What are some games with absolutely fantastic soundtracks?

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"

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.

Portal 2

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.

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.

Surprised Halo wasn't mentioned yet.

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.

Katamari Damacy.

Na na, na na na na na, na na, na na na na na na...

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.

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

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

Death Stranding

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

The soundtrack in Celeste is fantastic

Baldurs Gate 2, GTA Vice City, GTA San Andreas, Hotline Miami

I love the soundtrack to Final Fantasy 6. Brings back good memories.

• 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

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.

Hotline Miami

Grim Fandango.

Seriously, it's one of the only games I consider to even HAVE a soundtrack. It's absolutely next-level.

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

Shadow of the Colossus

FTL, diablo II, The Sims (build music), ecco the dolphin (sega cd), hardspace shipbreaker

Surprised no one said Nier Automata yet. Great soundtrack and game

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

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

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.

Cassette Beasts

River City Girls

Baldur's Gate 1 & 2 and anything at all by Jeremy Soule (Guild Wars, Morrowind/Oblivion/Skyrim, Dungeon Siege).

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

Legend of Mana, Stardew Valley, Persona 5, Danganronpa Series, Pokemon Gold,Silver,Crystal

Deus Ex (first one)

Cult of the Lamb

The Bastion OST by Darren Korb is amazing and introduced me to his other music, which is also great!

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

A lot of great ones have already been mentioned: (Old School) Runescape, Bastion, Bomb Rush Cyberfunk, Braid, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Celeste, Chrono Cross, Chrono Trigger, Crypt of the NecroDancer, Cyberpunk 2077, Deus Ex (2000), Donkey Kong Country 1 and 2, Doom 2016, Earthbound, F-Zero GX, FTL, Hades, Halo, Hi Fi Rush, Hotline Miami, Jet Set Radio and JSR Future, Kirby (any of them), Legend of Mana, Mother 3, Neotokyo, Nier: Automata, Pizza Tower, Quake, Ratchet & Clank (any of them), Risk of Rain 1 and 2, Shadow of the Colossus, Shantae (any of them), Shatter, Shovel Knight, SimCity 3000, Sonic 3 & Knuckles, Sonic Adventure, Sonic Adventure 2, Sonic CD (Japan), Sonic Mania, Sonic Rush, Stardew Valley, Tower of Heaven, Transistor, Trine, and VVVVVV

Here's some that haven't been mentioned yet:

Ape Escape

• PS1 game, soundtrack by icon of the 90s era Japanese House music scene, Soichi Terada. All of his tracks are bangers. I've seen the soundtrack described as House, Jungle, and DnB. Probably my favorite game soundtrack ever, but that's probably nostalgia talking.
• Soundtrack: Game Rip, Fan Remastered or Originape Soundtrack/Official Soundtrack CD (Note: Terada has released his own remastered tracks in the 2020s since the Originape CD, but they are split over multiple albums and I'm too lazy to track them down at the moment)
• Standout tracks: Peak Point Matrix/Galaxy Monkey, Primordial Ooze, Thick Jungle- Woods, Dark Ruins, Crumbling Castle, Specter's Factory- Outside, Time Station

Final Fantasy Legends III / SaGa 3 Jikū no Hasha: Shadow or Light

• Originally on Gameboy, Japan only remake on DS (fan translation patch exists). This is really a game in the SaGa series, but was released under the Final Fantasy name internationally for marketing purposes. Characters don't have levels, their stats change based on what they do. Enemies also drop meat and parts that you can apply to a character to change their class, with some unique mechanics for different types. Features a time traveling stealth bomber, THE TALON, that may possibly be the only airship in gaming with a working toilet. DS Remake is generally better, but it kills overworld exploration by turning it into "select an adjacent POI" instead of free roam.
• Soundtrack: Gameboy, unfortunately I can't find this version with track names. DS Remake
• Standout Tracks: Setting off into the future, Holy Ruins (a criminally underused track in game), Oasis (has some odd animal sfx added in the middle in this remake version), Stronghold (imo, one of the best dungeon themes in gaming), THE MOTHERFUCKING TALON THEME (this is the GB version, as the DS remake loses the countermelody which imo weakens the track)

