Gaming

TUNIC, FEZ, Nier Automata, Outer Wilds.

I also have a soft spot for Paper Mario and TTYD, those soundtracks are full of bops

Ori and the Blind Forest's ost is phenomenal.

I think all of the Supergiant Games have great soundtrack. Transistor was what got me into their games, and it was the soundtrack that caught my attention first.

Literally any Final Fantasy for me. Nobuo Uematsu is just an incredible composer.

Dragon Quest series too, although Koichi Sugiyama was a…not great person.

Monkey Island 2 holds a special place for me because it introduced iMUSE and dynamically altering the music with the environment which was years ahead of its time.

I like OST that goes hard (bass heavy) and I didn't see any here. My personal favorites are:

• Hotline Miami (1 & 2)
• Furi
• Katana Zero
• My Friend Pedro
• Haven I have probably forgotten some games and I will be happy to discover others as it is quite niche.

The Nier Automata OST is perfection. Almost every single track is memorable and lovable, I often relisten the whole ost just for fun

Outer Wilds. Yeah it's one of the greatest games ever made, but would it be so good without that soundtrack? Debatable.

I petitioned to play something from it at my actual wedding (sadly was overruled), and I know I'm not the only one.

NieR: Automata

The Weight of the World

Final Fantasy VIII holds a special place in my heart for sure.

All the soundtracks Darren Korb makes for Supergiant. Hades resonates more with me as it's the one I've played the most, but I'm also a huge fan of Transistor's.

I like epic, intense soundtracks so, Darkest Dungeon and Frostpunk. Monster Train is pretty good too.

Halo ODST

Hollow Knight

Journey

Monument Valley 2 <- especially this one

Outer wilds Subnautica Subnautica Below zero FTL and into the breach are some of my favorites personally

Just in case some of you don't know...

https://downloads.khinsider.com/

It is a website with gamerips of soundtracks. There are ways to download albums without making accounts, so don't go signing up for this.

Enjoy!

Persona 5 Royal. Close 2nd is Nier: Automata. Both amazing OSTs

• Doom 2016
• Outer Wilds

Indie games in general have great OSTs, MGS:R and Persona (and SMT in general) are obvious popular picks.

The World Ends With You is less mainstream (with one of the few gripes being the lack of boss-specific themes, at least in the DS original I played - but it makes up with the diverse overworld and normal battle themes), as is Etrian Odyssey.

I think orchestra is mixed, it's either the best fucking tracks ever (often when mixed with electric guitar, but not necessarily), or they kind of blend with other orchestral tracks I know and don't end up being unique enough to remember.

Both the Nier games have amazing soundtracks that I listen to frequently.

Kena: Bridge of Spirits is also great although I don't really listen to it on its own. It really makes the game feel much more impactful while playing.

Disasterpeace is an AMAZING composer and has done some stellar work in both video games and film as well. Here's a couple of my favorites from video games:

• Fez
• Hyper Light Drifter

Please check out some of his other work here: http://disasterpeace.com/music

I haven't finished the game yet, but Journey's OST is simply amazing.

Chrono Trigger

Final Fantasy 6 (the opera aria was played at my wedding)

Castlevania 3, specifically the six channel Famicom version

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

I'm old, if you couldn't tell

Donkey Kong Country 2

Can't believe noone has mentioned Doom 2016, one of my favorites!

Man this question isn't even fair there are so many fantastic soundtracks in gaming I could literally go on for hours about them.

Doom, Mass Effect, Halo, Skyrim, Ratchet and Clank, Assassin's creed(3 especially), Divinity original sin 2, pathfinder: wrath of the righteous, monster hunter, league of legends(all of riot games really), darktide, sonic, payday, witcher, Spiderman, Zelda, cyberpunk, megaman, final fantasy, Devil may cry, metal gear, undertale

that's just what I think of off the top of my head, there could easily be an entire sub just dedicated to the topic

Far too many to list, but Final Fantasy IX's soundtrack is a tremendous work of art, and a perfect final bow for Nobuo Uematsu from the series. It's always stuck with me among nearly ever other soundtrack.

Notable Mentions (in no order):

• Sonic 2 and 3&K
• Hotline Miami 1 & 2
• Street Fighter 2
• Nier Automata
• Castlevania (Whole Damn Series)
• Donkey Kong Country & 2
• Doom I & II
• Undertale
• Freedom Planet
• Golden Sun 1 & 2
• Hollow Knight
• Skyrim
• Kirby Series
• Mario Series
• MegaMan 2 & 3 (Shout-out to The Megas)
• Super Meat Boy

And so many others, but I'll be here all day if I keep going.

probably Doom Eternal. Just tuned to perfection.

I really vibe with Minecraft. The nostalgia just hits different when I listen to it.

Bastion and Hades have just cool soundtracks you can listen to anytime. When pure adrenaline is needed the DOOM soundtrack.

