The Greatest Game Music

Reviews of truly outstanding game music

Most recent review

Genesis Noir Soundtrack

Genesis Noir Soundtrack, Skillbard, 2021

Few 2021 games were as deliciously high-concept as Genesis Noir. Its gameplay – inspired by point-and-click adventures – was relatively sparse and straightforward. What really set Genesis Noir apart were its unique art style and narrative. True to its title, the game mixed a film noir story with musings on the nature of man, time and the universe. More to the point – Genesis Noir used the events of the Big Bang as a metaphor for the archetypal crime story of a jealous rival trying to kill the protagonist’s former lover. It is now up to our hero No Man – a watchmaker representing time – to alter the course of history, just as the universe is about to come into existence. In the making since 2014, Genesis Noir was well-received by critics upon release, even though several reviewers pointed out that the game resembled an animated movie, allowing only for limited player interaction.

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Featured review

Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories Soundtrack

Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories, Tenpei Sato, 2006

Nippon Ichi struck gold with Disgaea: Hour of Darkness – quite unexpectedly, given its niche nature as a strategy RPG with strong parody elements and a ton of anime and manga references. What was even more surprising was that Hour of Darkness sold even better in the United States than in Japan! For the sequel Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories, Nippon Ichi understandably chose to tweak and polish – rather than significantly alter – Hour of Darkness‘ formula. The result was another hugely in-depth strategy game that reviewers and genre fans welcomed with open arms – some even regarding it as a better title than Hour of Darkness.

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Disgaea: Hour of Darkness Soundtrack

Disgaea: Heart of Darkness Soundtrack, 2003, Tenpei Sato

It’s always fun to cheer on the little game that could and see it not only succeed, but turn into a burgeoning franchise selling millions of copies – without losing its charmingly eccentric character. Before the release of Disgaea: Hour of Darkness, developer Nippon Ichi had been releasing one game a year, constantly on the precipice of closure should that game fail. All that was about to change with Hour of Darkness, a zany strategy RPG starring Laharl, son of King Krichevskoy, overlord of the Netherworld – who passed away while Laharl was sleeping for a couple of years. Setting Laharl’s quest to reclaim the throne in a setting like the Demon Netherworld gave the developers liberty to apply an “anything goes” approach, according to producer Sohei Niikawa. The result was a strategy RPG that was as deep as it was irreverent (not many RPGs can claim exploding penguins as their mascots).

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Record of Lodoss War: Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth

Record of Lodoss War: Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth Soundtrack, Peposoft, 2021

Few fantasy franchises have enjoyed the same longevity – and have produced as many media products – as Record of Lodoss War. First seeing the light of day as a series of fantasy novels published from 1988 onwards, author Ryo Mizuno’s creation spawned numerous mangas, animes and video games (not to mention soundtrack releases). At the time of writing, the still burgeoning franchise’s latest offspring was 2021’s Record of Lodoss War: Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth. Neither one of the two companies behind the game – Team Ladybug and Why so serious? – were particularly well-known. That being said, Team Ladybug’s previous two games (Touhou: Luna Nights and Shin Megami Tensei: Synchronicity Prologue) had been well-received. Using Touhou: Luna Nights’ Mogura engine, Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth clearly took its inspiration from Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. Upon release, reviewers found much to like about the Metroidvania-style gameplay and lovingly rendered 2D graphics.

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Featured review

World of Demons Soundtrack

World of Demons Soundtrack, Naofumi Harada / Hiroshi Yamaguchi, 2021

It’s very rare for a game to receive a limited release in a handful of second-tier markets, get pulled from store shelves within a few months – only to receive a second, worldwide release a full three years later. That’s precisely what happened to World of Demons, PlatinumGames’ first published foray into mobile gaming (it’s hard to ignore the fact that the developer’s previous mobile title – much-touted all-star JRPG Lost Order – was never released). Given PlatinumGames’ reputation as the action game auteurs behind titles like the Bayonetta franchise and Nier: Automata, World of Demons‘ announcement as a hack and slash inspired by Japanese mythology caused some excitement. Ultimately, reviews for the game were respectable rather than extraordinary, with critics praising its combat and art direction while finding fault with World of Demons‘ repetitive level structure.

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Returnal Soundtrack

Returnal Soundtrack, Bobby Krlic, 2021

Among early titles for the PlayStation 5, Returnal was probably publisher Sony’s biggest system exclusive. Developed by Housemarque, the game offered an intriguing mix of third-person shooting and rogue-like elements. Each time astronaut Selene – stranded on the alien planet Atropos – dies after fighting extraterrestrial creatures, she is resurrected, and her environment changes. This surreal time loop plays into Returnal’s dive into psychological horror, as Selene is haunted by visions of her own home and must piece together the mystery of this Hades-like nightmare world through audio logs. While the game’s difficulty level and lack of a save feature drew some ire from gamers, critical reception of Returnal was strong overall, with reviewers highlighting the game’s unexpectedly well-developed story and immersive atmosphere as some of Returnal’s strongest suits.

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Nessa no Hoshi Soundtrack

Nessa no Hoshi Soundtrack, Kiyoshi Yoshikawa, 1997

The 32-bit era deserves to be remembered as one of gaming’s most experimental periods. Moving from two-dimensional pixel-based graphics into the polygonal 3D space forced developers to get creative and develop new gameplay concepts – sometimes through what feels in retrospect like try-and-error. One such experiment that now seems somewhat bizarre was Nessa no Hoshi. The game was an incongruous mix of first-person adventure and 3d-fighting games. The fact that Nessa no Hoshi was set on an alien desert planet might explain the game’s less than appealing graphics, presented in many dreary shades of brown. Still, there was significant ambition behind this game. It made extensive use of full-motion videos, to the point that Nessa no Hoshi was published on two CDs. The fact that developer Itochu was part of one of Japan’s largest companies might explain the surprising amount of resources invested into the game.

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