Ghost Trick

• Originally for DS, has been remade for just about everything now. It's effectively a VN with fancy gameplay segments, and the music really helps carry the whole thing. Beautifully done sprite animation too.
• Soundtrack: DS, 2023 Remaster
• Standouts: Ghost Trick, Lynne- Red-Headed Target, Awakening, The Mystery Surges Ahead, Cabanela - Lanky and Loose Lawman, Jowd- Fated Jailbird

Gunpoint

• Old indie sidescrolling noir stealth game. The main gameplay revolves around puzzle solving by hacking buildings' electrical systems. Hook that lightswitch up to the secure door lock. Rig that motion sensor up to short out a power plug and take out a guard instead of it just turning on the lights. Delightful jazz soundtrack.
• Soundtrack
• Standouts: Security, Circuitry and You, Subterfuge Shuffle, Cold Halls and Footfalls, The Five-Floor Goodbye

Megaman ZX

• DS sequel to the Megaman Zero series for GBA, but now with a Metroidvania twist.
• Soundtrack: ZX Tunes- Official remix/rearrange soundtrack
• Standouts: Innocence- 90s style anime opening, Green Grass Gradation, Rockin' On, Brilliant Show Window, Cinq Ville - C`est Notre Espoir, Gauntlet

And I've spent way too much time on this comment. Here's more not mentioned so far that I don't have time to do a writeup for: Skies of Arcadia, Super Meat Boy, Tomba 2: The Evil Swine Returns, Uplink, XCOM (Original), XCOM (Reboot), XCOM 2 (Reboot)

Braid

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.

1. All of the Zelda games
2. All of the Ori games
3. All of the Horizon games
4. All of the Mario Galaxy games

So good.

Streets of Rage 2

Man, Yuzo Koshiro did some unique work with the Genesis.

Before games had full epic soundtracks, you still got quality "intro tracks", occasionally with a few other songs for whilst you're playing.

Speedball 2: Brutal Deluxe intro music (youtube link)

From the same Atari ST/Amiga era: Chaos Engine, Frontier Elite 2, Xenon 2 Megablast, Syndicate Wars

For newer stuff with "full soundtracks", you can't beat Stellaris OST (youtube link)

In no particular order:

• Warhammer 40k Mechanicus
• Total Annihilation
• Doom 2016
• Hotline Miami
• Rome Total War
• Witcher 3
• Halo
• StarCraft

The developer gets a lot of hate but the Fez soundtrack really complemented the game.

Also any soundtrack done by Disasterpeace is basically gold.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disasterpeace

Kingdom Hearts

Yoko Shimomura is outrageously talented. Obviously there's a lot of Disney-esque stuff mixed in, but there are a bunch of original tracks that are epic af

I’ve seen a lot of good mentions here already but haven’t seen Nier: Automata yet. I thought the game was overrated, but there are a lot of great audio tracks

Neon White has a killer soundtrack by Machine Girl. Highly recommend it for anyone into DnB (the game also isn't bad).

The Dead Space franchise. The Payday franchise. Skyrim. Stellaris. Starcraft II. The Age of Empires franchise. Warframe. Telltale's Batman. Starboard.

Just going through what I regularly listen to.