For focused work:

• Shenzhen IO
• Exapunks
• Opus Magnum
• Into the Breach
• Firewatch
• IXION

Other:

• Blue Archive Symphony
• 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim Branched Remix
• Minecraft
• Stardew Valley
• Spelunky
• Undertale
• Hades
• Helltaker
• Kirby

Halo (of course), Deus Ex, Cyberpunk 2077, Doom, Elder Scrolls, the Sega Genesis Sonic games, Psychonauts, Super Mario, Mirror's Edge, hell, I never really thought about it before but there is a lot of good stuff out there.

OST's are my JAM!

Ori is a classic. - It's equal parts haunting and jubilant. Death Stranding - Don't be so serious. Every song is a masterpiece. Overwatch - It's just good fun Witcher 3 - hey lele lelele lele lele ley! Cyberpunk - Dark, broody, and invigorating Divinity Original Sin 1 and 2 - Absolute fantasy. If you want a VGM OST to plan your d&d session to, this is a great option Red Dead Redemption 2 - Maybe it's partly because Arthur Morgan's story is so incredible but this soundtrack gives me the shivers. "May I stand unshaken... Amid, amidst a crash of the world?" omggg give it to me D'Angelo

There's tons more I'm missing here. But these ones stand out to me.

I've been listening to some choice tracks from Final Fantasy XIV, mostly from the big epic finales. I probably should be excited for XVI, but I just reaaally don't trust the action JRPG setup.

However, an even better soundtrack to me is Ori and the Blind Forest, as you mentioned - it has some epic bangers to it, but it's also an incredible soundtrack even for the calm, peaceful tracks playing while exploring.

Credit to Nier Automata for what it's worth...there's some tracks I really like in there on their own, but...I honestly feel like those really good tracks just don't often fit the gameplay. They have some hard-hitting vocal tracks playing while 2B is wandering the city or standing around, and it really warps the feel of the pacing. I mention it because it's just an interesting example to me of "good music" not actually fitting as a soundtrack.

C418 - Minecraft Volume Alpha

-Persona 4 & 5

-Paradise Killer

-Celeste

-Hotline Miami

-Signalis

-Oxenfree

-Coffee Talk

are all in my normal album rotation

Celeste really gets me.

All-timer has to go to Chrono Trigger. Absolutely incredible soundtrack from start to finish.

Transistor

Katamari Damacy

Stardew Valley

One of my favourite soundtracks of all time was the haunting soundscapes from Anarchy Online. Timeless and haunting whilst travelling the wastelands of the planet Rubi-Ka.

I can’t froth at the mouth about game music, without mentioning Dear Esther. The arty solo exploreable story in a rugged haunting Hebridean landscape. The piano and cello move together in deep tones, and build up to ascending anthems of emotion. Composer Jessica Curry is simply a genius, and I can easily be moved to tears with this soundtrack. My favourite track is “I have begun my ascent”.

Also Supergiant Games soundtracks to Transistor and Pyre are emotive and catchy as any non-soundtrack album.

I think the Elder Scrolls games all have great music, but Morrowind's OST has always stood out as amazing. Hearing that opening soundtrack immediately sends me back to playing it for the first time!

https://youtu.be/xULTMMgwLuo

The Metal Gear Solid series, particularly Snake Eater.

It's just so dramatic and over the top like the rest of the game.

They even wisely use it as a pallet cleanser after fighting The End and you have to climb that long ass ladder.

Chrono Trigger

Eve Online

I'm this thread I've missed Bastian, once the top answer of these kind of threads.

Personally I'm very fond of the germanized versions of pop music songs in Wolfenstein: a new order.

Several OSTs that have stuck with me through the years:

• Frozen Synapse
• Dustforce
• Bastion
• Nitronic Rush
• FTL

Zelda: Twilight Princess is probably my all time favorite. Midna's theme is so delightfully haunting in its several variations.

Doom 2016, Mirror's Edge, Metal Gear Rising, Nier Automata, ah so many options... probably a bit of recency bias, but I think I'll say Neon White.

When it comes to licensed soundtracks, DiRT 2's soundtrack is perfection.

Shout out to Touhou.

Halo CE has some real bangers (Devils...Monsters, On A Pale Horse, Covenant Dance, Under Cover of Night). Blow Me Away from Halo 2 has some amazing guitar riffs. The Starcraft: Mass Recall mod adds a lot of great music from other games/artists to its cutscenes. Starcraft Terran 1 goes METAL is probably my favorite out of those.

I love Amplitude Studios soundtracks (Endless Legend, Endless Space 1&2, Humankind). They're great background music while thinking about stuff (like at work). Though maybe I just got Pavlov'd into thinking that since they're strategy games 😅

Also, Persona 4! The soundtrack is so nostalgic and reminds me of my childhood somehow.