Give me your favourite OSTs, individual tracks, whatever.
I have lots of favourites but I feel like most will be suggested by others so I’ll go for one that isn’t as popular: Monaco: What’s Yours Is Mine. The whole soundtrack is amazing start to finish. Some of the best piano tunes to ever be in a video game, and a super under-appreciated game. It should’ve been way bigger than it was. Unfortunately it’s being tainted by its less-than-stellar sequel which came out recently. Don’t play the sequel, but definitely play the original. It’s fun solo but it really shines co-op with a friend (or three). It supports up to four players and I’d definitely recommend co-op if you have the means. I used to play it on 360 with a friend of mine and it’s some of my most fond gaming memories. It’s not a difficult game to figure out but it’s not an easy game to get good at. But all that is to say, play the game, or if you can’t, absolutely listen to the soundtrack. It’s awesome.
Seconding this for the co-op play. It just captures the feeling of a heist so perfectly in a bite-sized package. In a matter of seconds you’ll go from everyone calm and knowing their role, to full panic mode as soon as someone makes a mistake, to a wary sense of relief as you manage to barely get to safety but still have to complete your mission.
I didn’t know about the sequel. Now I’m tempted to try it…
Bastion. It’s Bastion. Holy shit the answer to this question is Bastion.
I’m assuming you know that Hades’ soundtrack is fucking amazing, but before that came Bastion (from the same developer), and it has possibly the most powerful soundtrack I’ve ever experienced. The way it’s integrated into the story genuinely blows my mind. Every track is a banger, but then you’ll start to get used to it, and then you’ll hear a song that’s so different, and it’s because something unexpected and beautiful is about to happen.
Then you’ll get to the end and you’ll have a choice to make. Except it won’t feel like a choice, because you’ll feel compelled to do exactly what the game wants you to do, and then you’re rewarded with one of the most beautiful sequences I’ve ever seen in a game, accompanied by a haunting song that I still sing fourteen years later.
I can’t stress this enough: if you want a game where the music is an essential part of the experience and is just so fucking amazing on its own that you’ll want to play it on repeat, the answer is Bastion.
I also really loved the soundtrack to Baldur’s Gate 3.
I prefered Transistor, but it is probably just because I played it first.
Love the writeup on Bastion. I have very similar feelings about Aquaria, an indie metroidvania from the beforetimes. The entire game is centered around the soundtrack, weaving the motifs into the game’s narrative. Even moreso than Bastion or Undertale, Aquaria makes it’s soundtrack a key narrative driver.
That sounds interesting, but it looks like it’s not available on any of my platforms, so I’ll have to take your word for it.
Yeah, pretty sure it’s just on PC. And the Dev passed away a few years ago so it’s essentially abandonware
I’m honestly surprised no one has mentioned Chrono Trigger yet. Absolutely fantastic soundtrack.
Secret of mana 3 is also great. The track that comes to mind is “where angels fear to tread”
Chrono Trigger, Trials of Mana, and Final Fantasy 6. SNES had some phenomenal soundtracks.
Speaking of SNES, I enjoyed the top gear soundtracks. They were like eurobeat on a race before eurobeat, powerful yet soothing: https://youtu.be/sqF1nOdV7bY
P.S.: you might be missing some of the benefits stereo can provide: https://youtu.be/nGeyVf5kkjI
Doom 2016
Celeste.
The synergy between the soundtrack, the gameplay and the mechanics is just unparalleled.
Bastion had a fantastic soundtrack. I still have songs from that game in rotation. There are a few perfectly timed music queues that made each song just hit hard.
Recently,
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. I think the soundtrack was the best part of the game.
All time,
Anything Final Fantasy or Elder Scrolls is timeless.
Katamari Damacy.
Na na, na na na na na, na na, na na na na na na…
I can make a song for you and me
I can make a song for ah foofy ruv.
Grim Fandango.
Seriously, it’s one of the only games I consider to even HAVE a soundtrack. It’s absolutely next-level.
You should check out Peter McConnell’s (Composer for Grim Fandango OST) other works. You may find some bangers there.
I have it on physical CD!!
Ori and the Blind Forest/ Will of the Wisps Still the only two games that I’ve sought out and added the music to my playlists, although Skyrim and LoZ songs tend to be covered by artists in my daily rotations
In fact Gareth Coker’s soundtracks for Ori are so good, they are one of the few video game OSTs that I’ve bought on vinyl. That and Signals from the Outer Wilds.
Pure magic and they definitely helped make the games.
Honestly, good point. I’mma have to buy the vinyl, too
The soundtrack in Celeste is fantastic
I love the soundtrack to Final Fantasy 6. Brings back good memories.
Night in the Woods
Hollow Knight
CrossCode
Minecraft
Cult of the Lamb
Chicory (Lena Raine is goated with the sauce)
Kirby’s Dream Course
Gen 3 and 4 Pokemon games
Anything Toby Fox touches
Later Alligator
Stardew Valley
Guitar Hero: Modern Hits for the DS baybee
Pretty much any Nintendo game since the NES
Night in the Woods soundtrack got me through recovery after having my appendix out. 10/10
Anything Xenoblade, but especially 1 and X.
I got bored of Undertale quickly, but the OST is an all-time great.
Shovel Knight is really good.
Anything by David Wise, especially Donkey Kong Country 1 and 2.
Final Fantasy: Mystic Quest has the best music in the entire series, don’t @ me.
The Grandia theme.
The Nier games have gorgeous music.
+1 on Mystic Quest. I still get the battle song stuck in my head on a regular basis. Incredible that such a basic game had such a badass soundtrack.
I liker Cyberpunk 2077’s soundtrack so much I incorporated that specific style of music in my general listening habits because of it.
That was the first aspect of the game that really got my attention. For the first like 8 hours or so, I found myself more excited to hear whatever song was next than whatever the missions or gear upgrade may have been ahead.
I think CP77 is a good game now but the only masterpiece aspect of it is the way they painted over everything with some of the most bizarre and mind bending music in a game. I dont mean the theme music. The sounds your bombarded with just walking through NC is the life force of the city and the #1 reason why it feels alive at all and not just a game city.
The background hum of the city is what sold the whole game for me. Without that, I think CP77 would be kind of another “whatever” FPRPG by now. The music make it a masterpiece.
