Third year surviving the Russian genocidal invasion of Ukraine while writing about good video game music. 2023 turned out to be quite great as far as music in new releases goes, but of course a lot of the list is still made up of classics I’ve revisited since the last time I did this write up.
Epic’s acquisition of Bandcamp turned out to be quite short lived too and I can only hope that this wonderful service manages to survive changing hands again. Anyways, as usual, links to game reviews are also included if I finished and reviewed the game. If there’s no link – either the game didn’t click with me personally or I didn’t even play it, but still enjoyed its soundtrack. I won’t be listing all of the games with the “great soundtrack” tag, but most of them.
NEW GAMES RELEASED IN 2023:
Blasphemous 2 by Carlos Viola: https://thegamekitchen.bandcamp.com/album/blasphemous-2
Tron: Identity by Dan le Sac: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_lERFW6eNBSuywxOhBpwDqcynleKQXo5qg
Cyberpunk 2077 – Phantom Liberty by Various Artists: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ulQaM9c0vA
Ion Fury: Aftershock by Jarkko Rotsten: https://rotsten.bandcamp.com/album/ion-fury-aftershock-official-soundtrack
The Talos Principle 2 by Damjan Mravunac: https://damjanmravunac.bandcamp.com/album/the-talos-principle-2
Lunacid by Various Artists: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2692630/Lunacid_Original_Soundtrack/
Hi-Fi Rush by Various Artists: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2341310/HiFi_RUSH_Original_Game_Soundtrack/
Pizza Tower by Various Artists: https://ronandecastel.bandcamp.com/album/pizza-tower-soundtrack
RE-RELEASES/COMPLETE VERSION RELEASES OF 2023:
Live A Live by Yoko Shimomura: https://www.jp.square-enix.com/music/sem/page/lalost/en/
Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective by Masakazu Sugimori and Yasumasa Kitagawa: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2565670/Ghost_Trick_Phantom_Detective_Original_Soundtrack_2023/
We Love Katamari REROLL+ Royal Reverie by Various Artists: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=btFi1O-dFIQ
STUFF FROM OTHER YEARS I’VE PLAYED SINCE LAST TIME:
Diablo (+Hellfire) by Matt Uelmen (also his work on Diablo II, Torchlight 1 and 2): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEpydfXj87M
Silent Hill by Akira Yamaoka (and SH2): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4bTvxFKg88
Persona 5 Royal by Shoji Meguro (also Persona 3 Portable): https://open.spotify.com/album/5DFy4n6tGVadO1bqkEQw1I
Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare by Thierry Desseaux: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4lAv0uv9OI&list=PL1XETA7j0HzCTmHiptnXIZj-6rz8n9kDC
Alone in the Dark (2008) by Olivier Deriviere: https://music.apple.com/ua/album/alone-in-the-dark/281064946
Final Fantasy VIII by Nobuo Uematsu (also FF IX): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tpfp5_5Xjms
Timespinner by Jeff Ball: https://jeffball.bandcamp.com/album/timespinner-original-game-soundtrack
Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age – Definitive Edition by Koichi Sugiyama: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hquzoEOG6W0
Definitely give these soundtracks a good listen even if you’re not interested in the games themselves.