Music really has become a huge part of modern gaming, the best examples not just elevating the game as you play it, but sticking with you as the original compositions lodge themselves in your mind to emerge while you’re doing the dishes, waiting in line at the supermarket or other incongruous moments.
The difficulty with game music is just how varied it is. There’s sweeping orchestral scores, there’s jazzy chip tunes, there’s songs, there’s ambient music, regional influence and soundtracks that look to encompass hundreds of years of history.
For us, as we tried to consume as many soundtracks as we could this year, there were some clear standouts, but we had to pick one.
Of all the great video game music created this year, Ghost of Yotei’s really hits the high notes – this lacklustre pun absolutely intended. Composed by Toma Otowa, a multi-award-winning film and video game composer, the sweeping and beautiful compositions that accompany the player bring to life the world of Ghost of Yotei through a rich and culturally textured score.
What sets Tomo’s work apart for Ghost of Yotei is the attention to detail, seamlessly blending traditional Japanese instruments (like shamisen, shakuhachi, biwa, and Ainu instruments such as tonkori and mukkuri) with Western influences. There’s even a delightful smattering of spaghetti western-style elements to the score, a perfect fit for the revenge story of protagonist Atsu. Overall, a unique cultural fusion is blended, managing to complement the bombastic gore-soaked action whilst also providing the quiet melancholy that underpins the sorrow-tinged beats of Atsu’s emotional journey.
– Ade
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 – Runner Up
It’s rare that I listen to a game’s soundtrack when I’m not actively playing the game, but then again Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a rare game. If you were to listen to the somber, melancholly of “Gustave” or the beautiful violins of “Firecamp – Sciel,” you might be surprised later when you hear “In Lumiere’s Name,” a tango for a battle with a mime, or “Is it a Gestral or a Volleyball?” which is at least as silly as it sounds. They could be from completely different games – though both French, obviously. Or perhaps the epic distorted guitars of “Une vie à peindre” would be more of a surprise?
Much like the rest it, the soundtrack of Expedition 33 is emotional, whimsical, silly, heavy, and French all at once. The soundtrack is as varied as it could possibly be, from slow, morosely beautiful, smaller tracks perfect for the dramatic brooding over the most recent unbelievable revelations, all the way up to the huge heavy hitting boss battles that really get your heart pounding when you need to try and keep focused on parrying and dodging. Frankly, it’s a delight all the way through. It’s clear that composer Lorien Testard poured a lot of love into this soundtrack and it shows as, truly, one of the best I’ve experienced ever.
– Gamoc
Skate Story – Runner Up
How do you soundtrack a game about a glass skateboarding demon on their way to eat the moon? If you’re Sam Eng and you’re making Skate Story, you draft in an entire indie band and let them loose on your gorgeous, existential exploration of the underworld. There’s a lot of leeway in what that might sound like, but with the neon, crystal-infused, ephemeral visuals, it made sense to bring electronica, synth, and a retro-modern outlook that speaks to the 1980s as much as it does the 2020s.
This is a true album too. Skate Story Vol.1 is an auditory journey that’s as essential as the game it soundtracks, and you’ll find yourself travelling back to the half-places and looming edifices of the demon’s journey as you sink ever further into Blood Cultures’ retro-pop.
– Dom
Honourable Mentions (in alphabetical order)
That’s this weekend’s awards wrapped up. Join us again tomorrow for another gong, just not a musical one.