Paradise Killer

Quake 2

Guild Wars 1

Nier Automata

Edit: it was mentioned already but I'm keeping it

axiom verge 1 and 2 - good in different ways. i liked to put first on for long coding sessions, and the second expanded in interesting directions
transistor & pyre & hades - all scored by Darren Korb, but different genres. from first moment, transistor has such vibe in big part thanks to it's soundtrack, and is among my all time top games
Nier automata - won awards for it's soundtrack, clear to hear why
crypt of the necrodancer - rhythm game should have a good soundtrack, and it does
witcher 3 - the battle themes - like "silver for monsters" are unique style of action-y folk, very rare to find anything else that scratches that itch.
dusk - awesome and dynamic metal
risk of rain 1&2 - first game itself didn't click with me, but, oh man, that solo in "Monsoon" get me every time, and "Coalescence" is poignantly melancholic in a similar way to "song of the ancients" from nier - which is (a very high praise and) much more expected from nier's type of game than a "risk of rain"'s. "face of the deep" from ror2 from second is head-spinning in a good way
no man's sky - it introduced me to 65dos, for which i'm very grateful. that soundtrack is still probably my favourite album of theirs noita - low-key psychedelic, very vibes
unreal tournament 99 - and i think it's not just nostalgia, because one of my favourites - "mechanism 8" - is from the map i almost never played
"Ultrakill" - good soundtrack, and yet cyber grind tracks from guest composers are still my favourites. "The cyber grind" in particular is just exhilarating

individual tracks i overheard from games i haven't played:

old "touhou project" games - their soundtrack is full of gems, even if it's not my genre of game
system shock 2's "Med Sci 1" and "Engineering" - very nice, i want more of that and can't find
"Clair Obscur: Expedition 33"'s "Lumière" - made me wishlist the game just for having it
"Final Fantasy IX"'s "You're not alone" - very nice melody i like to whistle sometimes. considering playing it just for having it
original "Castlevania"'s "Vampire killer" rocks

Nier music is really good, especially Dark Colossus

Jetset radio

Dustforce

Scott Pilgrim vs the Wolrd the Game

River City Girls 1 and 2

Okami

The 7th Guest and The 11th Hour!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82y9COOPaVE&list=PLT3-I-mzXNxtmtqwsmzX3EMut2IWp-ys0&index=1

https://youtu.be/truC-BxKRBU

I have this soundtrack constantly stuck in my head, especially Ghost of Bo

Neverhood https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfoULnSYMYY

Warhammer 40k: Darktide has some absolute fucking bangers:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnOREzwYYP0

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=w5ozcKqF4E8

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's entire soundtrack is also a masterpiece but just to share a few:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zmvsw2ILX5k

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGya_P6wa1o

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dffRUOBNGB8

In no particular order or genre:

• Rise of the Triad 2013
• Bullets per Minute
• Anything made by PixelJunk (currently enjoying Eden and Shooter soundtracks)
• Bomb Rush Cyberfunk
• Far too many games on the Dreamcast to remember them all, but I will specifically call out Rezs' Level 5 Adam Freeland - Fear is the Mindkiller
• Distance
• DJ Max

For entire OSTs: any of the FromSoft soulslikes, Lies of P, Diablo 2 + Lord of Destruction, any Monster Hunter game really (especially the ones in Pokke village, so Freedom 2 and Freedom Unite/Portable 2nd G), Hollow Knight, currently enjoying Ridge Racer's (PSP) soundtrack for working out, Deltarune and Undertale, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 and Bboy the Game for some perfect-vibe licensed music...

Disco Elysium's is my current favourite OST, but the game itself might also just be current favourite game.

As for individual tracks, I like the Spanish guitar portion of "The Drive/First Contact" off the RE4 soundtrack. Back when I started out with breaking ("breakdance"), think 2008/9ish, we had a remix of that specific part of the song that would play often - I've got very fond memories of that. The song itself, its remixes and the remake versions actually are some of my favourite running music for the gym.

Here's the remix in question if anyone's interested: https://youtu.be/SMWV-3pbcLE

As for one favourite individual song from each of the aforementioned OSTs:

• Hunter's Dream (Bloodborne)
• Shadow Flower (Lies of P)
• Rogue (Diablo 2) + Lord of Destruction intro
• Pokke Village theme (MH Freedom 2/Unite/Generations (Ultimate)) and Mizutsune theme (first fought in Generations)
• Mantis Lords (Hollow Knight)
• Rotterdam Nation - Remix (Ridge Racer)
• Ruins (Undertale) and My Castle Town (Deltarune)
• I'm a Swing It by House of Pain or Ace of Spades by Motörhead (THPS3)
• Don't Sweat the Technique by Rakim or Apache by Incredible Bongo Band (Bboy the Game)

This was lots of fun to think about. I hope anyone reading can find something of value here. :)

Unreal Tournament

Terminal Velocity

Icewind Dale

The Outer Worlds

Deus Ex

Faster Than Light

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFkGjEut9U4

The answer is always Chrono Trigger.

