Music in games often be a subtle touch compared to the rest of the gameplay experience, or it can be one of the centerpiece features of a game. Whether it's just to provide background for fighting the bad guys, or to accentuate a moment of high emotion, music is an often overlooked but highly impactful part of modern games. 2020's video game soundtracks emphasized that notion in a variety of ways. Whether it's the soothing sounds of Liyue to help encourage exploring, or the pulse-pounding heartbeat of Night City to keep players' eyes on the prize, 2020's offering of original and licensed soundtracks did not disappoint by any means.
It's no secret that 2020 played host to plenty of stellar new games, but the scores to come from a lot of these games were even more fantastic. Unique twists on existing tracks in Final Fantasy 7 Remake or Persona 5 Royal enriched existing soundtracks greatly. Original compositions in surprise hits like Hades and Genshin Impact provided fresh and unique video game music that, in many ways, is unlike anything else out there. Sequels like The Last of Us 2 and Spider-Man: Miles Morales brought even more new sounds to established franchises. Here are the best video game soundtracks and scores to come out of 2020.
Cyberpunk 2077
CD Projekt Red's twofold approach with original and licensed music in Cyberpunk 2077 matches the tone of the game expertly. Multiple genres of traditional hip-hop sounds, raw DIY punk rock, retrowave/outrun synths, and bumping EDM comprise the licensed soundtrack quite well. Choices of artists like Run the Jewels mixed in with Grimes emphasize a soundtrack that's authentic to an alternate, dystopian timeline. These artist choices aren't futuristic in terms of modern music taste, but rather a retro-futuristic interpretation of what music would've been in the disturbing future that Cyberpunk 2077 depicts.
That's without even mentioning the artful compositions of the original score. Thick synth lines and drums, mixed in with deep bass lines, make Cyberpunk 2077's soundtrack simultaneously foreboding and rebellious. Apt for a characters like V and Johnny Silverhand, who prefer not to play by the rules.
Doom Eternal
Mick Gordon's award-winning orchestrations from the 2016 Doom reboot became instantly iconic just a few years ago, but he came real close to outdoing himself with Doom Eternal's soundtrack. Even in spite of the unfortunate controversy that would eventually lead to Mick Gordon's split from id Software, many of the tracks in Doom Eternal's score still capture the essence of being and becoming a badass demon hunter artfully. If ever there was a song that could give Doom 2016's "BFG Division" a run for its money, it'd be another Mick Gordon orchestration like Doom Eternal's "The Only Thing They Fear Is You."
Final Fantasy 7 Remake
Reimagining one of the most iconic games of all time is one thing, but to overhaul one of the greatest video game soundtracks of all time is an even more impressive feat. The original Final Fantasy 7 is home to some of the most iconic musical themes of all time: Aerith's Theme, Cosmo Canyon, Those Who Fight Further, and especially One Winged Angel. While it's hard to top the iconic tones of Final Fantasy 7's soundtrack, Final Fantasy 7 Remake's score still goes above and beyond. Masashi Hamauzu, Mitsuto Suzuki, Yasunori Nishiki, and many other composers' interpretations of Nobuo Uematsu's work is a masterclass in reimagining an iconic score.
Even in its first episodic release, Final Fantasy 7 Remake not only beautifully refines existing tracks, but also introduces several new musical themes that are just as fantastic and fit well alongside the game's existing tracks. Beautiful renditions of Final Fantasy 7's original soundtrack are spliced throughout the remake, even with thematic call backs to Compilation of Final Fantasy 7 media like Advent Children. A prime example of a beautifully remade song would be The Airbuster boss theme, whereas The Whispers' Theme is a fantastic song original to the remake. For as much as the remake is a love letter to Final Fantasy 7, the soundtrack is especially so.
The Last of Us 2
Gustavo Santaolalla's haunting sound returned for The Last of Us 2's soundtrack, and the melancholy twangs of the strings were just as foreboding as ever. The mix of singing strings, juxtaposed with the ambient soundscapes between tense moments, make The Last of Us 2's score subtly impactful. In some moments it may even be hard to keep track of, but the score in Naughty Dog's sequel elevates key moments where the tension or emotion is high.
Mac Quayle and Santaolalla's orchestrations do a perfect job of highlighting moments without interrupting them, striking a perfectly subtle emotional balance. Plus, the inclusion of "Future Days" by Pearl Jam as a thematic element was just as impactful as the rest of the soundtrack.
Ghost of Tsushima
Capturing such an authentic Japanese sound in Ghost of Tsushima was a big highlight of the gameplay experience. Ilan Eshkeri and Shigeru Umebayashi's orchestrations sound like something that would've come out of a high-budget Hollywood samurai movie, and even that is underselling their work. Mixing the traditional sounds of Japanese instrumentals with the pulsing beats and strings of film scores makes Ghost of Tsushima's soundtrack truly epic. Examples like Lord Shimura's theme or "The Way of the Samurai" exemplify this truly awesome mixture of sounds that comes together to highlight Jin Sakai's harrowing journey.
Spider-Man: Miles Morales
Following the thematic leitmotifs used in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Miles Morales' score marries hip-hop and trap beats with traditional heroic orchestrations. Building off the work he did on PS4's Spider-Man, composer John Paesano returned to orchestrate the Miles Morales permutation of his iconic Spider-Man soundtrack. Like the animated film, a variety of 808s and trap beats are injected into the blaring hero's orchestra of the original game.
All of the character themes and roaming themes throughout Spider-Man: Miles Morales feel authentic to Miles' character and his version of Spider-Man. The cinematic range and variety of this score is truly impressive. Plus, the original songs like Lecrae's "Where We Come From" are a perfect match alongside the game's original score.
Hades
Supergiant games has garnered a reputation for not only creating great games, but also crafting incredible soundtracks to match them. Hades is certainly no different in that regard, mixing traditional Greek Bouzouki strings with modern electronic bass and ethereal harmonies echoing in the background of it all. The experience players get from exploring throughout Hades' version of the Greek Underworld is definitely enhanced by the score immensely. Mixing ghastly and almost frightening tones alongside pulse-pounding boss battle themes helps keep pace with the game's roguelike intensity quite well.
Persona 5 Royal
At first glance, it may seem unusual that Persona 5 is once again being praised in 2020 for its undeniably fantastic soundtrack. However, alongside Persona 5 Royal's definitive extra content comes a slew of new compositions by Shoji Meguro that are some of the best songs in the entire Persona franchise. Persona 5 is known for its unique acid jazz inspired soundtrack, but the many new songs interspersed throughout Persona 5 Royal strengthen the soundtrack even further. Whether it's the height of hype invoked by the new "Take Over" battle theme, or the vast improvements of Mementos' monotonous theme, Persona 5 Royal's new songs deserve recognition.
Genshin Impact
If there's anything that will catch players by surprise in Genshin Impact, more than any five-star character pull, would be the game's live symphony soundtrack. Fighting enemies, visiting various towns, and exploring the world of Genshin Impact is accentuated by a wondrous live soundtrack produced by the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra.
The game's developer miHoYo took a page out of Square Enix's book with Dragon Quest's live orchestra soundtracks, which in turn created one of the most iconic video game soundtracks altogether. Whether it's the charming "A Day in Mondstadt" theme that greats players entering the city for the first time, or the epic orchestrations like "Symphony of Boreal Wind," Genshin Impact's soundtrack captures the essence of its wondrous fantasy world impeccably.
There were a ton of other highlights to come from this year as well, ranging from examples like Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Streets of Rage 4, Ori and the Will of the Wisps, to The Pathless. However, these were some of the best examples of the incredible video game soundtracks in 2020.