6. Super Mario Wonder
The soundtrack for Super Mario Wonder checks off all the usual Super Mario music boxes: bouncy, happy and nothing but one ear worm after another. Sometimes players take these soundtracks for granted because they’re so closely integrated into the game experience. Surprisingly, though, they’re a pretty good listen on their own.
7. Lies of P
While some of Lies of P’s boss battle music wasn’t incredibly memorable, by and large the score to the game was excellent and did a great job of suggesting a time and place. Namely, an alternative history 19th century Europe. The game’s diegetic (in other words, music that’s inside the game world) songs were moving and an important gameplay mechanic, as collecting them impacted the main character’s humanity level. The message: music helps humanize us. Agreed.
8. Starfield
Inon Zur is a reliably excellent composer, whose soaring orchestral scores rival anything by Hollywood’s greats. The Starfield music has been out there for some time (note the video is from 2021), giving music lovers a taste of what was to come. For some gamers, Starfield was a mixed success, but for lovers of game music, it’s a triumph of classic score writing.
9. Persona 5 Tactica
The soundtrack to Persona 5 Tactica is the only one on our list to venture into the worlds of not just electronic music, but pop, jazz fusion and rock. It’s quite the collection of styles, bound together by amazing energy and excellent performances.
10. Baldur’s Gate 3
Baldur’s Gate 3 has captured just about every award this year, and deservedly so. Could it’s score be as great as its gameplay, story and characters? Yes. Yes it could. Composed by Borislav Slavov, the orchestral music is a catalogue of fantasy game cues, by turns powerful, lyrical, introspective and extroverted. In other words, just like the game. One of the best.