Games

Stardew Valley. I find myself humming the songs through the day all the time, they are so relaxing and whimsical.

Mine are Subnautica, I've put myself in danger in that game just for the music. Honorable mentions include horizon (zero dawn specifically, but I am currently playing through forbidden West for the first time, so I still might prefer it), Halo(CE), and Skyrim for me as well.

Journey !

The soundtrack of the game is amazing !

Absolute favourite game soundtrack? Frostpunk's OST. The soundtrack really brings home the desperation and harshness of survival in the cold. When the storm is coming and the music swells up... goosebumps. Every single time.

Divinity 2: Original Sin has a great soundtrack too. Kinda surprised I couldn't find it in the comments. Minecraft as well. It's very soothing and calming.

Aside from that, some smaller titles with great music: GRIS, What Remains of Edith Finch, and FAR: Lone Sails.

Metroid Prime. All the music fits so perfectly to the environment, especially Phendrana drifts when you first discover the location.

Persona 4 / 5. So many bops.

Reminder that every day’s great at your Junes

I am absolutely floored that nobody has said any Legend of Zelda games, but Twilight Princess and Ocarina of Time for sure.

A close third would be the first Ace Attorney game. Every song is a banger.

Unreal Tournament and Deus Ex both come to mind. Alexander Brandon was involved in both and his work is absolutely amazing.

If we talk specific singles, though, it's Morrowind (Nerevar Rising), Control (Take Control), and, recently, Baldur's Gate 3 (Raphael's Final Act). Morrowind's tune is so ingrained in my mind that it's my to-go whenever I get my hands on a keyboard.

I'm surprised no one has said Undertale yet, so I will.

Final Fantasy IX

Melodies of Life is the first time I ever heard an original song with lyrics for a video game

Doom 2016

Doom 2017

Total Annihilation - if you put the CD on a player it played!

Red Alert

GTA 3 Vice City

Mass Effect

Can't believe no one has said Risk of Rain 2 here yet. Amazing music, masterful composition

Halo!

The CE soundtrack was so distinctive and awesome!

Some favorites of mine:

Sonic (just about every game in the series): even during the "dark age of Sonic" ('06 through Unleashed) and in flops like Forces, the one thing the series has consistently gotten right is the music. Jun Senoe will rarely steer you wrong.

Ace Attorney (also the whole series): has it all - some fun melodies, tracks that fit the mood whatever it might be, great character themes, and just about every Pursuit theme is an awesome hype track.

Octopath Traveler (the original): I love the instrumentation, more wonderful themes for characters as well as locations, and the Battle II music has to be my favorite battle music in any JRPG ever. I'm a sucker for good string music.

Final Fantasy VI, Chrono Trigger, and Mega Man X

Skyrim's a nice choice.

If I had to pick one... Katana ZERO. Nice mix of genres, really emotional soundtrack, lots of synthwave type electronic, all of the artists who contributed songs really put work and passion in there, they work excellently for the game, and are awesome to listen to in their own right outside of the game.

Ouff, that's a tough one.

But I think Persona 5 wins this one, owing to:

• Rivers in the Desert
• Life will Change
• Phantom, it's menu background music
• The spin-off Strikers has the absolutely brain-infecting Love te Wonderland

However, I've recently finished Cassette Beasts, and it's a really really strong contender. Imagine creating an OST piece as amazing as Same Old Story, then going back and adding lyrics for it for when you are fused. And then there's the even more phenomenal Shot in the Dark (only linking the lyrics version here).

Love it too! One that has been my top listen count for years is The Witcher 3 OST. The use of some slav traditional instruments was nothing I've ever heard like before, and it resonated a lot with the story. Special mention to:

• The Wolf and The Swallow for giving me the chills everytime I listen to it
• Hail To Caranthir also has something special to it.

Although neither tracks are part of the published albums :/

Might be nostalgia, but Super Mario 64 and Ocarina of Time, specifically because of Dire Dire Docks and the Gerudo Valley theme.

Always enjoyed Skyrim's soundtrack, but while I love it, I still enjoy and prefer Oblivions soundtrack more.

Oblivion was my introduction to the Elder Scrolls universe and the music from that game has kinda become embedded in my mind. Just my general go to music for fantasy environments including for DND or Pathfinder sessions.

