Video games are not mere time killers. They are albums of sound, aesthetics, animation and narrative.
This community is in appreciation of that. Screenshots, fanart, animations, gameplay clips. It is all welcome here.
The one common thread should be an eye for the aesthetic. This is not a place to discuss mechanics or stats, but to show off simply the artistic, expressed through the video game medium.
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Many games feature amazing music, but certain games take it beyond even that.
Games like DOOM are known for the "procedural" composition they use to marry gameplay and sound, and not only that, the way the music is a perfect tonal match to what is happening.
What games have you played that feature music that doesn't just make you notice it, but also pulls you further in?
Diablo 1. I have a hard time playing the game anymore, it's super clunky, but the guitar music from the overworld fucking slaps
Agreed. The Tristram theme has no business sounding as good as it does. I
I've been playing Halo 3: ODST for the first time recently. I have to say, I love the soundtrack and it often makes the game feel very lonely. It's perfect.
Anima Flux has a sick soundtrack! Caught myself playing longer just because those tracks are straight fire
Nier Automata
The soundtrack is integral to the experience.
The credits sequence, IMO, is the current high for games as a medium.
When the chorus kicks in on end of yorha, after you ask for help, still gives me goosebumps.
Not normally that kind of person, but the way all aspects of design, music, story, and user input collide make it the most impactful experience I've ever had in a game.
As spoiled by the picture I chose for the post, my pick is Katana Zero.
Each stage has its own track, and it is not just background noise. Zero carries with him a walkman, and each level begins with him pulling it out at putting his earphones in, then starting the track as the name of the song appears on screen.
Whenever Zero isn't himself listening to something, any music heard is environmental, like the soft background music of a hotel lobby, or the annoying low tones passing through the walls from a party at the neighbors.
If you're a fan, and didn't know, there is an expansion coming to Katana Zero. It's been teased with a few gameplay clips, and a new OST track.
Yeah Katana Zero is crazy good, I've had Meat Grinder (Ludowic) on repeat for so long, that song is just perfect in terms of beats to focus to
Doom 2016
Oh. Just actually read the body of your post!
I mean it's a damn good pick.
Terraria and Stardew Valley
Can you tell me more about Katana Zero? I have one of this developers other games and looked at this the other day but opted out. I don't listen to audio when I look at trailers, so I didn't hear the music or anything.
Also, YIIK has a great soundtrack even though everyone bombed the hell out of that game. I still listen to tracks from it. Inscryption, The Path, 2064: Read Only Memories, The Friends of Ringo Ishikawa, Going Under, games developed by Blaze Epic, Dicey Dungeons, Party Hard, Stray Cat Crossing, New Ice York, Beyond Galaxyland, JARS, Ladykiller in a Bind, Oxenfree, Dust Force, & Plants vs. Zombies (Laura Shigihara still has me bopping). Not including classic video game bangers - this is just stuff I pulled from a quick Steam-y glance.
*Love has a banger of a soundtrack too. Kentucky Route Zero as well.
Askiisoft hasn't made any other widely known games. Of the three, only Katana Zero is on steam.
Are you referring to the publisher? They just front the funding for the development, and handle distribution. In this case that's Devolver, who deals with a ton of small studios, and hence there's a very wide range of games under them. But they're all made by different people. A lot of Devolver projects are one-offs where the game is the only thing the particular studio has made, and will make.
Katana ZERO marries gameplay, story, and sound, immaculately.
The player character has the ability to see the future. The act of playing through a level (dying and re-trying), in universe, is Zero looking into the future and seeing what will work and what won't.
This gets complicated once you run into opponents with the same ability, as they will actively use your previous attempts to beat them to predict what you'll try to do.
It's as mix of puzzle and action. I won't say too much about the story, but it is worth engaging with the dialogue system, taking in the world building, and doing some thinking about what is going on. If you do, the story, and particularly the ending, is a lot more meaningful.
Oh hey, I didn't realize. I like Olija, and thought that they were worked on by the same developer. They're lumped together with The Messenger in a bundle and just assumed it was the same dev working their way through whatever vibe they were feeling. I don't know too much about Devolver, but that's for the 411. I was interested in this game because I like One Slash and Samurai Jazz and figured it could potentially have a similar vibe to it. I'm going to grab it, and give it a go. Thank you!
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. That game is damn near flawless.
Castlevania music is a style of its own. Love that stuff.
Deus Ex Mankind Divided.
Rain World.
Super Metroid.
I'll second Nier Automata. There aren't even any words in the lyrics, it's amazing.
Nier Automata. There aren't even any words in the lyrics, it's amazing.
Except for the "final" track, "Weight of the World", which is just amazing and chilling, especially in the context of the game and lore if you make it to the end of true ending e. Apparently the Japanese version uses a take where the vocalist started crying during it, and in the English version you can hear the vocalist struggling towards the end.
And there's the one track that's name escapes me with the robots chanting "become as gods".
A lot of the other tracks have chanting, but it's intentionally not in any language, despite every track having a pretty heavy emotional feel to it.
World of Warcraft vanilla had an amazing score. Still brings chills to my spine. But that might be nostalgia.