The Citizen Sleeper soundtrack is critical in creating the whole vibe the game is going for. Played this one back in December and "Matsutake" was most memorable to me. The game reminded me of Norco, which like Citizen Sleeper while not wholly landing with me, definitely got the vibes down right.

E.Y.E: Divine Cybermancy I remember being intrigued by on its release, but I think there was an element of jank to be expected with this one so never gave it a chance.

Grime though, I've got this one on my backlog. "Misgotten Amalgalm" sounds like it would be perfectly at home in the Path of Exile soundtrack.

Lone Survivor had "The Director" which for me is perfect evening chilling track.

The Swapper I have beaten. When? Couldn't tell you because apparently I didn't unlock a single achievement in my playthrough (apparently all them are connected to secret stuff). While I don't care much for achievements, I do like to get the "game completed" one to see how many people were able to beat the game. Anyway, the soundtrack. Enjoyed the one you provided but particularly liked "Metaphysics" just because of how serene it was.

I played the first Legend of Heroes game almost a decade ago now, and liked it well enough, but it didn't push me to continue with the series just then (it might've also been the first time I used the "turbo" function in an JRPG). I may consider chipping away at this series arc by arc at some point once they finish remaking the original trilogy. I liked "Step Ahead" and "The Decisive Point" and may explore more of those OSTs at some point.

Think I might need to rebuy Ys VIII. I bought it on the Switch but ended up selling it before I could complete it, and now I'm conflicted between picking it up again or starting another Ys game for a completely fresh experience. Enjoyed the track and "You'll See Out the End of the Tales", but the whole OST gets the job done.

All the Nihon Falcom games seem to have good soundtracks, though the highs aren't quite as high for me. Perhaps if I listened to more I'd find them in there. Having said that, placing Tokyo Xanadu at the end was a good idea. That was a welcome change of pace.

I think I played the original Rayman on the Playstation but none of the others. From the third game's soundtrack though, I liked the funky track, "The Teensie Highway". I also got thinking of Rayman Origins. It's been on my radar for ages with Black Flag, as Ubisoft doesn't let these get as deep discounts as their other titles (though to be fair, Origins does have a lower base price).

Yeah we've had a couple people here who've recommended Supergiant's work. They generally tend to do a good job with their soundtracks.

I've been meaning to play Final Fantasy VII. Not counting Final Fantasy 14, the furthest I've gotten with a game from this series is Final Fantasy VIII (and I don't think I even made it to disc two). While I don't mind going back to play the original Playstation version, I didn't consider the updated OST which is now making me lean the way of the Remake instead.

Funny you should recommend Final Fantasy X, that's the other one I had my eyes on as it's oft recommended for a first Final Fantasy.

I remember listening to a "best of" collection of Uematsu back in the day, but while good, his works generally haven't stuck with me. I might need the story beats to elevate them. Or maybe I should try more of the orchestral renditions instead which I enjoyed more.

Final Fantasy XIV though, I found quite a few tracks that I enjoyed during my time with it (enough to create a playlist so that I wouldn't forget!). You can go from hearing something like this to this and you'll be all the more glad for it.

Brigador, another game on my waitlist that hasn't hit my price threshold yet. According to my history, it seems like I had already listened to "Solo Nobre Must Fall" at some point. Silly me not adding this to the playlist sooner and another confirmation as to why I needed this discussion!

Hotline Miami was a fun romp. Good soundtrack from start to finish. This got me curious what the second game's soundtrack was like since I never played that one. It's not bad, and has twice as many tracks.

Edit: Realised that I may have got distracted by something else and forgot to cover your last two picks! Anyway Ori I seem to remember the soundtrack accentuating the game quite well. "Light of Nibel (feat. Aeralie Brighton)" from this soundtrack holds up and takes me back.

I don't listen to Electronic ordinarily, so Ruiner was...different. This is one that I'd probably enjoy more while playing it, I can imagine getting into the zone while listening to "Flag".

Finally, since I couldn't at the time pick a track from Hotline Miami, I've now been able to settle with "Paris".

I actually beat Bit.Trip Runner today after someone else recommended the music. You can find my thoughts here (spoilers I picked the same track!).

Grow Home's been on my waitlist for a while now. Probably has the shortest OST I've come across so far (yes really, that's it). Both good tracks though.

Watched a couple videos covering the story for this franchise since I don't do horror, but still want to know they play out. I gave the original a chance when it was first released and, not surprisingly, didn't make it too far. A couple bombastic tracks on that album as well, can't imagine anything remotely peaceful happening to the player during those.

