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TOP 50 GAME SOUNDTRACKS

The soundtracks that made video game history

50
SOUNDTRACK

A curated selection of the 50 most iconic video game soundtracks in history. Each title was chosen for cultural impact, compositional quality and sonic innovation. Click on a game to listen to its OST on Spotify.

🥇

Elden Ring

2022Action RPG
🎼 Yuka Kitamura, Tsukasa Saitoh

A monumental orchestra that pairs silence with epic chaos with absolute mastery.

epicorchestraldark
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🥈

NieR Automata

2017Action RPG
🎼 Keiichi Okabe

It changes style in real time with gameplay — rock, choir, ambient — always emotionally devastating.

emotionalexperimentalchoral
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🥉

Journey

2012Adventure
🎼 Austin Wintory

The first video game soundtrack nominated for a Grammy. Every note tells the journey.

emotionalorchestralindie
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#4

Shadow of the Colossus

2005Action Adv.
🎼 Kow Otani

Silence and grandeur in alternation: the quiet between boss fights is part of the soundtrack.

epicorchestralmelancholic
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#5

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

2015RPG
🎼 Marcin Przybyłowicz

Slavic folk and orchestral blend into an atmosphere you feel in your skin while riding through the fields.

atmosphericfolkorchestral
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#6

Persona 5

2016JRPG
🎼 Shoji Meguro

Jazz-fusion, acid jazz and J-pop — the coolest soundtrack ever written for a video game.

jazzcoolmodern
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#7

Hollow Knight

2017Metroidvania
🎼 Christopher Larkin

Indie budget, triple-A result. Every biome has its own orchestral theme full of melancholy.

orchestralmelancholicindie
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#8

Bloodborne

2015Action RPG
🎼 Ryan Amon, Tsukasa Saitoh

Gregorian choirs and distorted violins that convey the madness of Yharnam better than any text.

darkorchestralhorror
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#9

Red Dead Redemption 2

2018Open World
🎼 Woody Jackson

The American West recreated note by note: Americana, country and silence that make you feel truly there.

atmosphericamericanaepic
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#10

Final Fantasy XIV

2013MMORPG
🎼 Masayoshi Soken

Over 1,000 tracks across 10 years of expansions. Soken is probably the most prolific composer in gaming.

epicorchestralvariety
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#11

Celeste

2018Platformer
🎼 Lena Raine

Chiptune and ambient that grow alongside the protagonist: the music captures anxiety perfectly.

emotionalambientindie
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#12

Hades

2020Roguelike
🎼 Darren Korb

Supergiant once again reinvented a sonic genre with Greek-metal-electronic that nobody knew they wanted.

metalexperimentalenergetic
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#13

God of War

2018Action Adv.
🎼 Bear McCreary

Norse choirs and tribal percussion that turn every encounter into a Nordic epic saga.

epicorchestralnordic
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#14

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

2019Action RPG
🎼 Yuka Kitamura

Biwa, koto and Western orchestra in a Japanese-classical hybrid of absolute tension.

japaneseorchestraltension
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#15

Dark Souls III

2016Action RPG
🎼 Yuka Kitamura, Motoi Sakuraba

The trilogy's finale with the most musically elaborate boss fights in the entire series.

epicorchestraldark
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#16

Ghost of Tsushima

2020Action Adv.
🎼 Ilan Eshkeri, Shigeru Umebayashi

Samurai, shakuhachi and koto in an OST that sounds like a Kurosawa film.

japanesecinematicambient
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#17

Disco Elysium

2019RPG
🎼 British Sea Power

Post-rock and decadent ambient — it sounds exactly like a city dying beautifully.

post-rockambientmelancholic
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#18

Outer Wilds

2019Adventure
🎼 Andrew Prahlow

Acoustic folk that perfectly captures the solitude and wonder of space exploration.

folkambientmelancholic
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#19

Transistor

2014Action RPG
🎼 Darren Korb

Electronic-folk with Ashley Barrett's voice in an elegant and painful cyberpunk future.

electronicfolkemotional
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#20

Bastion

2011Action RPG
🎼 Darren Korb

Acoustic frontier trip-hop: Darren Korb invented a musical genre for this game.

americanatrip-hopindie
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#21

Undertale

2015RPG
🎼 Toby Fox

Made by a single person, Megalovania has become one of the most recognizable tracks in gaming history.

chiptuneemotionalindie
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#22

Ori and the Blind Forest

2015Platformer
🎼 Gareth Coker

A 70-piece orchestra for an indie platformer. The sacrifice moment still brings tears today.

orchestralemotionalfantasy
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#23

Cuphead

2017Run & Gun
🎼 Kristofer Maddigan

1930s big band jazz recorded live with real musicians — 100% authentic.

jazzswingvintage
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#24

Death Stranding

2019Action
🎼 Ludvig Forssell

Low Roar, Silent Poets and an ambient OST that is a meditative experience, just like the game itself.

ambientemotionalcinematic
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#25

