Music and sound design are integral pieces of the video game experience, and some games have found truly unique ways of using their sound. Since it’s award season here at Twinfinite, it’s time we look back on some standout experiences of 2019. These are the games that did something unique with their music or sound; the ones that simply stand out above the rest. Voted on by our editors, here are the best video game soundtracks of 2019.
Best Video Game Soundtracks of 2019
Honorable Mention: The Legend of Zelda: Cadence of Hyrule
Features Editor Greysun Morales: Do you know what’s better than all of the classic music found in the Legend of Zelda games? Rock adaptations of those songs.
Brace Yourself Games has done something that nobody else has done before by turning top-down Zelda into a hardcore rock-rhythm game that plays out like a rogue-like title.
Hearing these iconic songs in a different light while playing Cadence of Hyrule is truly astounding. Moving about the tiles in the game to the beat of the music felt really good, especially when you really got into it and just annihilated all of the enemies on screen without getting hit once.
The game was very difficult to get used to at first being a Zelda enthusiast but once I literally got into the groove of things, I found myself loving this musical adventure and its unique take on the Zelda soundtrack.
Best Video Game Soundtracks of 2019
Honorable Mention: Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
Senior Editor Hayes Madsen: Star Wars has some of the most iconic music in all of existence, not to mention that oh-so-satisfying sound of a lightsaber. Countless games have tried to capture the auditory magic of Star Wars, but Jedi: Fallen Order is the closest video games have come yet.
Fallen Order’s soundtrack does its absolute best to emulate John William’s iconic music, and it has the same feeling. As you’re exploring the jungles of Kashyyyk or the frigid slopes of Zeffo, you’re treated to the lilting playfulness that Star Wars music has. By the same token, combat and boss battles are fittingly amped up with orchestral themes.
The sound of Fallen Order extends to so much more than just the music, however. Like Star Wars Battlefront 2 before it, Fallen Order uses the exact same sounds you might find in one of the mainline movies.
This is easily the best lightsabers have ever sounded, with all the fitting whooshes and crackles. Interestingly, Cal’s partner BD-01 has sounds and vocalizations created by Ben Burtt, the man behind the sounds for R2-D2 and many other droid and creature sounds in the original films.
Fallen Order is one of the most faithful Star Wars adaptions we’ve ever seen, and it’s painstakingly created to fit that Star Wars aesthetic in every way possible.
Best Video Game Soundtracks of 2019
Honorable Mention: The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel 3
Senior Editor Hayes Madsen: Each game in the Trails series does a great job of capturing its themes and overall feeling into its music, and Trails of Cold Steel 3 might be the best example of that yet.
Cold Steel 3 takes place one year after the original game, as tensions rise between Erebonia and the country of Calvard. Rean Schwarzer is now an instructor as the Thors Branch Campus.
Although there’s plenty of playful and laid back story moments, Cold Steel 3 also amps up the drama to ridiculous new degrees. All of this is represented by the soundtrack, which is a wonderful dichotomy of dark and dramatic songs, along with more upbeat ones.
From the playful “Pancake on the Way Home From School,” to the haunting “Roots of Scar,” Cold Steel 3 has a massive diverse soundtrack with over 90 tracks.
Each and every town gets its own theme, helping to flesh out their unique personalities even more. Meanwhile, the game features some of the best battle themes of the entire series.
Cold Steel 3 does a great job of looping in themes and motifs from the past two games, as well as the Crossbell games and Trails in the Sky. It’s a unique ambitious soundtrack, that manages to enhance the overall experience in great ways.
Best Video Game Soundtracks of 2019
Second Runner-Up: Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers
Reviews Editor Zhiqing Wan: Final Fantasy XIV is incredible in that the music seems to just keep getting better and better with each expansion. The music in A Realm Reborn was impressive enough, but the bar got raised even higher in Heavensward.
Then, the game reached new musical heights with Stormblood. And now, composer Masayoshi Soken has outdone himself yet again with the soundtrack of Shadowbringers.
The story arc of Shadowbringers is probably the darkest one yet in Final Fantasy XIV, so it’s only fitting that the accompanying music should have a bit of an edge to it as well. This is most apparent in the expansion’s main theme, featuring electric guitars and percussion as the main forms of instruments. Couple that with the hard, screaming vocals, and you’ve got a strong rock song to kick things off the right way.
That’s not to say that Shadowbringers doesn’t lean into the softer side of music either. Civilizations, the environmental theme that plays in the Rak’tika Greatwood, is a serious fan-favorite with Shakira-like female vocals echoing through the fleeting, yet persistent beat.
Soken experiments with classical instruments clashing with electric ones in strong boss themes like Insanity as well, making Shadowbringers’ soundtrack one of the most varied and diverse ones we’ve heard in the Final Fantasy series.
Best Video Game Soundtracks of 2019
First Runner-Up: Sayonara Wild Hearts
Features Editor Greysun Morales: I think at this point in the year, I’ve spent more time listening to the pop-fueled soundtrack of Sayonara Wild Hearts than actually playing it and that’s saying something.
Sayonara Wild Hearts is not a bad game by any means but you can complete the music-filled stages pretty quickly and considering that it’s a game catered for the mobile gaming audience, the length makes sense.
Each level is essentially one song on the Wild Hearts soundtrack and each one is vastly different from the next. One track will be super poppy and features flying dragons and racing cars and then another one will be more EDM-like and will have blue/grey tones while you’re riding on a deer in a forest –it’s absolutely wild.
The soundtrack helps to emphasize the trippy visuals and the story of a woman going through a heartbreak that is attempting to make herself feel better about the entire situation.
Everything goes hand in hand, from the gameplay to the visuals to even the narrator who happens to be Queen Latifah –how cool is that?
Best Video Game Soundtracks of 2019
Winner: Death Stranding
Reviews Editor Zhiqing Wan: Playing beautiful licensed music over a series of cinematic shots has become something of an aesthetic that Hideo Kojima has taken a liking to, and he uses it to great effect in Death Stranding.
Much of the licensed soundtrack is comprised of Low Roar’s subtle, sultry beats that underscore the beautiful, Icelandic landscape of, umm, America. Low Roar and the Silent Poets are the front-running bands that you’ll hear the most as you trek across the continent, and they help to punctuate the heavy, awe-inspiring moments of finally conquering a steep mountain and getting just a step closer to your far-flung destination.
If you’ve played Death Stranding for yourself, the moment where Asylum For the Feeling kicks in when you arrive Capital Knot City for the first time. The game closes itself out with a rousing anthem by Glasgow-based synthpop band CHVRCHES, titled after the game’s name itself.
Much like Death Stranding’s core message, CHVRCHES’ original song is one of hope and inspiration, tying the perfect final bow on a very fresh and unique-sounding game.
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