Many games feature amazing music, but certain games take it beyond even that.
Games like DOOM are known for the “procedural” composition they use to marry gameplay and sound, and not only that, the way the music is a perfect tonal match to what is happening.
What games have you played that feature music that doesn’t just make you notice it, but also pulls you further in?
Katamari Damacy
NAAAAAAAA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NANA-N’NA-NA-NA-NAAAAAA
“BATMAAAN!”
The king is very displeased that this was so far down the list. You need to work on rolling up more points.
Literally every game by Supergiant. Most recent would be Hades 2, when I finally beat the 3rd boss and start slashing into the fourth area, the music was so hype I was smiling all the way through.
A better pick may be Transistor though. It’s kind of a half action half strategy game, where you kind of pause to plan out and execute your next moves. During that pause phase, the music would turn into a muted version, and main character would hum to it in sync.Also, Journey and Abzu. They simply are experiences that should not be had without good headphones.
So uh… Fun thing about Transistor.
As the credits roll, Red sings for the first time in the game. The death of her lover at the beginning of the story turns her mute, which is why she only ever hums to the music in the game. During your first play-through. At the end of the game, the credits roll to the tune of “Paper Boats” which is the first song in the game to have lyrics, sung by Red.
It’s an emotional high point that hits hard. She can sing again!
But there’s more.
In new game+ Red no longer hums during all pause screens. She now sings the previously unheard lyrics of several songs in the game!
I NEVER PLAYED NG+ SO I DID NOT KNOW THAT. WTF LOL😂
Well shit, I guess I have something to do this weekend now
Today feels like a good day to play Transistor again… I keep getting owned in Hades 2
Bastion’s soundtrack still sticks in my head to this day, Darren Korb does amazing work.
Chants of Sennar has an amazing soundtrack, as does Tunic.
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. That game is damn near flawless.
Castlevania music is a style of its own. Love that stuff.
Nier Automata
The soundtrack is integral to the experience.
The credits sequence, IMO, is the current high for games as a medium.
When the chorus kicks in on end of yorha, after you ask for help, still gives me goosebumps.
Not normally that kind of person, but the way all aspects of design, music, story, and user input collide make it the most impactful experience I’ve ever had in a game.
It’s a magnum opus, to be sure. I’ll be blown away if Yoko Taro finds a way to top it.
Mass Effect, the first one. The soundtrack, being event driven, made the whole thing feel like a space opera you’d watch as a tv series, not just be an RPG.
Also the synthy goodness with those distorted like bass rips or something idk but 👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻😫
RimWorld - see the YouTube comments for people telling stories of what each song reminds them of.
Shoutout to ‘simple’ music that works well in a game - Project Highrise [procedural], Shapez, or Outbound for example.
Man, just fucking everything by Nobuo Uematsu. Such a GOAT
Terraria and Stardew Valley
My day gets 200% better whenever I hear that summer song
Hollow Knight and Celeste are the two that come to mind for me.
Tony Hawk Pro skater 2 (but probably many of Birds games)
So not quite what you’re asking for, but right when deeprock galactic came out I found this artist on bandcamp called dreamsaboutdogs. They make electronic music, and their album Cursed quickly became my unofficial deeprock soundtrack. It just meshes super well with the gameplay, I dunno.
I told my deeprock homie about it and now he does the same thing, so it’s not just me lmao
Unreal Tournament. A soundtrack made by the sceners and trackers. If you know, you know.
Ahoy videos are epic!
Stellaris.
Both n64 TLoZ and Diablo II are great
Alan Wake (the og one). It’s music was so in tune with the atmosphere, and it is one of the very few soundtracks I listen to.