30 years later, and still nothing has topped it. No game even comes close.

not enough Sonic games in here...

Sonic Mania https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tChtOKMUJDs&list=PLqzVNX9DhzKFhC6udPSvYmCY_bVfhWvnE&index=13

Sonic Adventure https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z695fdyML-s&list=PLqzVNX9DhzKGjln85maKU8aCyQV14Onsv&index=35

Sonic Adventure 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXeIRsqqFbA&list=PLvNp0Boas721TSB-gLzJt6vOmTdRsX47x&index=64

Sonic Rush https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfWb5zwJWYM&list=PLqzVNX9DhzKHqsPNBqGzPA_2edjLSia_m&index=15

Ape Escape. I think Cryptic Relics is my favorite track but they're all so good. They're all drum and bass bangers.

Surprised no one mentioned Kingdom Hearts. Everything Shimomura Yōko turns to gold! (I have since noticed the comment saying the same thing)

Rimworld
Starsector
Project Zomboid

I love the Celeste OST. In general I like does made by Lena raine but that one is my favorite.

Risk of Rain 2, by Chris Chris, is such a fucking bop! I particularly recommend The raindrop that fell to the sky and The rain formerly known as purple

RoR one is good too, but not as much

• MechWarrior 2: Ghost Bears Revenge
• BioShock Infinite
• Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous

skyrim might be THE greatest soundtrack of all time

fallout 1 and 2 (and new vegas as it reuses the soundtrack) are really cool and eerie. fallout 3 and 4 are good too

i quite enjoyed the soundtrack for south of midnight

also, this next one isnt an official soundtrack made for the game but a collection of good songs. but madden 10 has probably the most ludicrously stacked soundtrack ive ever heard for a sports game

Journey

The game is a piece of art and the soundtrack plays a big part of it.

The entire Guilty Gear franchise. Running joke is every album comes with a free game.

Some which come to mind are:

• Bastion
• Lost Eden
• Duke Nukem 3D
• Flatout 2
• System Shock
• Arcanum ...

But there are probably a lot more which I have played and are great.

Going through the lists everyone has posted I realized I’m surprised I haven’t seen anything from the Medal of Honor franchise posted. I only ever played Medal of Honor: Frontline because a roommate had it, but it was scored by Michael Giacchino, who also composed the scores for the original Medal of Honor, Medal of Honor: Underground, Medal of Honor: Allied Assault, and Medal of Honor: Airborne. Giacchino won awards for the first four soundtracks in the series and it was his video game work that caught J. J. Abrams’s attention and led to him scoring Alias and Lost, starting his TV and movie career.

Also, if you enjoy soundtracks, you might like StreamingSoundtracks.com. It’s been around since 2001 and features soundtracks from movies, tv shows, and video games. It’s a free streaming radio service with the playlist queued by listeners along with limits on how frequently any track can be played, so you won’t hear repeats very often. A manager at a past job played it most days. One year someone took advantage of the “No repeats” rules and played all the horror tracks throughout October so that on Halloween there were basically no horror tracks available, angering many when they realized what had happened. I found it one of the more impressively planned and executed pranks I’ve personally witnessed.

Subnautica - Simon Chylinski Absolutely crushed that soundtrack. Perfectly set vibe for that game.

I really like SimCity 3000’s jazz soundtrack. That was the first time I remember playing a game where the soundtrack was released separately.

Honorable mention goes to DX-Ball 2, which introduced me to a lot of electronic music and the concept of module/tracker music. The game by default came with just 4 .mod songs but on the website you could download additional files from the same creator, or add other .mod files from other sources to a folder and they’d appear in the game. First shareware game I ever bought, and paid by sending a money order through the mail because I was too young to have a credit card.

Shovel Knight.

