and a new album gets cranked out with each expansion. It may be my absolute favorite OST at this point (though Halo is very hard to beat).
The three tracks I’m linking all have something in common, they’re all from raid encounters. Raiding in Destiny 2 is my favorite thing I’ve ever done in gaming and nothing has come close to the euphoria felt when clearing a hard raid with friends. The three tracks represent when I first cleared Last Wish, often regarded as the best content in the entire franchise, when I first cleared Vow of the Disciple, a raid with my favorite lore and aesthetics, and then when I first cleared Salvation’s Edge, which was both the greatest challenge my guardian had ever faced as well as one of the most challenging gaming sessions of my life. Enjoy!
Shell of What Was (Queenswalk Encounter).. You've infiltrated the dreaming city to hunt down Riven, the last Ahamkara, a dragon that can use wishes to bend reality. She's built an army and is working for a god who can take your very essence of life and repurpose you. After a brutally hard fight where you slay Riven, her heart of darkness remains and threatens to swallow you and the entire dreaming city. You must carry it through a gauntlet of her remaining supporters while it consumes your allies in order for the tech witches you had freed from Riven's influence to cleanse her heart.
The First Disciple (Rhulk encouner). Millions of years ago, the paracausal entity known as The Witness recruited Rhulk as a disciple. Rhulk genocided his own people and shattered his planet. He went on to extinguish countless lives and worlds over millions of years, but is now trapped in the realm of The Witch Queen, held there by her curse. He threatens to escape, so you infiltrate his pyramid ship in an attempt to slay the first disciple once and for all.
Give Yourself to Darkness (Verity encounter). The Witness, a paracausal being of near infinite power who uses darkness as a tool, has spent millions of years chasing The Traveler, a paracausal being of light. The Witness plans to merge its darkness with the Traveler and bring about The Final Shape, a universe at a standstill. No more chaos, no more noise, just nothingness. You fight up the Witness' spire as reality unravels around you. You're met with a stark white room in which you are both alive and dead. You must bend the rules of the universe to free yourself and your companions from the spells of the Witness so that you can ascend to the top of the spire and defeat the greatest threat that the universe has ever seen.
Final Fantasy XIV (yes, the MMO) has an incredibly huge and varied soundtrack. I... have never actually understood musical genres (I also mostly listen to video game music and honestly, enjoying a track in a particular genre never meant that I would enjoy listening to another song in that genre) so I can't personally list them here from my own experience. But you'll have your typical modern orchestral JRPG fare, to a boss theme with strong South Asian inspiration*, or... whatever the heck genre this is, some kind of electronic dance thing??? Sometimes there are even boss encounters where they'll change the music per "phase", and it will wildly swap genres without missing a beat and it won't even sound strange (YMMV).
Oh, and they have some neat (IMO) remixes of classic tracks from older Final Fantasy games, like FFVI (The Decisive Battle and the entirety of Dancing Mad), FFVIII (Force Your Way, Don't Be Afraid, The Extreme), even FF Tactics (Ultima's Perfection, I really love this one no matter how much my friends complain about it). Not all are just straight orchestral remakes of the old music though - FFIV has some really fun ones (two versions of Battle with the Four Fiends, and The Final Battle)
It's difficult to decide which tracks I'd even want to single out, because IMO one of the neatest parts of the soundtrack is how often leitmotifs are reused; many of my favorite tracks just don't feel right to toss as a single recommendation without the 2-3 other tracks that reuse the motif. My favorite example are these two songs: Footsteps in the Snow (2010-11ish?) and a Return to Oblivion (2018). My funny story about these two - when I first started playing the game, I would look up the music tracks that stood out on Youtube. Naturally, the algorithm would start suggesting songs from parts of the game that I had not gotten to yet. But the songs were really catchy so I'd just click on them, spoilers be damned. Then I got to the part of the story where the original 2010 track plays and it was... actually really cool because I recognized the motifs from the newer song! I don't think I have a particular ear for music; musical analysis goes over my head much the same way genre labels do, but it's difficult to listen to these vastly different tracks and not hear the callbacks!
After finishing writing this, I realized I didn't even link any non-boss themes - the boss themes just tend to be more memorable, but honestly a lot of dungeon and overworld themes are great too.
*I hope this isn't incorrect, this is why I hate genre names or using a geographical location to describe a style of music
Golden Sun OST
Do I need to say more? :))
I'm not going to retread the great answers in here, so I want to point out a particular song. Back in the 90s I had a subscription to PC Gamer magazine and would read and reread the issues over and over again.
There was a review for a terrible paintball game called Extreme Paintbrawl. They absolutely tore it apart and gave it like an 8 out of 100. But the one positive thing they mentioned was just how insane the music was. They describe it as this bizarre mix of different musical styles and sound effects. Every time I read it, I wondered what it could possibly sound like. But there wasn't really any way except to maybe track down a copy of a terrible video game I didn't even want to play.
Decades later I came across the old article again, but now youtube existed and I could just look it up:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=li5mXnHyg9w
It was everything I could have hoped it would be.
The Final Fantasy games all have some fantastic music. Even the old SNES titles have amazing music. Terra's Theme from FFVI is one of the most beautiful pieces of music ever written, even if you're listening to the 16bit synthesized SNES version. Chrono Trigger too. Super Metroid, Megaman X 1-3, Zelda Link to the Past, all amazing.
Midnight Club 3 dub edition has a lot of my favourite older drum and bass on it. Like OP, 90% of the music I listen to is instrumental. I find lyrics/singing distracting usually. I like music that sets a scene and lets my mind roll with it, lyrics tell me explicitly what to think about. d-_-b