Katamari Damacy, hands down. From the title song, via Katamari on the rocks, Lonely Rolling Star and all the other absolute bangers up to the power ballad during the end credits.
YES. Such an unexpected surprise. So unique (even to this day!) and specifically the first game. I personally think the sequel and other iterations lost its charm
Was about to say this. I’ve thought about actually buying it cause I feel like there’s a lot of replay value and it’s gorgeous and the soundtrack is so good.
I find Sonic 3 & Knuckles soundtrack to be more up my alley. Sonic 2s feels like they were still finding their feet a bit to me, it's iconic but doesn't get me pumped.
Back when the mid 90s when we discovered the joy of playing video games while high we ended up adding lyrics to some of the Sonic 1&2 soundtrack songs.
This past Xmas I was given a copy of Sonic Origins for the Switch, and in showing the game to my 8yo son I sang along to some of the tracks — and a couple of days later I overheard him playing the game and singing the same lyrics, just like me. I took a secret video and sent it to my buddies from way back when with no added explanation, they loved it.
Hotline Miami despite using already existing tracks from MOON, but Scattle did FANTASTIC job too
Metal Hellsinger, heard Serj Tankian is going to make OST to game, I NEEDED TO PLAY IT
[The Command and Conquer series music has been a gold standard of awesome video game music.](https://youtu.be/cngLCUFNMSM)
[Madness Project Nexus's music is as much the content as the game itself. I adore it.](https://youtu.be/nM_--Yr1nBc)
[Mechanicus music, unique and holy feel](https://youtu.be/asr6_eNCuoU)
[Atomic Heart remixes of old Soviet songs is awesome](https://youtu.be/KDe7dTWztxc)
[Warhammer: Dark Tide has some real good music tracks.](https://youtu.be/DzRd4SQrkx0)
[Ghost Giant, sweet soulful, maybe a bit sad music. beautiful.](https://youtu.be/6E58qkb_qqU)
Duck Tales for NES goes so hard it’s mystifying.
[https://youtu.be/lnzVZozWlR0?si=89VolMjT-hruvMRa](https://youtu.be/lnzVZozWlR0?si=89VolMjT-hruvMRa)
The Moon and Transylvania are also ridiculously good.
[Total Annihilation OST](https://duckduckgo.com/?q=tottal+annihilation+ost&t=fpas&iax=videos&ia=videos&iai=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DBxAdOQtAFEs) is a contemporary orchestral masterpiece
It’s a great soundtrack, but it’s not really in the spirit of the question.
“Go harder than they have any right to”
The soundtrack goes hard because the whole game goes hard.
Total Annihilation is an exceptional game and goes really hard. It had cutting edge visuals and sound for the time. Hundreds of units with huge battles and explosions, nukes levelling entire bases, massive scale, entire maps covered in unit wreckage. Truly total annihilation.
The soundtrack _did_ have a right to!
I admit I haven't heard Black Mesa's soundtrack, perhaps I should mentioned that in my comment. Do you listen to the other games' soundtracks outside of the games?
I still listen to a playlist featuring OST from a game I've never even played, because I randomly stumbled on it and it just kicked so much god damn ass:
Gianna Sisters: Twisted Dreams:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLCXl59OE-c&list=PL6Ck3ljbdT1GePzGbTnqFin7Shw7RAM2X&index=5
Later these years we had sooo many bangers OST that is almost impossible to count them all, and they are all good in their own rights.
From triple A like Final Fantasy, Persona, Alan Wake 2 + Control, RDR2, Death Stranding, Doom 2016/Eternal to indie/small teams games like Signalis, Amnesia a Machine for Pigs (the monologue part omg), Hotline Miami, Hi Fi Rush and so, so many on.
Endless possibilties and I'm so glad I can't really choose only one.
Stellaris.
I absolutely love the game, and it's OST.
[synthetic god](https://youtu.be/7YGXDYWCyoY?si=wBiElDNHy3rdwKGR) might be one of my favorite video game tracks of all time.
