Gaming

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

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.

TUNIC, FEZ, Nier Automata, Outer Wilds.

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

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.

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

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

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.

Transistor

Katamari Damacy

Stardew Valley

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

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

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.

Edit: Formatting

NieR: Automata

The Weight of the World

probably Doom Eternal. Just tuned to perfection.

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.

Halo 1-3 and probably reach too. There is just something about those strings that hit differently. The music perfectly portrays the feeling of loneliness and being the "last" spartan trying your best to save the human race from extinction.

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.

Endless Space 2. The best OST I have ever come across in 20+ years of gaming. Several hundred hours in and I'm still not sick of any of the tracks.

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

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.

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

Minecraft and Terraria, oh yeah also Hollow Knight

-Persona 4 & 5

-Paradise Killer

-Celeste

-Hotline Miami

-Signalis

-Oxenfree

-Coffee Talk

are all in my normal album rotation

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

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

Doom Eternal, Destiny and Halo

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.

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!

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

While there's no correct answer here, I think the most widely beloved OSTs of all time probably belong to the Final Fantasy, Donkey Kong, Legend of Zelda, and Super Mario IPs.

I really love Divinity 2's soundtrack.

C418 - Minecraft Volume Alpha

There are so many good OSTs and often it's the combination of the memory of the game szene and the song, but trying to separate those two I still love Hollow Knight, Nier automata and the new Zelda tears of the kingdom. Also Hades and some diablo songs really slap.

• Doom 2016
• Outer Wilds

The soundtracks from NieR:Automata and NieR Replicant are definitely my favorite of all time.

Halo: Reach and Halo 3: ODST are also very good.

Outer Wilds

Journey

Flower

Abzu

Shadow of the Colossus

The last Guardian

Mass effect

Metal Gear Solid

Undertale

Thomas Was Alone

What Remains of Edith Finch

Dear Esther

Firewatch

No Man's Sky

Death Stranding

I really like video game soundtracks :)

XENOBLADE CHRONICLES 2

Yes, let me list some of my favs! This is generally starting from my fav, but it's not strictly ordered. Counterattack

Driver VS

Monster Surprised You

Gormotti Forest

Battle!!

Exploration

Still, Move Forward

Battle In The Skies Above

I also adore the OST for Octopath Traveler (even if I didn't like the game much)

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.

Super Mario Odyssey - 1 UP Girl is a phenomenal song, and the rest of the soundtrack rocks as well. Bonus points for every track having an 8-bit version

Final Fantasy IV - My first SNES game. I still have that entire OST burned into my mind. The first time I heard the full orchestral version of the FF theme (I had played FF1 previously) blew me away

Outer Wilds - Better when heard in-game. I still tear up hearing certain pieces

Mega Man X2 - SNES era Capcom music at its best

The Great Ace Attorney - Really the whole series, but I think this one is my favourite. Capcom has great composers. The theme at 221 Baker Street is the coziest music

Necrodancer soundtrack is criminally good.

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.

I love the soundtrack for the original Risk of Rain and also FTL

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.

Jet Set Radio Celeste Citizen Sleeper

Celeste really gets me.

Outer Wilds, Alan Wake, Gray Matter

Donkey Kong Country 2

Tears of the kingsom has me listening to it a lot recently. Also NieR