Good Original Soundtracks (OSTs) in video games are a dime a dozen. Creating a soundtrack for games is something developers have seemed to have worked down to a science. But this doesn’t change that fact that most are forgettable even if most are also pretty solid. It’s in the top 1% of OSTs which we find sounds that may impact some on the same level as their homeland’s national anthem.
Echoic memory is when sensory cues like smells or sounds rekindle certain nostalgic thoughts from earlier in our lives. I find listening to video game soundtracks creates this effect for me to a greater degree than most other sensations. This list is to celebrate the few games that have soundtracks communities spanning millions of people rally behind.
When the OST from the game you played every day 10 years ago kicks in.
Wii Sports
Nostalgia is driving many of these picks. I still think Wii Sports has one of the best OSTs in gaming. I was a big Wii tennis guy back in the day. This game mode especially has the most fire music out of all available game modes. The margin isn’t super wide however since all of the songs in each sport are competitive with each other. This is why this game must make the list in my opinion. Nobody can argue that the title menu track is not classic.
(Via Gaming Player123 on YouTube)
Dragon Ball Raging Blast
This game feels like a fever dream. I went through the trouble of tracking down a disc copy of this Dragon Ball fighting game on Mercari only to find out that the game is not backwards compatible on Xbox Series X. This game has a section after character selection where the player can select the song they want to fight to. There is one song called “Fate Scrapes” which I only remember despite this game slowly becoming lost media due to how hard it goes. These games always have good OSTs in them but I can recall this as the Dragon Ball game with the best music in it.
(Via Remix Robots on YouTube)
Dead Ops Arcade
Man this game mode is hard. I randomly got a video in my recommended section on YouTube of the entire Dead Ops Arcade soundtrack and formed an ear worm ear worm when I listened to a song called “Clockwork Squares“. This song getting stuck in my head motivated me to get on Dead Ops Arcade to beat the Cosmic Silverback. Something I was never able to do when I first played Black Ops 1 on the Xbox 360. The artist of this song, Kevin Sherwood uploaded this bopper to YouTube on his personal account.
I still struggle to make it to round 20 since the game features a 1-hit down mechanic. Lucky enough for me though, the level playing “Clockwork Squares” is just past the first area. Meaning you get to listen to this tune a lot if you’re bad at the game like I am. The next area also plays a song called “Raining Teddy Bears” which slaps too.
(Via Treyarch – Topic On YouTube)
Deference for Darkness – Halo 3: ODST
Halo has a really good original soundtrack and a legendary theme from the first game. Halo Reach also has a good menu theme and other notable songs within it. My pick however is going to be “Deference for Darkness” from Halo 3: ODST. This song is magnificent and is great to listen to on a rainy day or late at night. I also enjoy running and this is a goto song for me during long runs. This is a Gigachad edit song, go check it out.
(Via jesskamo on YouTube)
Terraria – Underground OST
Terraria’s underground and underground jungle themes make you want to get up from your desk and start dancing. The classic tunes that make up this soundtrack are very nostalgic to hear after years of playing Terraria.
(Via Lhiandrow on YouTube)
Having put so many hours into this game, hearing certain melodies from the soundtrack releases a floodgate of memories into my brain. I smile while reflecting on moments like beating the Eye of Cthulhu or raiding a Lizhard Temple for the first time. The songs that pair with certain bosses and events make these challenges incredibly harrowing to play through. When AFK with a headset on, the OSTs that play in non-hostile biomes are super relaxing. This game does an excellent job of using a banger soundtrack to build an unforgettable atmosphere that is both chill and chaotic when appropriate.
(Via PenguinPandaZero On YouTube)
Minecraft – Subwoofer Lullaby OST
This OST is so beautiful. The songs that play in the background of this game made by the group C418 have a unique effect on me. I hear these tracks like “Subwoofer Lullaby” or “Dreiton” and that bubble forms in the back of my throat as if I’m about to start crying. Minecraft was a large part of my childhood and something I can attribute a great deal of my success at Keengamer.com to. I have only gotten older since I began playing this game as a 9 year old, but its music remains timeless. Auditory melatonin.
(Via InfernalEntertain On YouTube)
Silent Hill 1 and 2
These games have amazing soundtracks. I was made privy to the fact that someone cooked when making the OSTs for these games after my friend fell down an ambience rabbit hole and showed me both Resident Evil and Silent Hill Ambience. These videos are simply songs from each game’s soundtracks with rain effects playing in the background. Silent Hill ambience is my favorite of the two. I think you need to listen for yourself in order to understand why. These are more tracks that make you feel like you’re in a Sigma edit.
(Via Cry Café On YouTube)
Dark Souls – Main Menu OST
This game encapsulates medieval ambience in a way unlike Skyrim. Most songs in this game’s soundtrack suit a visceral standoff with a demon that will tear you apart if you don’t focus. But in zones where there are no threats to the player’s livelihood. (The main menu) Feelings of safety are cast over the player’s situation with the most soothing and beautiful music they have ever heard in their lives.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=IMWTyxrBgRU
(Via 00tidus on YouTube)
The funniest is thing is how this game can juxtapose a safe room with serene and calming ambience to a dreadfully rage inducing area and separate the two zones with 2 minutes of gameplay. This universe would be half of what it is without any music present.
Skyrim – Legendary OSTs
Skyrim is a cultural phenomenon that is iconic for many reasons including its soundtrack. Themes like “The Streets of Whiterun” or “Secunda” personally give me the warm blanket feeling. I get the same feeling of security from listening to those OSTs as a dog does wearing one of those hugging vests during a thunderstorm. The theme that plays during combat too, the exact one you’re thinking about, is nothing short of sensational. One of the best reasons to get into a new Skyrim playthrough is so that you can listen to the amazing selection of songs in-game.
(Via Jeremy Soule – Topic On YouTube)
Fallout: New Vegas
I wanted to stay away from featuring games that have a soundtrack comprised of real songs. But for Fallout: New Vegas, I will have to make an exception. Tunes like “Big Iron” and “Jingle Jangle Jingle” fit the Wild West aesthetic of this game so well. They also are each so old that they sound like they could have been made just for this game. Bethesda games of this era are hard to match in terms of world building. The music within these games are essential to creating their environments.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=1DD_NCM_RJs
(Via MaddinDS On YouTube)
Yuri
This list is literally flawless. Dead Ops & Skyrim FTW