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…
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
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JU1rM8UYpus&list=PLxA687tYuMWi7XZ8OnaifvnYRiQCKBGj1
Secret of mana 3
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
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.
Yeah man, all of the track with vocals (Red / Ashley Barrett)
Bastion
Already linked elsewhere.
Baldur’s Gate 3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3djZ6rgdHhE&list=RD3djZ6rgdHhE&start_radio=1
Thank you for providing all these links.
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.
Portal 2
Second this, Portal 2’ soundtracks are excellent.
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.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAQZfeETFbg&list=RDLAQZfeETFbg&start_radio=1
Surprised Halo wasn’t mentioned yet.
Me too. I didn’t want to take any freebies with my initial comment and figured Halo would be picked pretty quick. I’m glad someone finally mentioned it.
So damned frustrated I can’t find it. There’s a sweet video of some teens playing the theme in someone’s living room, about 20-years ago. Wanted to stand up and cheer it was so perfect.
(can’t edit comments)
GOT IT!
Reminds me of my friends jamming in the late 80s. (I suck at music, merely an observer.)
Slick production aside, not a bad take here:
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.
Nobody has mentioned the Fallout games, but they always have a great radio station you can turn on for background music. Sometimes the soundtrack itself is pretty good too.
Absolutely, the radio is fantastic. No joke it’s what got me into jazz which is one of my favourite genres now.
Not seen mentioned yet, but Homeworld (1999).
The transition from the opening cutscene to the game proper scored to Agnus Dei (Adagio for Strings) by Samuel Barber really set the tone for the thing.
I don’t remember much else about the soundtrack, but that one piece stuck with me.
Yeah, this sound track is amazing. It was one of the first examples of what a game’s music could be.
Homeworld (1999)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTKakINXjl8&list=PLD0D2EBCAC686A04A
The inclusion of Yes still makes me sad that no RTS or 4X ever adapted Olias Of Sunhillow.
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
Ori and the Blind Forest
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvpnMT-iqCM&list=RDOvpnMT-iqCM&start_radio=1
Will of the Wisps
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FeNfs0ADm-Y&list=PLS19zOYsmnkwokOUuQC0Kw0M8HAdtWVYj
Skyrim
Linked elsewhere.
LoZ
Legend of Zelda series linked elsewhere.
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
- Eternal Sonata
- Jet Set Radio
- Hades
- Burnout Revenge
JET SET RADIOOOOOOOOOOO
Eternal Sonata
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1u_6irG5wcc&list=PL559D644417616FC2
Jet Set Radio
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mizSUxxuCiY&list=PLD61626F6813F6C5F
Hades
Linked elsewhere.
Burnout Revenge
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gx_hiRqOzpI&list=PLwT_cPIGQU_VvkfcM7FZsLY-nwyhMEVAD
Katamari Damacy.
Na na, na na na na na, na na, na na na na na na…
Celeste.
The synergy between the soundtrack, the gameplay and the mechanics is just unparalleled.
Absolute nonsense for this post to have 61 comments and none of them have mentioned Outer Wilds yet. Echoes of the Eye could be its own separate answer to this as well. Take a listen to this track, it is the essence of adventure in audio form