Outstanding compositions and Famitracker work by Virt.

World of Warcraft

Sayonara Wild Hearts. The game itself is fantastic, as well. It's basically one big, playable album. One of my favorites.

For anyone that does get the album, I recommend listening to it in game order over album order. Maybe it's just cause I'm most familiar with it while playing the game, but it makes more sense in that order, imo.

Chrono Cross OST is probably one of the best sound tracks I've ever heard and still listen to regularly.

Same with most Zelda soundtracks. Wind Waker especially had an amazing OST.

Shadowrun Hong Kong, and Ronin, the game on Steam with the chick and motorcycle helmet. There is also an app called Kingturn RPG that rocks. Oh and I almost forgot the best one of all, Metal Gear Rising Revengeance.

Ragnarok Online. Really love “Desert” and “Dancimg Christmas in the 13th Month.” So many more, but those two really stand out.

MDK

MDK 2

Very different styles, but both soudtracks are absolute masterpieces.

Batman the Videogame on the NES, FFVII, the entire WipEout series, original soundtrack for Crazy Taxi, Sonic the Hedgehog 3/Sonic & Knuckles, X-Men on the Sega Genesis, WET, Omega Boost, Zone of the Enders, BurnOut 3: Takedown, Mobile Suit Gundam: The Lost War Chronicles, Roommania #203, Street Fighter Alpha 3, Mega Man 2 & 3, Doom, SSX Tricky, Xenogears.

I recently played Hi Fi Rush, and walking into the first boss and hearing the song choice got me so hyped. I was chasing that high for the rest of the game. The whole soundtrack really felt catered for me, specifically, but that one NIN track in that moment got me more pumped than anything else.

pictionary nes. trust me. wave race 64 but slow it down to 56% speed. waterworld, platoon, alcahest, evergrace spiderman nes - first level, solar jetman, aerobiz supersonic, uncharted waters, dune msdos

i could go on

I really like the soundtrack to Suikoden. Maybe it's nostalgia, but it's one of the better ones for me.

And lunar silver star story is pretty good too.

/u/tal@lemmy.world is a hero for linking all the tracks in this thread.

Beyond Good & Evil

• Thomas Was Alone

https://david-housden.bandcamp.com/album/thomas-was-alone-original-soundtrack-deluxe-edition

Skyrim fans might enjoy this:

https://malukah.bandcamp.com/album/the-dragonborn-comes

https://malukah.bandcamp.com/album/the-dragonborn-comes-remastered-2024

Dear Esther

Cyberpunk has ton of awesome tracks

Pon Pon Shit

final fantasy, anything thats NOT 7 simply because its played to death.

i'm ngl most nintendo games really got banger music. i esp love mario kart 8's soundtrack, peak fusion

Not sure if mentioned yet, but EVE Online has an amazing soundtrack. Their 10 Year Anniversary Symphony is just the cream on top.

Kind of obvious, but Hades is largely just banger after banger, I especially love Good Riddance. No Escape is also a highlight, and the way it's echoed and enhanced in God of the Dead is fantastic.

I do think the Wasteland 3 soundtrack doesn't get enough love, I really enjoyed their takes on some classics.

Mega Man 2

Chrono Trigger

Metal Gear Solid 3

I think nothing top the JRPGs. My current favs would be Nier: Replicant & Nier: Automata. There's also this rather obscure game I love called Ar Tonelico in which the music is part of the story; of course that wouldn't do if the music suck.

Other than that, I love the entire soundtracks for both Cult of the Lamb as well as Stray.

The factorio space age dlc. Particularly track 06 from Fulgora.

Interstate 76 The Curse of Monkey Island Cyberpunk 2077

Halo 1, 2 Reach
Animal Crossing (personally Wild World and New Leaf)
Mario Kart DS, Wii, 7, 8(D)
Bionicle Heroes DS
Art of Balance
Ghostrunner 1 and 2
Midtown Madness 3
Pokemon (Any gen)

Megaman 2 still reigns supreme IMO. The most consistent soundtrack for any video game ever. Bangers end-to-end.