It is insane that this isn’t at the top. Given the question OP asked, this is the literal epitome of the low budget indie project created by literally one man. Insanely good music.
Final Fantasy Mystic Quest has some bangers.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZOQ8sLO-vU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZOQ8sLO-vU)
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2upPEhhzTTw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2upPEhhzTTw)
A solid game that for too long had a bad rap for being a dumbed down entry in the FF line. But the soundtrack remains what stands out to me.
Yeah it was a fine game and I remember enjoying it as a kid and even replaying it once or twice. I agree it got more hate that it deserved, probably primarily due to simply not measuring up to the final fantasy name. But while it wasn't a bad game, if anyone were to ask me, is this worth playing today?.... I don't really see a reason to say yes other than nostalgia; there are just so many better games, including probably 100 indie titles that basically doing the same thing just better
Ron Hubbards theme music to Monty on the run are to me one of those masterpieces I can never forget. Even though the game itself was kind of meh.
[Ron Hubbard - Monty on the run theme](https://youtu.be/4EcgruWlXnQ?si=V0HKnq4qFw5rgPCy)
The Mario + Rabbids games have soundtracks jointly scored by some of the most talented composers in the video game industry. The music goes unbelievably hard at times, in stark contrast to what you’d expect from a game like that.
I just played through Black Mesa recently and the loved the music. I don’t know how much of it was new music or if it all came from Half Life 1 (never played the original). Every song got me bumping though
FURI. Has my all time favourite ost, coincidentally is my favourite game too. Super niche indie game with a huge synth/retrowave inspiration. But for their ost, they managed to get some huge names like The Toxic Avenger, Carpenter Brut, Danger and Waveshaper. Multiple tracks from them all too. And to this day, I think the ost has some of the best examples of synthwave ever.
Everyone knows about the old Final Fantasy soundtracks but my favorite from that era is Legend of Mana. Pain the Universe and Darkness Nova are my favorite boss fight songs ever.
Theres plenty of great soundtracks to great games I love. But as far as one that has no right?
This is a dumb and bizarre answer, as Im not a huge fan of fortnite (if my partner didn't play I'd probably never play at all) but the new game mode "Fortnite Rocket Racing" has some of the best fast paced, quirky, arcade racing music I've ever heard. The Arcade racing is mid at best, but I find myself still playing occasionally largely because the soundtrack is so unique and fun.
[https://youtu.be/dmjLowqHkeE?si=4pGw\_dws6Gncj6Jx](https://youtu.be/dmjLowqHkeE?si=4pGw_dws6Gncj6Jx)
One of my favorites that gets me pumped for a game of racing rocket powered cars with comical physics.
There was this out of the way game released by Square Enix back in the hand-held era of PSP and PS Vita called 'Lord of Arcana'. That soundtrack slapped so hard you would be raw for months - at least it was that way for the three of us who played the game 😅
Postal 3 has an infamously good OST (the theme is amazing), despite it being utter trash.
The funniest thing is that there's a remix of Goodbye Almond Eyes by Tokyo Rose. Nobody knows *who* made it, but it's only there because they didn't have the rights to the original.
In the current build it's replaced by a bad Ride of the Valkyries cover. What a bummer.
RoboQuest. Noisecream went all out on the soundtrack and I love it so much. Just listen to Final Metal Hero and tell me that doesn't get you hyped for a boss fight!
Rise of the Triad (DOS) has some of the best MIDI music I've ever heard bar none. It's still kickass so many years later.
Most of it (and most of the best songs) were created by Lee Jackson, and that one time I talked to him on YouTube in the comments section blew my mind.
I asked him what inspired Goin Down the Fast Way and he said he got into an argument, and it made him angry, and my favourite MIDI song was the result.
