Even though your humble narrator has been an avid gamer for most of their life; I think it’s fair to say that many people have discovered the true joy of video games while in lockdown. The role video games play in helping the majority of us cope with mental health issues is something to be genuinely grateful for. We’ve all experienced the collective pain of trying to cope with the pandemic, and for many of us video games have been a saving grace.
Not only are video games often works of art in and of themselves with the experience of visual art, narrative and gameplay; but as gamers we are lucky enough to get an incredible full experience, complete with some outstanding original soundtracks. In no particular order, we’ve put together a list of some of our favourite video game soundtracks that were released in 2020.
Persona 5 Royal
Music by: Shoji Meguro – additional compositions by Toshiki Konishi, Kenichi Tsuchiya and Atsushi Kitajoh, with vocals by Lyn Inaizumi.
Track: Colours Flying High
Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Music by: Makoto Wada (writer) Yasuaki Iwata, Yumi Takahashi, Shinobu Nagata, Sayako Doi & Masato Ohashi
The Last of Us Part II
Music by: Gustavo Santaolalla
Ori And The Will Of The Wisps
Music by: Gareth Coker (composer) feat. Aeralie Brighton, Kelsey Mira, Kristin Naigus, Laurent Ben Slimane, Philharmonia Orchestra, Pinewood Voices
Track: Now Use the Light, We Want to See!
Tell Me Why
Music by: Ryan Lott
Track: The Diary
13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim
Music by: Basicscape led by Hitoshi Sakimoto
Track: In The Doldrums
Ghost Of Tsushima
Music by: Ilan Eshkeri and Shigeru Umebayashi
Ikenfell
Music by: Aivi & Surasshu
Track: It’s Showtime! feat. Renko
Final Fantasy VII Remake
Music by: Nobuo Uematsu, Masashi Hamauzu & Mitsuto Suzuki
Track: Battle Theme
Cyberpunk 2077
Music By: P. T. Adamczyk, Marcin Przybyłowicz & Paul Leonard-Morgan
We hope you enjoyed our picks! What are your favourite video game soundtracks from 2020? Let us know!
Feature Image: Tell Me Why by DontNod Studios