Sexy Parodius is also fantastic. It's a demented mix of jacked up, synthesized classical and folk tunes. This is probably my favorite track: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlRO9Q0dbQA&list=PLAdIErLpAnQCc5Mk19_MAyeV5bMGsFRpG&index=24 The synth-sax is incredible!

The Batman Arkham games had some pretty awesome soundtracks.

Mirror's Edge, as well as Hardspace Shipbreaker

Ape Out really only has the one song... but it is perfectly utilized to puncuate the gameplay experience.

Lots of good choices in the comments already so I'll start with what I'm currently obsessed with: Project Wingman and its DLC, FRONTLINE-59.

OTXO is also great if you're looking for some heart-pounding action, both in-game and to listen.

Neotokyo, the old source mod has two fantastic cyberpunk albums for its OST: GSDF and NSF. Both have their own unique style instead of trying to imitate the classics which is a huge plus.

I've seen Drakengard being mentioned already so have some heavenly sounds announcing the end of the world. If you'd like something that doesn't cause as much mental damage as the first game, Drakengard 3 is your friend! It's still possesses the mad undertones of the original and some of the boss music can be take it or leave it for some people as the heavy electronic vibes can clash with the medieval fantasy aesthetic (I love them all personally) but it has some absolute bangers as well.
Here are the usual suspects when people talk about this title:

• Black Song - surprisingly light considering when it plays in the game.
• The Final Song is a backing track for an 8 minute boss fight with no checkpoints and no place for mistakes (1HP through the whole thing baby!).
• This Silence Is Mine - if you want to listen to someone who've been through hell and back singing asking for the sweet release of death. It's raw, it's emotional and it perfectly encapsulates all the themes of the D3's protagonist, Zero. Still one of my favourite OST songs of all time despite listening to it for at least a decade now.

Last but not least, Shantae and the Pirate's Curse. It's filled with fun and energetic tracks which fit perfectly with the light comedic tone of the series. Jake Kaufman's masterpiece and probably my favourite OST in the series.

Games with amazing OSTs:
TES Skyrim
TES Oblivion
TES Morrowind
LOZ Minish Cap
LOZ A Link to the Past
LOZ Ocarina of Time
Sonic and the Secret Rings
Minecraft
Halo 1-4 & Reach
Bonus: Music by Ola Gjeilo (not a soundtrack but falls closely in line with Skyrim's explore music, might even be better)

Favorite tracks from said games:
Skyrim: Far Horizons (London Symphony Orchestra Version)
Oblivion: The Wings of Kynareth
Morrowind: Over the Next Hill
Minish Cap: Mt. Crennel (Orchestral Remake)
Link to the Past: Lost Woods
Ocarina of Time: Gerudo Valley
Sonic & the Secret Rings: The Place that was Found (Evil Foundry)
Minecraft: Wet Hands
Halo 1-4 & Reach: main title themes
Ola Gjeilo: The Rose II

Persona 3/4/5 are goated on their own ways in my opinion.

The Final Fantasy X soundtrack is great too

but rn my obsession soundtrack is Neon White, I love machine girl https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9X15iDR7z8

I love so many video game soundtracks, so I'll try to just list a few:

• Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
• Monster Hunter: Tri (wonderful balance of stirring and cozy)
• Bloodborne (really almost all of FromSoft's soundtracks, but especially this one)

I also really like Hollow Knight and Hades soundtracks, and of course DOOM (2016) has already been mentioned.

Pillars of eternity 1 and 2, octopath traveler, Chrono trigger, streets of rage, sonic 1-3, and doom eternal were all pretty amazing

Super Monkey Ball 2 - not in the sense that I'd want to sit and listen to them, but they really fit the game super well. And I've heard them sampled in actual songs before... Also as YouTube video background music many times.

I really like the Rome Total War Soundtrack by Jeff van Dyck

All the Astro Bot games have phenomenal soundtracks, Kenneth CM Young (of MediaMolecule) is brilliant and knows how to write really catchy earworms. Really got stuck listening to Trapped in Time and Papa Tree.