Always glad when I come across a game I can add to my waitlist (in this case I added the follow-up-not-sequel Ash of Gods: The Way). This soundtrack was interesting, starting with the tracks you recommended, I could instantly hear that some heart was put into it. It also sounded similar to a series I played before so I wanted to find out who composed the music. The composers here are Adam Skorupa and Krzysztof Wierzynkiewicz, with the former being the composer for the The Witcher while both were composers for The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings. Good investment if you were to ask me. "Terminum" turned out to be my favorite track on this one.

Music can do a lot for a game. When I look at the trailer for Battle Brothers, from a visual standpoint it's anything but impressive. The soundtrack though, that's doing some heavy lifting.

I've got this one on my backlog and since it's the narrative that people praise a lot about this game, I'm going to resist refrain from listening to this one for now. Looking forward to it though!

Quite a few suggestions on here, one of which ended up with me getting sidetracked for an entire day due to Youtube recommendations. Anyway on to my thoughts!

Gris.I actually played this one while I was visiting family. Thought it would be a good choice since it was a short game and I wasn't sure about picking it up myself. I don't think I've come across a game from this "artsy" genre I've yet to really enjoy, but they seem to have good soundtracks, as was the case here. All three of the tracks you mentioned here turned out to be favorites from the album. The developer's follow-up Neva, is a softer affair with fewer standouts, though I did enjoy "So Long".

Crypt of the Necrodancer. While I don't plan to be playing this one, I do happen to have its non-roguelike sequel, Rift of the Necrodancer on my waitlist. This soundtrack is one of those where I could enjoy most of the tracks, and I can hear why so many people like, especially since it's also a rhythm game. If I had to pick a track now, I'd probably go for "Disco Descent".

That song from Portal 2 turned out the only thing I remembered from my playthough. Listening to the soundtrack now, and oof. Just doesn't work for me. "Robots FTW" is kind of fun, and no, I'm not just mentioning it because I'm worried about our AI overlords.

Soul Reaver 2. I'm considering whether I should give these games another go. There a bunch of games I played but didn't beat on the PlayStation, but I'm concerned if I'll be able to get past the eccentricities that games from that time could have. The soundtrack though, seems to be of the atmospheric variety. Seems to be something Yorickmeister might enjoy...

The Dig remains to be one of the few LucasArts point & click games I have yet to play. I really need to correct that sometime soon. For a game that came out thirty years ago, that soundtrack still holds up. Don't want to listen to too much, kind of want to experience this one in game.

I've been interesting in the settings of both Sunless Sea and Sunless Skies for a while now, though I'm not convinced if I'll enjoy the actual gameplay of them. Think I may just listen to some story/lore videos and listen to their soundtracks instead. I liked "Albion London Lights" from this one. There's something about this soundtrack that's just... nice. Which is weird since I thought these games had some lovecraftian influences.

That track from Monty on the Run sounded like something that could still find a home on a modern indie game soundtrack.

Now for the track that got me sidetracked. I didn't know who Christopher Tin was before before hearing that track from Civilization IV but it get me curious. This is for those like me who didn't know, apparently that track is the first piece of video game music to win a Grammy (Best Arrangement, Instrumental and Vocals).

Sidenote, since you've mentioned the 8-Bit Big Band, they won a Grammy in 2022 for their cover of "Meta Knight's Revenge" from Kirby Superstar (Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella). Video games did get their own category from 2023 with the Best Score Soundtrack for Video Games and Other Interactive Media award, and Assassin’s Creed Valhalla: Dawn of Ragnarök was the first winner. A fact that Ubisoft fails to mention on store pages for the DLC for some reason. Personally, I don't follow the Grammys but thought I'd mention it for those that do.

Let's get back to Civilization. I've have Civilization VI on my backlog for a while now, and seeing as how Christopher Tin made a track for this one as well, "Sogno di Volare", which I think I like more than "Baba Yetu" (if anyone likes this, consider listening to his non-game music track, "Waloyo Yamoni") I find yet another game that I should get to sooner.

Finally, left the best for last, Metal Gear Solid 2. Did Metal Gear Solid get me into game music? Possibly. Is Metal Gear Solid 2 one of my favorite games of all time, yes. This is one of those series that has had consistently great soundtracks. I don't normally pick vocal tracks on game soundtracks but "Can't Say Goodbye To Yesterday" has got to be one of my favorites.