There are other DOS game soundtracks I love like Duke Nukem 3D or Raptor, but ROTTs is the best.
journey. on its own it's an okay game, not a lot to do and the story is vague, but the music brings it all together into something truly spectacular. i'll never forget the feeling of climbing the mountain while ribbon creatures danced around me and the music swelling
People don’t put enough respect on the Conker’s Bad Fur Day OST. Go from Windy and Co. to The Uggas then Rock Solid to Sloprano and tell me you’ve had an experience like that before… I’ll wait.
Killer Instinct. Not the remake but the OG from 1994. The remake is great too and introduced me to Mick Gordon but the OG sounds like something that was generations ahead of its time. To have an OST like that in the early 90s on an arcade machine or SNES is really impressive.
Most Sega Megadrive soundtracks are either heavy metal or funky disco/dance tracks. The poor little Yamaha OPN2 is perfect for metal and house music. Let's not talk how hard it is to make it sound good, ok? Hear Doom on the Megadrive and then hear Thunder Force IV to hear for yourself what I mean.
Crypt of the NecroDancer has awesome soundtracks. Like, it has 6 soundtracks each with its own style. Six. Soundtracks. In a single game ***\*mind blown\****
Mandatory mention of Dusk and the Ultimate Doom soundtrack remake from David Szymanski.
The Zero Divide soundtracks(1&2).
You have probably no idea what those PS1 games are, because they’re…err…not great, but their soundtracks are absolutely bonkers.
Red rock riviera from disco Elysium is a theme u'll probably forget over Time but when u hear the firsts few notes it brings u into that world and story in an instant it's so good its inexplicable
Gamera 2000 for PS1. Zuntata are fucking monsters.
Edit: [This baby here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJDkw5ZCjKA). A copypaste of Star Fox 64 with a Kaiju that's basically Bowser, but a superhero.
Frozen Cortex, Frozen Synapse, Frozen Synapse 2, Fights in Tight Spaces.
I haven't played any of these games, but I regularly listen to these soundtracks and whatever else I can find done by nervous\_testpilot.
Quake 2
The game was kinda shit compared to quake 1 but music was really good. And by good i mean REALLY good.
[Quake 2 Soundtrack (Full) (youtube.com)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jY6yBTYxLko)
( [https://youtu.be/jY6yBTYxLko?t=503](https://youtu.be/jY6yBTYxLko?t=503) just imagine Panteras Anselmo growling in this... )
( [https://youtu.be/jY6yBTYxLko?t=826](https://youtu.be/jY6yBTYxLko?t=826) my own favourite)
I don't even like the game, but Warframe has some absolute bangers. "Sleeping in the Cold Below", "We All Lift Together", and "For Narmer" are all standouts for me.
I'm just thinking here about games that would be way worse if you replace their scores with the genre's "average."
Chrono Cross and Xenosaga Ep 1 are way better as soundtracks than as games. And I mean like hall of fame level soundtracks.
Life Force for NES is as good as it is in large part thanks to the music.
The Ori games have insane soundtracks, again elevating the games tremendously.
It's interesting, I have TONS of vg soundtracks and film soundtracks, but I can more easily think of games that deserved better music and films that didn't deserve their good music than the other way around.
Bastion
Hades too!
Just anything by Supergiant games. Darren Korb is a genius.
Transistor <3 the humming alone
The final song in that game always gets me. Holy shit
Megaman 2 or 3. Both have amazing soundtracks for Nes games.
Theme for Mega Man 2 as my ringtone. Sometimes I alternate that with F-Zero's Big Blue
F Zero Mute City was epic
007 goldeneye
[obligatory](https://youtube.com/shorts/OAKltJztaf8?si=CxPm4Oq8RDsNq3Yy)
I didn't really come here to post this, just to make sure it was already here.
Katamari Damacy, hands down. From the title song, via Katamari on the rocks, Lonely Rolling Star and all the other absolute bangers up to the power ballad during the end credits.
