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.
Patient Gamers
A gaming community free from the hype and oversaturation of current releases, catering to gamers who wait at least 12 months after release to play a game. Whether it's price, waiting for bugs/issues to be patched, DLC to be released, don't meet the system requirements, or just haven't had the time to keep up with the latest releases.
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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
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.
Portal 2
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
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.
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
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.
- Eternal Sonata
- Jet Set Radio
- Hades
- Burnout Revenge
JET SET RADIOOOOOOOOOOO
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.
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
Celest, little big planet
Earthbound/Mother (mainly Mother 3)
Zelda (especially Ocarina and Twilight Princess)
Ratchet & Clank (especially the first game had some bangers)
Half Life, surprisingly. It has very little music but Diabolical Adrenaline Guitar drops at the perfect moment and makes you feel like you're living in an action movie. 🤌
OFF by Mortis Ghost is similar. Mostly ambient tracks but the melodic ones hit different
Earthbound/Mother (mainly Mother 3)
Zelda
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvytTVeTxCE&list=PLVCg1T9cgPfYNki30ZW3bKCakeLN50NCj
Ratchet & Clank
Half Life
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taFEj_R_b48&list=PLB61A980FC7A2E45A
OFF
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qFK2JlwKe4&list=PL83509D03B924B5E9
The soundtrack in Celeste is fantastic
Grim Fandango.
Seriously, it's one of the only games I consider to even HAVE a soundtrack. It's absolutely next-level.
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.
- Cave Story
- Chrono Trigger
- CrossCode
- Crypt of the Necrodancer
- F-Zero GX
- Guilty Gear
- Jet Set Radio
- Land Maker
- Lethal League
- Shatter
- Splatoon
- Them's Fightin' Herds
- Tower of Heaven
- Undertale/Deltarune
- VVVVVV
- The World Ends With You
Almost 200 comments and not one single mention of Disco Elysium? What are we doing here guys? It's one of the most fitting , most perfect and beautiful soundtracks I've heard. Captures the vibe so perfectly Robert Kurvitz personally convinced Sea Power to get on board, including - allegedly - by being the man inside the bear costume at one of their gigs.
Have listen: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_n9enLNuLjWTn67qj2aXP6FuJbX239vQdI
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
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snkpaeNGSnE&list=PLNuuWO3uUJZ0enw1oh-Vo5TQZYpIZinmK
Hollow Knight
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=243Uguc-6mQ&list=PLmOldskd2VbL7_t-NE9p6rEboq_v0AHko
CrossCode
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmWJ3M25F_w&list=PLtlMDRDo_s5_vW6k48EdujoUW7dgbPPO9
Minecraft
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dg0IjOzopYU&list=RDDg0IjOzopYU&start_radio=1
Chicory
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNhL0ufsGdI&list=RDdNhL0ufsGdI&start_radio=1
Kirby's Dream Course
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bA0pvjsGpCM&list=PLE19F8C36718653D3
Gen 3 and 4 Pokemon games
Anything Toby Fox touches
Later Alligator
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMwry4NZYmQ&list=PLaxFoZ8rz3_eLmcgKOe21n3CyErtTep_S
Stardew Valley
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQSHcl6TJb4&list=PLKDOdCjxOjzIFucHobwJpSK4-vAVXST90
Guitar Hero: Modern Hits
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xb0mItGtTyc&list=PLocte0jbHBRjjw7baipXO_Vze3M0KdxzG
Quake, by Nine Inch Nails https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1SsBMsauvE Industrial / Ambient
I liker Cyberpunk 2077's soundtrack so much I incorporated that specific style of music in my general listening habits because of it.
Just comented this in another thread, but Amon Tobin's soundtrack for Splinter Cell Chaos Theory goes fucking hard.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_nphWymI_0f4SxcEak39sDr0k0CxujIOws
FTL, diablo II, The Sims (build music), ecco the dolphin (sega cd), hardspace shipbreaker
Outer Wilds - The way this game uses music and ambient sound to foster a sense of wonder, dread, excitement, sorrow, and much more is nothing short of incredible. Probably the best game I have ever played.
Subnautica - Equally impressive use of music as Outer Wilds, many of the same feelings, but a much much different vibe and genre.
Return of the Obra Dinn - A grim game where the soundtrack with church bells and heavy string instruments really underscore the mood.
So many good answers here. Not patient gaming, but Clair Obscur this year absolutely killed it with the soundtrack.
Patient games:
All Nobuo Ouematsu Final Fantasy games.
Fable
The Elder Scrolls Games
Doom 2016/eternal
Cyberpunk
Divinity Orginal Sin 2
Cuphead
Alright i'll try to go with things that has not been submitted yet.
- Ace combat 7 has consistent bangers. Also project wingman in the same style, slightly less consistent, but the best tracks are absolutely amazing (showdown and redline are in my opinion)
- I did not play Mighty Switch Force and Mighty Switch Force 2, but this game has really good tracks
- ULTRAKILL is not really out yet, but its soundtrack is already amazing
- Turrican 2 has some pretty damn good chiptune tracks
- VA-11 HALL-A which also acts as an amazing background music to work
- Tekken tag 2 / Tekken 8
- Distance (this one is probably a bit personal though)
Aaand i'll stop there otherwise this will be a way too long post
OST ones:
- Pizza tower
- Jet Set Radio/Future
- Doom 2016
- Psychonauts 1 and 2
- The Binding of Isaac Rebirth and DLC
With licensed music:
- Pretty much any GTA
- THPS series
- NFS Series from 2 SE up until Most Wanted 2005
Baldur's Gate 1 & 2 and anything at all by Jeremy Soule (Guild Wars, Morrowind/Oblivion/Skyrim, Dungeon Siege).
SUPER MARIO GALAXY. IT HAS SUCH A LEGENDARY SOUNDTRACK. If you wanna just try it out, first listen to "Gusty Garden Galaxy" Literally one of the most beautiful game soundtracks.