Control

2019Action Adv.
🎼 Martin Stig Andersen

Industrial and noise that make the Brutalist Building feel like something alive and hostile.

industrialexperimentaldark
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#26

Silent Hill 2

2001Horror
🎼 Akira Yamaoka

The definitive horror OST: distorted guitar and claustrophobic ambient that never lets you rest.

horrorambientdark
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#27

Hotline Miami

2012Action
🎼 Various Artists

Synthwave and hypnotic electronics that push you forward in a violent and beautiful loop.

synthwaveelectronicenergetic
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#28

Hyper Light Drifter

2016Action RPG
🎼 Disasterpeace

Hazy ambient that speaks of illness and loneliness without using words.

ambientemotionalindie
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#29

Stardew Valley

2016Simulation
🎼 ConcernedApe

Made entirely by one person. Each season has its own sound — winter is literally melancholic.

chiptunefolkrelaxing
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#30

Hi-Fi Rush

2023Rhythm Action
🎼 Various Artists

The entire world pulses to the beat of music. Rock and J-pop fused in a game where gameplay is the soundtrack.

rockj-popenergetic
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#31

Cyberpunk 2077

2020RPG
🎼 Marcin Przybyłowicz, P.T. Adamczyk

Three genres for three districts: body, tech and spirit — each neighborhood has its own sound.

electronicrockcyberpunk
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#32

Alan Wake 2

2023Horror
🎼 Petri Alanko

Old Gods of Asgard and a musical chapter make this OST the boldest of 2023.

rockexperimentalhorror
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#33

The Last of Us

2013Action Adv.
🎼 Gustavo Santaolalla

Acoustic guitar and silence: simplicity is the secret of the most emotional OST of the decade.

acousticemotionalcinematic
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#34

Horizon Zero Dawn

2017Action RPG
🎼 Joris de Man, The Flight

Tribal and futuristic at once: primitive percussion over futuristic electronic textures.

orchestralelectronicepic
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#35

Katana Zero

2019Action
🎼 Bill Kiley

Neon synthwave that keeps you glued to the controller. Rhythm and gameplay are one and the same.

synthwaveelectronicenergetic
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#36

Demon's Souls

2009Action RPG
🎼 Shunsuke Kida

The first Souls game with an already masterful OST. Tower Knight still gives goosebumps.

orchestraldarkepic
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#37

Lies of P

2023Soulslike
🎼 Sangkyu Lee

Piano, orchestra and violin in a Victorian aesthetic that surpasses many triple-A titles.

orchestraldarkclassical
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#38

Resident Evil Village

2021Horror
🎼 Marcin Przybyłowicz

Lady Dimitrescu has a full operatic orchestral theme. Nobody saw it coming.

orchestralhorrorclassical
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#39

Nioh 2

2020Action RPG
🎼 Kenji Fujita

Taiko, shamisen and orchestral fused with metal — Sengoku Japan has never sounded like this.

japaneseorchestralenergetic
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#40

Little Nightmares II

2021Puzzle Adv.
🎼 Tobias Lilja

Distorted sounds and music-box melodies — the contrast between innocence and horror is the signature of this OST.

horrorambientmelancholic
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#41

Alien: Isolation

2014Survival
🎼 Various Artists

A reworking of Jerry Goldsmith's themes that captures fear in a scientific and precise way.

horrorambienttension
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#42

Dark Souls

2011Action RPG
🎼 Motoi Sakuraba

Sif the Great Grey Wolf. Ornstein & Smough. The OST that defined the sound of the soulslike genre.

orchestraldarkepic
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#43

Persona 5 Royal

2019JRPG
🎼 Shoji Meguro

The expanded version of Persona 5 with new themes even more iconic, including Throw Away Your Mask.

jazzfunkmodern
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#44

Halo 3

2007FPS
🎼 Martin O'Donnell, Michael Salvatori

One Final Effort is one of the most epic tracks ever composed for a video game. End of discussion.

orchestralepicchoral
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#45

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

2011RPG
🎼 Jeremy Soule

Dragonborn is recognizable anywhere. 280+ tracks of pure Nordic atmosphere.

orchestralepicnordic
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#46

Minecraft

2011Sandbox
🎼 C418

Sweden and Wet Hands: minimalist ambient that shaped the childhood of an entire generation.

ambientminimalistindie
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#47

Portal 2

2011Puzzle
🎼 Mike Morasky

Still Alive and Want You Gone: the smartest musical comedy ever written for a video game.

electroniccomedicexperimental
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#48

Mass Effect 2

2010RPG
🎼 Jack Wall, Sam Hulick

Suicide Mission is the ultimate closing track — it builds tension in an unsurpassable way.

electronicorchestralepic
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#49

Ori and the Will of the Wisps

2020Platformer
🎼 Gareth Coker

An even larger orchestra than the first chapter, with a finale that is pure emotional catharsis.

orchestralemotionalfantasy
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#50

Disco Elysium: The Final Cut

2021RPG
🎼 British Sea Power

The voiced version adds further depth to an OST already among the most original of the decade.

post-rockambientexperimental
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