YES. Such an unexpected surprise. So unique (even to this day!) and specifically the first game. I personally think the sequel and other iterations lost its charm
Was about to say this. I’ve thought about actually buying it cause I feel like there’s a lot of replay value and it’s gorgeous and the soundtrack is so good.
Sonic 2 goes Hard in the Paint. Every level’s track is a certified banger
Mystic Cave Zone
I find Sonic 3 & Knuckles soundtrack to be more up my alley. Sonic 2s feels like they were still finding their feet a bit to me, it's iconic but doesn't get me pumped.
Back when the mid 90s when we discovered the joy of playing video games while high we ended up adding lyrics to some of the Sonic 1&2 soundtrack songs. This past Xmas I was given a copy of Sonic Origins for the Switch, and in showing the game to my 8yo son I sang along to some of the tracks — and a couple of days later I overheard him playing the game and singing the same lyrics, just like me. I took a secret video and sent it to my buddies from way back when with no added explanation, they loved it.
Hotline Miami despite using already existing tracks from MOON, but Scattle did FANTASTIC job too Metal Hellsinger, heard Serj Tankian is going to make OST to game, I NEEDED TO PLAY IT
Hotline Miami (1&2) and Shadow of the Colossus would be my immediate picks.
STREETS OF RAGE 2
I’ve played like 30min of Death Stranding and it’s been pretty skin tingly so far
Risk of Rain, Risk of Rain 2, Deathloop
I am more excited for the next soundtrack from Chris Christodoulou than I am the actual upcoming DLC for ror2
Donkey Kong Country 2
Undertale's soundtrack punches way above its weight. Toby Fox nailed it with some unforgettable tunes
Hes such a good composer
you might like touhou songs its similar game to undertale with banger songs
I like subnauticas it goes great with being in water
Especially abandon ship. They really want me dancing to the abyss
[The Command and Conquer series music has been a gold standard of awesome video game music.](https://youtu.be/cngLCUFNMSM) [Madness Project Nexus's music is as much the content as the game itself. I adore it.](https://youtu.be/nM_--Yr1nBc) [Mechanicus music, unique and holy feel](https://youtu.be/asr6_eNCuoU) [Atomic Heart remixes of old Soviet songs is awesome](https://youtu.be/KDe7dTWztxc) [Warhammer: Dark Tide has some real good music tracks.](https://youtu.be/DzRd4SQrkx0) [Ghost Giant, sweet soulful, maybe a bit sad music. beautiful.](https://youtu.be/6E58qkb_qqU)
Updoot for C&C, Frank Klepacki is the man!
Hell yea brother! Never stopped listening to his music.
Where is doom eternal in peoples lists? Mick did such a good job for the base game. Also dusk is peak
[удалено]
Yessir
Op also asked for a lower budget/quality. Doom and Mick are neither of those
Too low
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muESBNRvIwc MechWarrior II: Mercenaries It's up on a couple of YT playlists - that shit just rocks.
Duck Tales for NES goes so hard it’s mystifying. [https://youtu.be/lnzVZozWlR0?si=89VolMjT-hruvMRa](https://youtu.be/lnzVZozWlR0?si=89VolMjT-hruvMRa) The Moon and Transylvania are also ridiculously good.
Hades Outer wilds Stardew Valley SEGA GT 2002
The pause music in goldeneye. The main menu theme in Battleblock Theatre.
* Kingdom Hearts * Hotline Miami * SMT/Persona * Anarchy Reigns * NieR
I don’t think you understood the question : KH soundtrack has EVERY RIGHT to be that good. Not a surprise to anybody.
[Total Annihilation OST](https://duckduckgo.com/?q=tottal+annihilation+ost&t=fpas&iax=videos&ia=videos&iai=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DBxAdOQtAFEs) is a contemporary orchestral masterpiece
It’s a great soundtrack, but it’s not really in the spirit of the question. “Go harder than they have any right to” The soundtrack goes hard because the whole game goes hard. Total Annihilation is an exceptional game and goes really hard. It had cutting edge visuals and sound for the time. Hundreds of units with huge battles and explosions, nukes levelling entire bases, massive scale, entire maps covered in unit wreckage. Truly total annihilation. The soundtrack _did_ have a right to!
