Atmospheric Videogame Soundtracks (The Dig etc)

Bubbatom · Post by **Bubbatom** » Tue May 12, 2015 10:03

Hey there,

Just wondering what some of your favourite atmospheric soundtracks to games are?

The Dig's is always the first that comes to mind:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8kBCO8x2JE

Absolutely amazing in game and also really nice to study or work to. Once I'm sick of it I change to the actual tracks from the game.

Abe's Oddysee is another that springs to mind as well as Another World's (though it is not present in game).

Also in terms of mods, Atroxian Realm is definitely highly atmospheric from what I've heard so far, I'd be really keen for similar stuff for the Ocflore Project.

I'm keen to hear your suggestions!

Lava89 · Post by **Lava89** » Tue May 12, 2015 13:39

Age of Empires 1 and Rise of Rome had a great soundtrack.

Alot of the Sonic titles had some as well-- like Adventure 1, Unleashed and 1-3. Lastly I'd recommend Metroid Prime.

Roobar · Post by **Roobar** » Tue May 12, 2015 15:24

By atmospheric do you mean orchestral kind of soundtrack? Because "atmospheric" is pretty broad concept and I could fill in many games.

Nospike · Post by **Nospike** » Tue May 12, 2015 19:18

FTL: Faster Than Light comes to mind. Amazing, catchy and very memorable atmospheric soundtrack.

chrissifniotis · Post by **chrissifniotis** » Wed May 13, 2015 4:45

wiivn wrote:By atmospheric do you mean orchestral kind of soundtrack? Because "atmospheric" is pretty broad concept and I could fill in many games.

That's a good point; my personal favorite atmospheric music is a) not a game soundtrack and b) electronic ambient.

Getting back on topic - I'm a big fan of the Myst and Uru series of games, Jack Wall being my favorite composer of the three. I've even built a playlist of Exile and Revelations music for Skyward Sword when I started playing it. To a lesser extent I also like the music from Age of Wonders III and think it's pretty ambient, just not as much.

VikingBoyBilly · Post by **VikingBoyBilly** » Wed May 13, 2015 12:11

Secret of Evermore and Doom 64 come to mind as using it's soundtrack as ambient background noise than actual music.

Roobar · Post by **Roobar** » Wed May 13, 2015 15:56

yeah... Doom, Doom 2, Quake 1, 2, 3, Descent, Dead Space...

Many adventure games from Lucas Arts and Sierra, like Monkey Island 3, 4, Grim Fandango, KQ etc...

Sonic, Mario and the likes are more catchy tunes than atmospheric.

DaVince · Post by **DaVince** » Mon May 18, 2015 14:59

Civilization 4 has a few amazing tracks. Most notably its theme song.

wiivn wrote:Sonic, Mario and the likes are more catchy tunes than atmospheric.

They do have a few great atmospheric tunes, though. Mario 64's water levels come to mind, and some of Sonic Colors' tunes, like this one. But even then, they have an element of catchiness in them.

Roobar · Post by **Roobar** » Mon May 18, 2015 15:41

Ah yeah. Also I remember SimCity 4 have some very atmospheric tunes: https://youtu.be/WPUZn9TIorM?t=11m26s

Also, SimCity 2000:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDQY3zGEbQU

Legend of Kyrandia 2:
https://youtu.be/qk7mbO1EBkc?t=5m50s

Day of the Tentacle:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DFt5hX19EM

Heroes of Might and Magic 4:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mA7A5MbGy4M

Post by **tulip** » Fri Jun 05, 2015 13:58

I always loved the Diablo I soundtrack for its atmospheric character.
But apparently Blizzard is not a guarantee for a good soundtrack (see Warcraft 3 which is one of my favourite games, but the music is sucky)

troublesomekeen · Post by **troublesomekeen** » Fri Jun 05, 2015 20:23

chrissifniotis wrote:I also like the music from Age of Wonders III and think it's pretty ambient, just not as much.

I really like the music from the first Age of Wonders, esp this track:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYO82qk2tP4
I'm going to record an acoustic guitar cover soon.

chrissifniotis · Post by **chrissifniotis** » Sat Jun 06, 2015 2:53

troublesomekeen wrote:
chrissifniotis wrote:I also like the music from Age of Wonders III and think it's pretty ambient, just not as much.
I really like the music from the first Age of Wonders, esp this track:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYO82qk2tP4
I'm going to record an acoustic guitar cover soon.

Consider listening to AoW3; most of the tracks are renders of the original AoW music, seeing as they're composed by the same bloke.

Nospike · Post by **Nospike** » Mon Jun 08, 2015 13:16

tulip wrote:I always loved the Diablo I soundtrack for its atmospheric character.
But apparently Blizzard is not a guarantee for a good soundtrack (see Warcraft 3 which is one of my favourite games, but the music is sucky)

Matt Uelmen did the Diablo I/II soundtracks. His work was amazing.

Roobar · Post by **Roobar** » Mon Jun 08, 2015 18:52

Some cool ones from Devil May Cry:

DMC 4:
https://youtu.be/a7RYBgMOatk

DMC 5 trailer:
https://youtu.be/Lc_HQrrIscE (the track itself https://youtu.be/f1cndQMv1mg)

Benvolio · Post by **Benvolio** » Mon Jun 08, 2015 21:26

This may not be what you have in mind but this always had a lot of atmosphere for me (probably my most played game in my early teens besides Keen and maybe AOE II).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrbrmB1lUmQ