Many games feature amazing music, but certain games take it beyond even that.
Games like DOOM are known for the “procedural” composition they use to marry gameplay and sound, and not only that, the way the music is a perfect tonal match to what is happening.
What games have you played that feature music that doesn’t just make you notice it, but also pulls you further in?
Can you tell me more about Katana Zero? I have one of this developers other games and looked at this the other day but opted out. I don’t listen to audio when I look at trailers, so I didn’t hear the music or anything.
Also, YIIK has a great soundtrack even though everyone bombed the hell out of that game. I still listen to tracks from it. Inscryption, The Path, 2064: Read Only Memories, The Friends of Ringo Ishikawa, Going Under, games developed by Blaze Epic, Dicey Dungeons, Party Hard, Stray Cat Crossing, New Ice York, Beyond Galaxyland, JARS, Ladykiller in a Bind, Oxenfree, Dust Force, & Plants vs. Zombies (Laura Shigihara still has me bopping). Not including classic video game bangers - this is just stuff I pulled from a quick Steam-y glance.
*Love has a banger of a soundtrack too. Kentucky Route Zero as well.
Askiisoft hasn’t made any other widely known games. Of the three, only Katana Zero is on steam.
Are you referring to the publisher? They just front the funding for the development, and handle distribution. In this case that’s Devolver, who deals with a ton of small studios, and hence there’s a very wide range of games under them. But they’re all made by different people. A lot of Devolver projects are one-offs where the game is the only thing the particular studio has made, and will make.
Katana ZERO marries gameplay, story, and sound, immaculately.
The player character has the ability to see the future. The act of playing through a level (dying and re-trying), in universe, is Zero looking into the future and seeing what will work and what won’t.
This gets complicated once you run into opponents with the same ability, as they will actively use your previous attempts to beat them to predict what you’ll try to do.
It’s as mix of puzzle and action. I won’t say too much about the story, but it is worth engaging with the dialogue system, taking in the world building, and doing some thinking about what is going on. If you do, the story, and particularly the ending, is a lot more meaningful.
Oh hey, I didn’t realize. I like Olija, and thought that they were worked on by the same developer. They’re lumped together with The Messenger in a bundle and just assumed it was the same dev working their way through whatever vibe they were feeling. I don’t know too much about Devolver, but that’s for the 411. I was interested in this game because I like One Slash and Samurai Jazz and figured it could potentially have a similar vibe to it. I’m going to grab it, and give it a go. Thank you!
Katamari Damacy
NAAAAAAAA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NANA-N’NA-NA-NA-NAAAAAA
“BATMAAAN!”
The king is very displeased that this was so far down the list. You need to work on rolling up more points.
Nier Automata
The soundtrack is integral to the experience.
The credits sequence, IMO, is the current high for games as a medium.
When the chorus kicks in on end of yorha, after you ask for help, still gives me goosebumps.
Not normally that kind of person, but the way all aspects of design, music, story, and user input collide make it the most impactful experience I’ve ever had in a game.
It’s a magnum opus, to be sure. I’ll be blown away if Yoko Taro finds a way to top it.
Genuinely my favourite gaming moment. Nothing before or since from the medium has made me feel as much as that sequence. It’s just fantastic. If you game at all you need to try it.
Literally every game by Supergiant. Most recent would be Hades 2, when I finally beat the 3rd boss and start slashing into the fourth area, the music was so hype I was smiling all the way through.
A better pick may be Transistor though. It’s kind of a half action half strategy game, where you kind of pause to plan out and execute your next moves. During that pause phase, the music would turn into a muted version, and main character would hum to it in sync.Also, Journey and Abzu. They simply are experiences that should not be had without good headphones.
So uh… Fun thing about Transistor.
As the credits roll, Red sings for the first time in the game. The death of her lover at the beginning of the story turns her mute, which is why she only ever hums to the music in the game. During your first play-through. At the end of the game, the credits roll to the tune of “Paper Boats” which is the first song in the game to have lyrics, sung by Red.
It’s an emotional high point that hits hard. She can sing again!
But there’s more.