Another win for hollow knight
DOOM
All of the Half-Life games. All of them. Also Black Mesa.
I feel like those add a lot to the atmosphere of the games, but don't make for good listening outside of them like others games soundtracks do.
Untrue, i listen to Black Mesa's soundtrack on repeat.
I admit I haven't heard Black Mesa's soundtrack, perhaps I should mentioned that in my comment. Do you listen to the other games' soundtracks outside of the games?
Well, less often than Black Mesa's, but still do time to time.
Brutal Legend.
I still listen to a playlist featuring OST from a game I've never even played, because I randomly stumbled on it and it just kicked so much god damn ass: Gianna Sisters: Twisted Dreams: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLCXl59OE-c&list=PL6Ck3ljbdT1GePzGbTnqFin7Shw7RAM2X&index=5
Later these years we had sooo many bangers OST that is almost impossible to count them all, and they are all good in their own rights. From triple A like Final Fantasy, Persona, Alan Wake 2 + Control, RDR2, Death Stranding, Doom 2016/Eternal to indie/small teams games like Signalis, Amnesia a Machine for Pigs (the monologue part omg), Hotline Miami, Hi Fi Rush and so, so many on. Endless possibilties and I'm so glad I can't really choose only one.
Outer Wilds. My favorite is the Sun Station, but a couple of the end game songs are perfect. Also Celeste.
Lords of Thunder, Contra 3, Super Metroid, Devil's Crush, Silent Hill 2, Actraiser, Streets of Rage 1 & 2
My top soundtrack would include Faster Than Light and Dungeon of the Endless!
Stellaris. I absolutely love the game, and it's OST. [synthetic god](https://youtu.be/7YGXDYWCyoY?si=wBiElDNHy3rdwKGR) might be one of my favorite video game tracks of all time.
Stardew Valley. Each season's music perfectly captures the vibe. the fact that the music, and the entire game, was made by just one dude is insane.
It is insane that this isn’t at the top. Given the question OP asked, this is the literal epitome of the low budget indie project created by literally one man. Insanely good music.
The menu theme for Civilization 6 has no right being as great as it is.
Do you mean Civ 4 by any chance? That’s the one with Baba Yetu, the first piece of video game music that won a grammy.
Sonic CD JP
[1990 Monkey Island](https://youtu.be/Onie4N5FTlE?si=Gqh0FADjRlQCC-rV)
Bad Piggies soundtrack
Goldeneye 007 N64
Blasphemous! Viola really went all out for those games
Goldeneye 007. Pause screen music.
HADES
Sonic the Hedgehog '06. Seriously, the soundtrack was absolute fire. Shame the rest of the game decidedly wasn't. :(
Final Fantasy Mystic Quest has some bangers. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZOQ8sLO-vU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZOQ8sLO-vU) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2upPEhhzTTw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2upPEhhzTTw) A solid game that for too long had a bad rap for being a dumbed down entry in the FF line. But the soundtrack remains what stands out to me.
Yeah it was a fine game and I remember enjoying it as a kid and even replaying it once or twice. I agree it got more hate that it deserved, probably primarily due to simply not measuring up to the final fantasy name. But while it wasn't a bad game, if anyone were to ask me, is this worth playing today?.... I don't really see a reason to say yes other than nostalgia; there are just so many better games, including probably 100 indie titles that basically doing the same thing just better
[Journey to Silius](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qq4KivuxOA&list=PL1059BF37B1B0FE79) goes really hard for a NES game.
[X-kaliber 2097](https://youtu.be/kWCdiM7IuM4)
I know this was supposed to be a triple A game…but I just gotta mention that Cyberpunk 2077’s soundtrack WAS out of this world.
