The Best Music In Games

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Video games have improved in many ways during the last couple of decades. One of the most impressive upward steps has to be the music production that now comes as a part of the package. Long gone is the time of chiptunes and silly synths. It’s not unusual for games now to have soundtracks worthy of Hollywood blockbusters.

There are many players enjoying more casual games on their phones. Unfortunately, most mobile games don’t boast such impressive musical scores as their AAA counterparts due to their significantly lower budgets. The situation is similar for people enjoying the iGaming scene. Only the best online casinos will reward players with great tunes - on top of generous bonuses, fun games, and top-notch security. Outside of that top-tier list, players will often put on their favorite video game OST to enhance the fun. If you’ve grown tired of spinning the same Kenny Rogers record while playing, this article is for you. Enjoy this list of games with the best music – with a country twist!

The Big Guns

It would be hard to talk about this topic without mentioning the biggest gun of them all – Red Dead Redemption 2. This global hit from 2018 comes with over 60 hours of music composed by Woody Jackson, an awarded composer who worked on the first RDR game, but also titles like L.A. Noire and GTA V. RDR2 has incredible Enio Morricone vibes, bringing to mind the golden age western soundscapes.

Another huge name we have to mention is The Last of Us, a critically acclaimed adventure game from 2013. This game got so big that it got a sequel and a hit TV adaptation on HBO, with season two coming in soon. The soundtrack was written by Gustavo Santaolalla, who had previously won two Oscars for film scores. This was his first foray into the gaming world, and he performed masterfully, bringing both deep emotions and amazing tension where needed. To top that, two songs by Hank Williams also appear in the game.

While not an original soundtrack, the radio stations in Fallout: New Vegas provide a fantastic set of country classics. The fictional Mojave Music Radio spins non-stop hits like Marty Robbins’ “Big Iron” and “Heartaches by the Number” by Guy Mitchell to name just a couple.

Space Bluegrass

It’s not just cowboys and the vast prairies that get a good musical background, but also outer space. In the 2022 simulation game Hardspace: Shipbreaker, you play as a (surprise!) shipbreaker, a space worker who dismantles spaceships in a space junkyard. The game deals with the themes of labor, and it also provides a fantastic compilation of guitar Americana, but also synth remixes of those tunes that play in moments of danger.

Rebel Galaxy is best described as a trucking game in space, and it came equipped with a soundtrack to match. A bit on the harder side, it is full of amazing blues-rock tunes by Blues Saraceno, Nick Nolan, and The Loomers.

The indie hit Outer Wilds is one of those games that are best enjoyed if you know as little as possible about them. However, we can tell you that music plays an important part in the game. The composer Andrew Prahlow did an outstanding job recording some fantastic melodies on banjo for the game.

Indie Darlings

It would be a crime not to mention The Flame in the Flood, a 2017 indie survival game. In it we play as a young girl named Scout who wanders across a massive flooded river on a raft with her dog. The game features an amazing soundtrack composed by Chuck Ragan of Hot Water Music. Just like the landscape, the music is also very reminiscent of the Mississippi Delta, Bayou of Louisiana, and the Everglades, and is an absolute delight to listen to.

Last but not least is Where the Water Tastes Like Wine, a road-trip game in which the player collects quintessentially American stories on the road. The composer Ryan Ike did his best to encompass the entirety of Americana sound into 30+ songs and the result is often breathtaking.

Conclusion

Sometimes we find amazing gems in places we don’t expect them to. The same could be said about these musical nuggets of gold scattered throughout the world of video games. For those willing to forage deeper, there are treasures in the form of tunes still to be found on that frontier.

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