Planescape Torment and Icewind Dale. Not all the tracks but many of their tracks are great. I play them on the loop.

Also The Witcher has great soundtracks, I often play them on the loop while I was working.

Literally every Supergiant game.

None mentioned (all links are yt) Axiom Verge (s), Defcon, Element4l, Furi, Giants Citizen Kabuto, Painkiller, Risk of Rain (s), Speed Runners, They Bleed Pixels, Wildstar or any Zachtronics so far.

Subnautica. Love the atmosphere that the music conveys.

I got one I'm betting we won't find on here yet...

Alone in the Dark 5, an incredibly ambitious game that fell short, but had some great ideas.

One of which was how that incredible soundtrack by Oliver Deriviere drove this particular playable sequence, 59th Street .

The whole soundtrack done in conjunction with "The Mystery of Bulgarian Voices" is absolutely stunning for an action-horror title.

It was the best part of the game and an incredible example of meshing soundtrack with cinematic gameplay.

. . . actually? All the stuff he does is freaking awesome, so see/listen to his other titles like:

• Remember Me (Awesomely underrated!)
• Obscure

Other (lesser known / thought of?) good soundtracks off the top of my head:

• There Came an Echo (by Big Giant Circles. So good they used the theme in Stranger Things! Season..2?)
• Anything by Supergiant lol.
• Oni (bungie / rockstar)
• FTL
• Metro 2033, Metro: Last Light, Metro: Exodus
• Deus Ex: Human Revolution
• X-COM: Enemy Unknown and X-COM 2.
• King's Quest VIII: Mask of Eternity

I'll probably add to this if I think of any more. :)

OTXO and what's even more impressive is that the developer of the game made the music himself! GhostRunner had a bangin' ass soundtrack too.

Hyperlight Drifter

Cobalt Core

They're in the same vein but it's some of the best chiptune-esque music I've ever heard. They're not these one note, one tempo, same vibe over and over again tracks. They have feeling and movement. Almost melancholic at times. Scary in the case of HLD. They remind me a lot of mid 2010s prog metal in some respects. Not the heaviness or the distorted guitars, but the melodies and creativity with sound that pushed music forward in those years. Like the last track of the Cobalt Core ost flows right into My Last Serenade by Killswitch Engage and it's a chefs kiss of greatness. They're both top 5 video game ost for me.

Destiny 2 has some fantastic pieces. Deep Stone Lullaby, Journey, Aethenasia (sp?) to name a few.

Metal: Hellsinger https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HidvYgF9-8Q&list=PLJQHL1SwXgq0m1LuxDGHDEWnBDFdYc2Vk&index=9

Civ 3 has my fav soundtrack. My favorite is this gem you get in the modern era:

https://youtu.be/MPe5an9VltI

• Bravely Default kicks with both special and battle themes (go give vagrant of love a try)

-Gran Turismo 4 suuper nice menu themes i especially like hypnosis, the motorious zone, don't kick yourself and be at home

Unreal

I would like to throw in Terranigma's OST. Specifically, the Hometown theme song.

Killer Instinct 2013

Xenoblade Chronicles, especially 2 and 3 in my view.

And Halo, obviously.

Ori and the Blind Forest and Ori and the Will of the Wisps.

God of War (2018) and Ragnarok.

Chrono Cross.

Rebel Galaxy - country rock genre? Very unique and different sort of music.

Trine 1 & 2 + Transport Fever 1 - instrumental background music good for concentration, working, studying or just relaxing.

Furi

Citizen Sleeper

The entire Ace Combat series, particularly from 4 onward are almost entirely comprised of the best music I've ever heard. I couldn't reccomend all the specific tracks because i'd probably hit some sort of character limit but each game has a "flagship" track which I'll highlight here:

• Rex Tremendae + Megalith -Agnus Dei-
• The Unsung War (special mention to First Flight)
• Zero
• The Liberation of Gracemeria
• Daredevil

Also will reccomend both the Metal Gear Saga (e.g. ...Metal Gear Saga)

And the Boss themes from Metal Gear Rising

• Rules of Nature
• I'm My Own Master Now
• A Stranger I Remain
• The Stains of Time
• Red Sun
• The Only Thing I Know For Reap
• Collective Consciousness
• It Has To Be This Way

I don't think I've seen any shmup OST mentioned, but there's so many that I think are bangers.
A favourite of mine would be DoDonPachi DaiFukkatsu / Resurrection, specifically Black Label Stage 2.