In new game+ Red no longer hums during all pause screens. She now sings the previously unheard lyrics of several songs in the game!
I NEVER PLAYED NG+ SO I DID NOT KNOW THAT. WTF LOL😂
Well shit, I guess I have something to do this weekend now
Today feels like a good day to play Transistor again… I keep getting owned in Hades 2
Bastion’s soundtrack still sticks in my head to this day, Darren Korb does amazing work.
Chants of Sennar has an amazing soundtrack, as does Tunic.
FTL and Celeste have basically the perfect soft background music; once you’re played them it is remarkable how many YouTube videos reuse one or the other for their turned-way-down background music
That, and then Grand Poo World 2 has basically the best retro action game soundtrack I have ever heard. I for-real believe that the quality of the soundtrack is like 75% of why it comes across as more polished than any other romhack.
The artist behind Celeste’s soundtrack Lena Raine is really good at that kind of music, her Bandcamp is good for listening
I can’t believe nobody’s mentioned Furi!
The game is a boss rush fighting game that’s incredibly fun to play, and the developers worked with multiple different artists to make the soundtrack. Literally gave them spec sheets for the boss fight they were making music for and info on how the stages progressed etc. So the soundtrack is a living part of the fights themselves. 10/10 highly recommended
Furi is fantastic. The mechanics are arguably even tighter than the music.
Totally agree.
6.24 You’re mine
You are the end
Wisdom of rage
A monster
All synth bangers.
Introduced me to carpenter brut and toxic avenger
Mass Effect, the first one. The soundtrack, being event driven, made the whole thing feel like a space opera you’d watch as a tv series, not just be an RPG.
Also the synthy goodness with those distorted like bass rips or something idk but 👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻😫
I know it’s cheating since the game is basically a playable soundtrack but “Hi-fi-Rush” brought me immense joy. On of the only games where I was actually vibing at my desk and rocking my head around to the beat.
You have no idea how hyped I got as the beginning notes of “Invaders Must Die” played.
RIP Tango Gameworks.
The closure of tango and the IP in Microsofts hands is a tragedy
Hollow Knight and Celeste are the two that come to mind for me.
As spoiled by the picture I chose for the post, my pick is Katana Zero.
Each stage has its own track, and it is not just background noise. Zero carries with him a walkman, and each level begins with him pulling it out at putting his earphones in, then starting the track as the name of the song appears on screen.
Whenever Zero isn’t himself listening to something, any music heard is environmental, like the soft background music of a hotel lobby, or the annoying low tones passing through the walls from a party at the neighbors.
If you’re a fan, and didn’t know, there is an expansion coming to Katana Zero. It’s been teased with a few gameplay clips, and a new OST track.
Yeah Katana Zero is crazy good, I’ve had Meat Grinder (Ludowic) on repeat for so long, that song is just perfect in terms of beats to focus to
Pretty old now, but Jet Set Radio/Jet Set Radio Future
Cell-shaded skating/graffiti game from my childhood will always have a place in my heart, and my playlists
Check out Bomb Rush Cyberfunk, it’s a spiritual successor to Jet Set Radio released in 2023. They consulted with Hideki Naganuma on the soundtrack.
Terraria and Stardew Valley
My day gets 200% better whenever I hear that summer song
Diablo 2. The music fit that game perfectly.
The SFX are pristine, too.
Also username checks out.
Deus Ex Mankind Divided.
Rain World.
Super Metroid.
I’ll second Nier Automata. There aren’t even any words in the lyrics, it’s amazing.Nier Automata. There aren’t even any words in the lyrics, it’s amazing.
Except for the “final” track, “Weight of the World”, which is just amazing and chilling, especially in the context of the game and lore if you make it to the end of true ending e. Apparently the Japanese version uses a take where the vocalist started crying during it, and in the English version you can hear the vocalist struggling towards the end.
And there’s the one track that’s name escapes me with the robots chanting “become as gods”.
A lot of the other tracks have chanting, but it’s intentionally not in any language, despite every track having a pretty heavy emotional feel to it.
The game is magical. Love it.
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. That game is damn near flawless.
Castlevania music is a style of its own. Love that stuff.