I love Morrowinds music too, but if I had played Morrowind back when it first came out, I would have ranked it's soundtrack higher than Oblivions.

My favorites are ffxiv, because the music is very closely woven into the story with motifs and stuff, so it brings me back to it. Its also just pretty as fuck, they do a lot of weaving other songs and musical themes into other songs, so a lot of the time you'll be in a boss fight and recognize a theme from earlier, mixed in with the boss music. Some context is spoilers, so I won't go into it, but the Endwalker final boss has the music shifting from each previous expansions themes, morphing and shifting to fit the overarching boss theme, and its fucking glorious.

Ffxiv examples:
https://youtu.be/NBIRYjP1NNM?si=YdjJPyqtXYIX1BEE
https://youtu.be/6ugtWT_iNqw?si=ZbpCcY4ysC_C8Xti

Also, the ace combat games have the most insane music, its basically a meme that "everyone's a badass until the sky starts singing latin at you" Its this really cool mix of operatic vocals and rock/synth music and its so fucking good.

Ace combat Examples:
https://youtu.be/80XAJKqRU9k?si=Iyns3Y8dyGXZbneo
https://youtu.be/-kVdCaczLE8?si=a6MiBUoXJZffMBVv

Nier: Automata, Guilty Gear and Skyrim have top tier soundtracks.

There are a few games with killer soundtracks that are overlooked, RuneScape and Pumpkin Jack come to mind.

For songs with lyrics, it's Contrast and Fallout 4. And for songs without lyrics it's Oblivion and then Minecraft.

Portal 2. I can listen to the soundtrack and visualize my journey through the game. It's a goddamn masterpiece.

Hades, hands down

Deus Ex

System Shock 2

Hotline Miami 1 & 2

Telltales Sam & Max games

Unreal tournament '99

Shadow of the Colossus.

Such an epic OST. Beautiful and a bit sad. Just like the game.

Example here: https://youtu.be/bvYmAfGcgF8?feature=shared

The Final Fantasy VII and Kingdom Hearts series have my absolute favourite soundtracks

Others that stay rent free in my head are Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck in World of Illusion, halo 3, odst and reach, theme hospital, sonic 1, 2, Ape Escape and Gain Ground

Little Big Planet. Every level's music track brilliantly fit both the aesthetic and tempo. The sequels never cam close to capturing that same magic as the first one.

Just gonna list a few.

Xenoblade Chronicles (1 & X): haven't gotten around to the others yet.

Final Fantasy XIV & XVI: Soken is a god

Mass Effect

Legend of Dragoon

Wow... so many choices. Skyrim is a great shout.

I remember hearing the Halo soundtrack for the first time was incredible so feel I have to go with that.

Other worthy mentions:

• Street Fighter II
• Civilization (theme tune to be fair)
• Horizon

My personel favs are : GTA VC, Hades and TLOU. I listen those OSTs for years and they still hit hard.

Megaman 2

I am floored no one mentioned the original Ratchet and Clank

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwxLlSv5mvIa1WGSK3wH3o2Y9I4D-rqFi

David Bergeaud did such a standout job with it, it's so varied but cohesive, it's engaging and synthy but real and groovy.

It MAKES the environment just as much as graphics.

I feel like Payday 2s sound track is underappreciated in general conversations about game music.

It has gotten a driving beat to it and instills both anxiety and courage. Not to mention how they have a system similar to the L4D2 Director system where the gameplay is perfectly matched and foreshadowed by the music.

As an Asian and a fan of Doom Eternal, I really enjoyed Shadow Warrior 3's soundtrack.

In no particular order:
Witcher 3
Trails/Kiseki series
Mass Effect series
Outer Wilds
Doom 2016

Mega Man 2. Every song on every level is an absolute banger. EVERY SINGLE ONE. I’ll die on that hill.

Shoutout to Control though for that one song in that one level (if you know, you know).

Ninja edit to add River City Girls 1 &2, both are excellent.

Ragnarok Online. I love you, SoundTEMP.

OG StarCraft. Terran theme is an absolute classic.

Also, BFG Division from Doom.

Sword & Sworcery