I love the soundtrack of underdogs. The song i like the most is ready for war (wraz. Remix) by Dominus and magugu. It feels really good in the game when you get in the big boy arena and this song starts.

I'm surprised at the lack of love for 13 Sentinels - Aegis Rim here. It's a little more on the electronic side but fans of the NieR soundtracks in particular would vibe hard with 13S-AR. A couple of standouts - Lysine and Brat Overflow

My favorites:

• Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery LP
• Hyper Light Drifter
• Into the Breach
  • Basically, Ben Prunty does amazing work. FTL and others have already been mentioned

Gonna list 2 that deserve the "great soundtrack" tag on steam:

• Assault Android Cactus - twin stick shooter/bullet hell with cute android girls blasting robots. Techno stuff, with my 2 favorite tracks being Liquorice (it's divided in 3 "acts" as it's a boss music) and Assault
• Cloudbuilt - 3D platformer with focus on speed. I suck at this game, but the tracks are amazing, with my fave being Aurora

Someone else mentioned Unreal 1, but I gotta say, Unreal Tournament 2004 has some absolute bangers, like Morpheus3, Hyperblast Redux, Level11 and Convoy

Fantastic game soundtracks are the ones which I actually go out of my way to acquire. Chrono Trigger, PixelJunkMonsters Deluxe, SimCity 3000, and Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair.

Refunct

Sonic CD (the Jap/PAL release, not the terrible USA one). Absolute banger.

Sonic 3/Knuckles. Unironically amazing stuff.

Ecco the Dolphin (CD version). Amazing atmospheric stuff. Hard to believe it's the same composer as the North American Sonic CD

I just finished Frostpunk recently and have to say I really enjoyed the soundtrack.

One that sicks in my memory years after playing it is the soundtrack for Expeditions: Conquistador.

Marathon 2: Durandal has only one song, the title theme, but I do like it as a good "get one pumped to play the game" song! From the band Power of Seven.

EDIT: Also, while I don't know if I'd want to just listen to it alone outside of the game --- never tried --- Jets'n'Guns has a soundtrack that works well for the game. Done by the band Machinae Supremacy. One of the game's levels is set in a future Machinae Supremacy concert.

Also, Bandcamp link for the soundtrack: https://machinaesupremacy.bandcamp.com/album/jetsnguns-soundtrack

A Plague Tale is a master work by Olivier Deriviere. Take a listen here. It really amplifies the immersion of the game.

I'm surprised no one said Touhou yet.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqH79HDfrr8

Also, I see a lot of love for Celeste and Jet Set Radio in the comments. Y'all have good taste.

Not For Broadcast

Bonelab with would you even know, don't fence me in and turn around. Some of my favourite video game music moments.

Bunch of bangers on this list already, but the one that sends shivers up my spine to this day is Crusader Kings 2.

Tecmo secret of the stars.

Hi-Fi Rush

Lollipop Chainsaw

Kingdom Hearts

Guitar Hero 3

Tetris Effect for me.

For me, it's Xenosaga episode 1 on the PS2. It's performed entirely by the London Philharmonic Orchestra and it's my favorite OST of all times

Runescape.

Right from the login screen its always been iconic

Redout! It's probably the most pulse pounding soundtrack I've ever experienced!

Evil genius has a soundtrack that fits it perfectly. That game has such a good vibe, like playing The Incredibles if they were trying to take over the world

Nobody's mentioned this one yet, perhaps because it's a bit obscure, but Vib-Ribbon (PS1) has such a unique and endearing OST. I never played the game, but I heard one of the songs and got totally hooked.