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When most people think about music in video games, they usually think about popular songs playing in the background of games like Grand Theft Auto V, NHL 26, or Forza Horizon 5. But there’s a whole other side to it that a lot of people never really notice.

And yeah, I know what you’re probably thinking. Video-game music? Really? But stay with me for a second. Because this isn’t just background noise looping while you play. A lot of soundtracks are built around emotion, atmosphere, tension, and movement. They react to what’s happening on screen and quietly shape how a moment feels without you even realizing it. And once you do notice it, it’s hard to ignore.

Before anything else, it’s probably worth clarifying what I mean by video game music. It’s basically the soundtrack built around the game itself, but instead of simply staying in the background, it reacts to what’s happening on screen.

Whether you’re walking around, exploring a place, fighting something, or even just standing still, the music shifts with the moment.

And the part most people miss is that there’s music for almost every emotion you can think of: calmness, tension, sadness, pressure, even curiosity. You don’t really notice that until you start paying attention to it, and when you do, it changes how you see everything. Studios like FromSoft really know how to use music to set the mood.

A good example is the music that accompanies the Regal Ancestor Spirit in Elden Ring. Mirroring the wandering spirit tied to life and death, the soundtrack uses woodwinds like flutes and clarinets, soft piano, and beautiful violin. It has this really natural feel to it, calm and reflective, like it belongs to the world itself.

Then there’s “Maris, Fathom of Night” from Elden Ring Nightreign, which leans into something quieter, heavier, and scarier. It’s not the loud kind of fear. It’s more like the feeling of deep water or empty space, where you can’t really tell what’s coming next, and that uncertainty becomes the emotion itself.

Even open world areas use music in really smart ways. You’ll be walking through a place and not really thinking about it, but the soundtrack is still shaping how the area feels without trying to pull your attention away from the world itself. Places like Leyndell, Royal Capital use grand orchestral sounds and choirs that make the city feel important and overwhelming. Areas like Altus Plateau feel softer and calmer, with lighter strings and warmer tones that make exploration feel peaceful for a while before the world starts feeling threatening again.

Nothing is screaming for your attention, but everything still feels intentional.

Sometimes a game doesn’t just use music as part of the background atmosphere. It actually makes you go out and find the songs themselves. A good example of this is Neowiz's Lies of P, where you don’t just hear music as you play, you actually earn records throughout the world and can play them later at the hotel. Each record feels like it belongs somewhere specific.

Some are tied to characters, others to moments you’ve already lived through in the story. They don’t feel random at all. They feel placed with intention. Tracks like “Feel”, “The Clear Blue Sky”, “Survivor (RED)”, and “Lisrim (Golden)” stand out because of that. Each one carries its own tone, but what really sticks is how personal they feel once they’re connected to the world around them.

It’s one of those details that doesn’t seem big at first, but ends up changing how the entire experience sits with you. And this is where it gets interesting because you don’t need to understand music theory or the endless number of music subgenres for it to affect you.

Sometimes a mood is set with soft piano. Sometimes strings slowly build tension in the background. Sometimes silence itself is used to make a moment feel uncomfortable. And that changes how you play. If the music is calm, you slow down. If it picks up, you react faster without thinking. It pushes you without ever telling you to.

And then there are boss fights. That’s where it really hits.

Take the music away and it’s just a fight, dodging, attacking, trying not to die. Add in massive orchestral strings, heavy drums, choirs, or aggressive pacing, and suddenly the entire fight feels heavier. It doesn’t change the mechanics. It changes how you experience the fight. Games like Bloodborne, Dark Souls III, and Elden Ring do this really well. The music becomes part of the pressure itself, whether it’s overwhelming orchestral pieces, heavy percussion, or fast pacing constantly pushing you forward.

And each game does it differently.

“Promised Consort Radahn” from Elden Ring is loud, fast, and full of energy. Big orchestral strings, heavy drums, everything moving at once. Even when you’re doing fine, the music still makes it feel like the game thinks you’re one hit away from dying and about to sit there for ten minutes wondering what went wrong. It just keeps reminding you who you’re fighting, and somehow still convinces you to go “Okay, one more try”, even after everything goes badly.

“Ludwig, the Holy Blade” from Bloodborne is heavy, and arguably one of the best orchestral pieces in gaming. As the fight shifts halfway through, Ludwig changes with it, and so does the music. What starts off frantic and unstable slowly turns into something more controlled, almost like the fight is revealing a completely different side of him, which it quite literally does. And what comes after that shift feels genuinely unforgettable.

“Caligo, Miasma of the Night” from Elden Ring Nightreign features a dragon covered in ice and fog, and the music matches the atmosphere perfectly. You hear beautiful strings, heavy piano coming in and out, and distant vocal sounds that feel almost unearthly.

It creates this peaceful but strange feeling at the same time, like you are not just fighting something, but that you’ve stepped into a place that doesn’t feel fully real.

Then there are moments like “Slave Knight Gael” from Dark Souls III. It starts with bells, strings, and deep vocal tones, then slowly incorporates higher female vocals as it builds. The fight takes place at the very end of everything, with just you and Gael left in an empty wasteland of a world. And so the music doesn’t feel like background anymore—it feels like closure.

And sometimes the music isn’t about intensity at all. It’s about weight. That’s what makes video game soundtracks interesting. They don’t all do the same thing. Some push you forward, some slow you down, and some just let you stay in the moment.

And that’s really the point. Composers like Shoi Miyazawa, Yuka Kitamura, Tai Tomisawa, Soma Tanizaki, Tsukasa Saitoh, Jo Eun-sae, Go Younghwa, and Seo Jayeong are the ones shaping a lot of these moments that stick with you.

Once you start noticing their work, you start noticing how carefully everything is built, right down to the smallest details. It’s one of those things you don’t think about at first. But once you do, it changes how you hear everything else.

And if you still feel like video game music is over-hyped or doesn’t really mean much, just try this: look up a few tracks like “Ludwig, the Holy Blade OST” from Bloodborne, “Promised Consort Radahn OST” from Elden Ring, or “Caligo, Miasma of the Night OST” from Elden Ring Nightreign.

Just listen for a bit.

Even if you’ve never played a single game, it doesn’t matter. You don’t have to be a “gamer” to enjoy this kind of music. It’s just music at the end of the day. If you’re open to trying something new, there’s a lot there. Even a couple of minutes is enough to get a feel for it. And maybe this article, or even one of those tracks, might change your perspective a little or open up something new for you.

Even if it’s just one song you end up liking, that’s more than enough. And honestly, that’s probably the best way to understand why this music matters so much.