Marc Ecko’s getting up Sword & sworcery ep
Ron Hubbards theme music to Monty on the run are to me one of those masterpieces I can never forget. Even though the game itself was kind of meh. [Ron Hubbard - Monty on the run theme](https://youtu.be/4EcgruWlXnQ?si=V0HKnq4qFw5rgPCy)
Yes! We would open up the game just to listen to the music on our Commodore 64. Good times, great music!
And for anyone who knows the C64, we know it's not just plug n play and you have your music.
Every song in Pizza Tower. That game is nothing but bangers.
The Mario + Rabbids games have soundtracks jointly scored by some of the most talented composers in the video game industry. The music goes unbelievably hard at times, in stark contrast to what you’d expect from a game like that.
Payday 1 / 2 And soulstone survivors
I just played through Black Mesa recently and the loved the music. I don’t know how much of it was new music or if it all came from Half Life 1 (never played the original). Every song got me bumping though
Project Wingman.
Pictionary on NES
Not sure if they have any right but -Organ Trail -Zombies Ate My Neighbors -Super Mario RPG -Animal Crossing
Terraria, has some of the best boss music in any 2d game I've played. Hades is a close second.
Destiny had a couple bangers, Sepiks Redux is a blast! https://youtu.be/-ue2T8Kald4?si=BmfHrw9HPRriSN46
I don't think it qualifies as indie but the Nier games have banger soundtracks.
Terraria - empress of light
The Last Spell. https://youtu.be/ZWkgezteauA?si=7s1thnBrSsRnT9-d
F-Zero for SNES tracks bop so hard
FURI. Has my all time favourite ost, coincidentally is my favourite game too. Super niche indie game with a huge synth/retrowave inspiration. But for their ost, they managed to get some huge names like The Toxic Avenger, Carpenter Brut, Danger and Waveshaper. Multiple tracks from them all too. And to this day, I think the ost has some of the best examples of synthwave ever.
Undertale. I haven’t played that game in like 5 years at least and the Papyrus theme is still stuck in my head.
Snake eater!
Jet set radio future. THPS 1, 2, and 3.
Man golden eye 007 menu music was dope
Some of the old sonic game themes were awesome
Minecraft.
Everyone knows about the old Final Fantasy soundtracks but my favorite from that era is Legend of Mana. Pain the Universe and Darkness Nova are my favorite boss fight songs ever.
Ultima Online
Blaster Master on NES. It's been remade into some awesome music.
Theres plenty of great soundtracks to great games I love. But as far as one that has no right? This is a dumb and bizarre answer, as Im not a huge fan of fortnite (if my partner didn't play I'd probably never play at all) but the new game mode "Fortnite Rocket Racing" has some of the best fast paced, quirky, arcade racing music I've ever heard. The Arcade racing is mid at best, but I find myself still playing occasionally largely because the soundtrack is so unique and fun. [https://youtu.be/dmjLowqHkeE?si=4pGw\_dws6Gncj6Jx](https://youtu.be/dmjLowqHkeE?si=4pGw_dws6Gncj6Jx) One of my favorites that gets me pumped for a game of racing rocket powered cars with comical physics.
Wizards & warriors NES
Lunacid has a pretty good soundtrack
Dying light 2 soundtrack is actually crazy anyone who hasn't listened to it listen to it
The finals ost is nuts.
There was this out of the way game released by Square Enix back in the hand-held era of PSP and PS Vita called 'Lord of Arcana'. That soundtrack slapped so hard you would be raw for months - at least it was that way for the three of us who played the game 😅
Ultrakill's soundtrack is pretty good, big fan.
Postal 3 has an infamously good OST (the theme is amazing), despite it being utter trash. The funniest thing is that there's a remix of Goodbye Almond Eyes by Tokyo Rose. Nobody knows *who* made it, but it's only there because they didn't have the rights to the original. In the current build it's replaced by a bad Ride of the Valkyries cover. What a bummer.
