
We’re listing the ten best Soundtracks of the Decade. These are the ten PlayStation scores released over the past decade that we believe left the biggest impression on our sonic palettes. Whether it’s Journey's Grammy nominated masterpiece or Destiny’s 8 movement symphony, these are the soundtracks that hit the best notes across the last ten incredible years of gaming. Head here to see the complete series.
The Last of Us is a special game in a lot of ways, raising the bar on what could be expected out of graphical fidelity, animation, writing, and music. One of the most awarded games of all time, The Last Of Us has earned every single bit of praise it has received. And of the things that have cemented the legacy of Naughty Dog’s post apocalyptic journey is the music of composer Gustavo Santaolalla.
The Last of Us paints a dark, brutal, unforgiving world that could remove you from its equation at a moment’s notice. So how do you capture that musically? With tranquil, aching beauty of course. The score for this title is a sombre affair, but it always has time to stop and smell the roses. The music for the game helps colour the world in a way that very few, if any soundtracks have ever done before or since. The juxtaposition of a horrible world filled with monsters both human and inhuman set to the backdrop of a somber acoustic guitar – and sometimes nothing but that – offers a stark contrast that completely sells you on the vision of the game.
The hopefulness in the music helps instil a note of positivity into the experience of the game, too. There’s always something to strive for, a light at the end of the tunnel. Isn’t there? It can’t all be for nothing? Santaolalla’s music is sparse, but powerfully evocative, and is as much a character in the game as Joel or Ellie.
It is perhaps noteworthy that The Last of Us was Santaolalla’s first time scoring a game. This fresh perspective on an industry that has grown stale on occasion helped invigorate the title with an energy unlike anything seen before in a game. He is coming back to score the follow-up and we can only hope the soundtrack is half as good as this one was and is.
Only one more game left on the list of the ten best soundtracks of the decade now. What do you think it's going to be? Any guesses? Do you think it should have been The Last of Us? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
Comments (31)
An obvious pick, this one. Great soundtrack and deserves to be as high on the list as it is.
Was getting worried that this wasn't going to be included.
There can only be one number 1 now
Calling it that number one is GOW now...
Petition to make Nier Automata number one.
The music from this game was amazing. It really added so much emotion to an already emotional game. I am really happy they brought Gustavo Santaolalla back for Part 2!
It has to be the witcher 3 for the fields of aard skellig alone
Considering how much these entries are dividing people, is there any hope of an "honourable mentions" list to satiate the masses? I just want to see one of Shovel Knight, Hollow Knight or Nier: Automata on one of these lists!
I'll never forget that ending theme...
Classic stuff right here.
I dunno, I feel like they should have ramped up the noise and distortion to make it really feel like the end times. It’s just a bit clean for my tastes, a more visceral sound like F#A#∞ would have brought out more from the atmosphere. It does have some great moments but personally, it just needs a bit more grit, given the source material.
Skyrim at number one?
ISS got to be one of the best ending credit songs
Just as unremarkable as the game itself! Oh well, at least Shadow of the Colossus will get the top spot now.
Barely remember the soundtrack. Lots of moody guitar pieces. Not overtly terrible, but hardly memorable, either.
Haha, this has been an amusing series.
@get2sammyb Nothing like slagging of best-of lists on the Internet!
List is genuinely baffling aside from P5 and Transistor. Number 1 is Journey then?
Played it through twice, don’t remember a single thing about the music 🤷♂️
Yeah it was good especially the ending song but maybe not in my top 5 still better than Dark Souls
This series might have been better served if it was one song from different titles instead of comparing entire soundtracks. I mean who can even remember every song from each game?
The best you can gauge is most memorable song of the decade which is something our (okay maybe just me) tiny mind can store.
Here's mine (Not in particular order because of laziness but just serving as an example)
10: Transistor (final boss/decision theme)
9: Nier Automata (Sound of the End )
8: Megaman 11 (Wily Gear Fortress)
7: DuckTales (Moon)
6: Strider (Kazakh Theme)
5: Gravity Rush 2 (Lei Havina)
4: Odin's Sphere: Leifthrasir (The Mysterious Pooka Village)
3: Hotline Miami (Daisuke) soundtrack for this title...yeah
2: Destiny 1 (Deconstruction); it resonated with A LOT of people
1: Tekken 5 ( Moonlit Wilderness)
Beautiful soundtrack but nothing beats Silent Hill 3's ost for me. Silent Hill 2's is also gorgeous.
I only remember one song from that game. The soundtrack was easily forgettable.
@get2sammyb You're not telling me I'm wrong. Get outta here!
@3MonthBeef It's not solely about memorable tracks though. A soundtrack, when taken as a whole, is still a great thing. A traditional album can be collectively viewed as great, but you're still going to have favorite tracks off of it. I could definitely pick favorites off the album (that's usually what the sample songs I included come from), but I appreciate the soundtracks on this list as a whole more than others.
@Kai_ That could just as easily be reversed though? If someone else were to write the list it could be baffling to me the picks they made. A top 10 list, especially one chronicling an entire decade is literally impossible to get "right" for everyone, especially for something as subjective as music.
@3MonthBeef Hotline Miami! Bloody hell, now that had a good score.
@gbanas92 I understand that. I'm just pointing out the added impossibility of the task.
That task is just compounded when soundtracks can literally span hours, which is already an uneven comparison between games with varying lengths. All I'm saying is people can point out at least one favorite track from a list of games than potentially 1/6th of a day's worth of music spanning even dozens of titles.
Best track of the decade would have made more sense. That's just human capacity. No one pick out a song from an entire soundtrack on demand. Best anyone can do is think of one song from any given title. What comes to mind should be well and good enough indication that it had an impact on them.
@ShaiHulud @3MonthBeef Yeah, Hotline Miami. Man. Both of them honestly. She Swallowed Burning Coals in the second one! Love that track
@3MonthBeef Oh, for sure. Absolutely easier to point out an individual track, completely agree with you. Especially if it's a track you wnet out of your way to go searching for because you liked it! You'd be even more likely to remember it!
@Akurusu What game?
@Ryguy2784 I'm incredibly excited to see him back for the second one! That first game (and the Left Behind stuff) was incredible! On all fronts!
@3MonthBeef The Last of Us
I own this CD. It is really good.
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