Personally, I’m a huge fan of Hollow Knight, Ori and the (Blind Forest/Will of the Wisps), and Kingdom Hearts. Orchestral soundtracks are just something else…
TUNIC, FEZ, Nier Automata, Outer Wilds.
I also have a soft spot for Paper Mario and TTYD, those soundtracks are full of bops
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.
I know! It’s such a good ost! I think one of my favorite songs for it, although not from the ost, is Andrew Prahlow’s Outer Wild - Reprise single. It’s got aspects of all different main themes and is just overall an amazing piece
I can barely make it 30 seconds into that one without tearing up and I’m not ashamed to admit it.
Was looking for someone to mention Outer Wilds. I love when games weave music into storytelling and its perfect here.
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.
Hollow Knight
Omori
Doom 2016 and eternal
Mario odyssey
Terraria
Resident evil 4
Deathloop
Bloodborne
Nier Automata
Spectre tourment
Crypt of the necrodancer
Amnesia a machine for pigs
Metroid prime
Persona 5
Guilty gear strive
Undertale
Cuphead
These are all of my favorites personally. Omori or hollow knight being the best.
I second Omori so damn much. One of the only games that could bring me to tears.
Fantastic choices here… based on the quality of the list… I gotta listen to the ones on your list that I haven’t heard yet: Deathloop, here we go.
As for
Spectre tourment
, is that Shovel Knight: Spectre of Torment OST?
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.
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
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.
Nier automata has a great soundtrack, i haven’t played the newer one yet, but Drakengard 3 has some great songs on it, if you haven’t played it its meant to come before nier world lore wise.
Also gotta give a shoutout to World of Warcraft, got some massive nostalgia from that soundtrack
I actually got Drakenguard 3 running on my steam deck recently, it runs surprisingly well. I could immediately tell the game was gonna have great music based on the opening animation.
I find Nier replicant is good only after you make it past the first one or two hours. Too many fetch quests for me.
I will say drakengard 3 was one of the grindiest games ive played haha, dont wanna spoil anything though so thats all ill say. But its worth it the story is good if you like yoko taros type of storytelling. Theres a 60 fps patch i used but idk if steam deck is good enough for that, my old pc could barely handle it at 60fps with an i5-6600k and rx480
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.
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
NieR: Automata
The Weight of the World
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.
I like epic, intense soundtracks so, Darkest Dungeon and Frostpunk. Monster Train is pretty good too.
The Nier Automata OST is perfection. Almost every single track is memorable and lovable, I often relisten the whole ost just for fun
- Doom 2016
- Outer Wilds
Transistor
Katamari Damacy
Stardew Valley
Finally someone mentions Transistor!
I saw Pyre in another comment and honestly, I’d just go ahead and say everything Supergiant has made has top teir OSTs. Bynn the Breaker and Zia’s theme from Bastion, In Circles and The Spine from Trainsistor, In the Flames and Bound Together from Pyre, In the Blood and River of Flame from Hades all incredible songs. Supergiant has too many bangers to list across everything they’ve made