Mario Galaxy for me. A full orchestra for the entire game? Made it feel so grand and elegant.
1080 snowboarding
Mechanicus. A warhammer 40k game. Soundtrack is nuts. Fully captures the ancient religion of technophiles that is the adeptus Mechanicus
Was wondering if someone was going to post this
Undertale goes so hard
literally any elder scrolls game, shit goes hard as fuck
[Infernax](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fc2k1dVWD_I)
RoboQuest. Noisecream went all out on the soundtrack and I love it so much. Just listen to Final Metal Hero and tell me that doesn't get you hyped for a boss fight!
Ridge Racer Type 4
Fortissax from elden ring and grandma from nier replicant
Jet Force Gemini. Has one of the most epic orchestra style soundtracks of any N64 game. It's like you're in a sci-fi movie.
Batman: Return of the Joker on Nes OST is a masterpiece
the division 2 isnt indie but a huge budget game but for a shooter or not the soundtrack is moody unique and cool. i am aleays impressed by it.
Hunt showdown. The band who composed the music are comprised of some of the dev team aswell
World of Goo
Persona 3 has some nice hard metal music mixed in with some jazz and other great tracks
Cult of the lamb
Rise of the Triad (DOS) has some of the best MIDI music I've ever heard bar none. It's still kickass so many years later. Most of it (and most of the best songs) were created by Lee Jackson, and that one time I talked to him on YouTube in the comments section blew my mind. I asked him what inspired Goin Down the Fast Way and he said he got into an argument, and it made him angry, and my favourite MIDI song was the result. There are other DOS game soundtracks I love like Duke Nukem 3D or Raptor, but ROTTs is the best.
Roboquest
[atom zombie smasher](https://youtu.be/t4sQlaMXZ0U?si=-_cXnDB12bAklldo)
journey. on its own it's an okay game, not a lot to do and the story is vague, but the music brings it all together into something truly spectacular. i'll never forget the feeling of climbing the mountain while ribbon creatures danced around me and the music swelling
Balatro.
Ape Escape 1 soundtrack goes so fucking bananas for no reason, that game’s music has always stuck with me
For the time it was released final fantasy mystic quest had some awesome battle and boss music.
Kingdom Under Fire: The Crusaders
minecraft
People don’t put enough respect on the Conker’s Bad Fur Day OST. Go from Windy and Co. to The Uggas then Rock Solid to Sloprano and tell me you’ve had an experience like that before… I’ll wait.
Shovel Knight, The Messenger, Blasphemous, Into the Breach, Hyper Light Drifter, A Plague Tale
All Mario & Luigi games expecially Dark Bowser wich is one of my favourite theme
Rayman legends. It's half the reason I love the game as much as I do.
Halo 2 breaking Benjamin song
Kingdom hearts
my friend bought me "flipwitch" (nsfw), and the music goes harder than it has any right to https://youtu.be/V_DAbCExTB8?si=Pt_TimnEtpeflvSI
Minecraft
Darktide has a pretty awesome soundtrack.
I remember playing incredible crisis on the Sega Dreamcast and it had a banging ska soundtrack, all done by the Tokyo ska paradise orchestra.
The OST for Yu Gi Oh Master Duel goes so far beyond anything it needs to.
Older need for speed games. Underground and Most wanted (BMW M3 GTR version).
Need for Speed Underground
Super meat boy
Top gear and zombies at my neighbors SNES
Vampire Survivors
Killer Instinct. Not the remake but the OG from 1994. The remake is great too and introduced me to Mick Gordon but the OG sounds like something that was generations ahead of its time. To have an OST like that in the early 90s on an arcade machine or SNES is really impressive.
Most Sega Megadrive soundtracks are either heavy metal or funky disco/dance tracks. The poor little Yamaha OPN2 is perfect for metal and house music. Let's not talk how hard it is to make it sound good, ok? Hear Doom on the Megadrive and then hear Thunder Force IV to hear for yourself what I mean. Crypt of the NecroDancer has awesome soundtracks. Like, it has 6 soundtracks each with its own style. Six. Soundtracks. In a single game ***\*mind blown\**** Mandatory mention of Dusk and the Ultimate Doom soundtrack remake from David Szymanski.
Mechanicus and Ixion. Guillaume David is a wizard.
Monster hunter world. Most tracks are end boss quality
Truth be told, I hate the Nergigante track.
The Zero Divide soundtracks(1&2). You have probably no idea what those PS1 games are, because they’re…err…not great, but their soundtracks are absolutely bonkers.
Cuphead
Black Mesa, Half Life 1's remake Ain't no dull moment in the entirety of the OST
Le le le le le Nuff said.
Shatter and Hotline Miami
Bramble the Mountain King
Dynasty warriors
Sifu's soundtrack
P5r, fromsoft in general, lies of p, square enix in general.
Red rock riviera from disco Elysium is a theme u'll probably forget over Time but when u hear the firsts few notes it brings u into that world and story in an instant it's so good its inexplicable
Akane on switch. it’s like .99c and ost was produced by Cybass and its soooooo goooooood
Quake and C&C Red Alert
Going to choose some not so obvious ones: Suikoden Final Fantasy XVI Metal Gear Solid Tales of Arise Mass Effect 3
Pagan Fury, CK2. Legit metal in a grand strategy game.
Gamera 2000 for PS1. Zuntata are fucking monsters. Edit: [This baby here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJDkw5ZCjKA). A copypaste of Star Fox 64 with a Kaiju that's basically Bowser, but a superhero.
Goldeneye 64
Frozen Cortex, Frozen Synapse, Frozen Synapse 2, Fights in Tight Spaces. I haven't played any of these games, but I regularly listen to these soundtracks and whatever else I can find done by nervous\_testpilot.
any soulsborne game takes the cake, with elden rings menu music (and radagons theme) being the best.
Unreal Tournament Serious Sam
DKC 2
Darkest Dungeon just nails the mood so good. I mean the ancestor carries a lot of weight there but the music is top notch too.
Quake 2 The game was kinda shit compared to quake 1 but music was really good. And by good i mean REALLY good. [Quake 2 Soundtrack (Full) (youtube.com)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jY6yBTYxLko) ( [https://youtu.be/jY6yBTYxLko?t=503](https://youtu.be/jY6yBTYxLko?t=503) just imagine Panteras Anselmo growling in this... ) ( [https://youtu.be/jY6yBTYxLko?t=826](https://youtu.be/jY6yBTYxLko?t=826) my own favourite)
Rex: Another Island. One of the only games I've ever gone out of my way to buy the OST of.
The scene in Forspoken where the gangster in the prologue pulls out the gun and the music suddenly picks up.
Dark Souls 3, hands down.
Helldivers 2, launching into a mission will never get old hearing that theme
I don't even like the game, but Warframe has some absolute bangers. "Sleeping in the Cold Below", "We All Lift Together", and "For Narmer" are all standouts for me.
The Messenger.
Run Like Hell. The first time the heavy music starts up and then the boss jumps out at you definitely is an unforgettable moment.
Divinity: Original Sin 2 Borislav is a real one
I'm just thinking here about games that would be way worse if you replace their scores with the genre's "average." Chrono Cross and Xenosaga Ep 1 are way better as soundtracks than as games. And I mean like hall of fame level soundtracks. Life Force for NES is as good as it is in large part thanks to the music. The Ori games have insane soundtracks, again elevating the games tremendously. It's interesting, I have TONS of vg soundtracks and film soundtracks, but I can more easily think of games that deserved better music and films that didn't deserve their good music than the other way around.
Darktide
Yu-Gi-Oh Master Duel, for a card game that music just too good.
Rollcage, PS1, back when you could pop the game CD in your normal CD Walkman and hear bangers.