I’ll elaborate, what game/media (e.g. tv show or movie) in your opinion utilises music in an amazing way? This could be context, adding effect, the use of leitmotifs, utilisation of several other musical techniques, that “it just has great music”, etc.
I'll go first:
I’d say one that particularly strikes me is Deepwoken. Despite not agreeing with certain… aspects of the game and not going far into it, I enjoy how the music because of how it emphasises the environment around it.
For example, the use of bird sounds and a calm timbre and tune for the freshie’s grinding spot, Erisia. Really makes it seem like a calm place when you are not being ganked by players, bandits and sharkos. But hey, that’s what the intense battle theme is for. The variation in battle themes for different areas is also nice.
The use of leitmotifs and similar timbre in The Depths’ battle theme is also amazing. It uses a small leitmotif of the Title Theme, which you hear before and after The Depths (whether you wipe or not, excluding Fragments of Self). It uses the same bells that play when you get a resonance or hit all four bells in The City of the Drowned, hinting to how the former can be obtained and the perilous escape trials after the latter.
(I totally didn’t make this post because I like dw’s use of music, but I am interested in seeing others analyse different uses of music.)
Almost single major song has a leitmotif of the title theme. The Erisia one has one, The Duke Bossfight has one, Greathive Aratel, all of them have it.
It’s definitely over stated by now but the way Metal Gear Rising incorporates instrumental and lyrical layers does a LOT for the hype of the game, its mechanics are good but it wouldn’t be the icon it is today if not for the soundtrack.
I think Metal Gear Rising does something interesting with their music that i havent seen with another game. They build story and character depth for each boss by adding lyrics of their thoughts on the battle and what they were fighting for. The amount of story added is just incredible.
The first dark souls had a very interesting take as well. Every boss had music, and yes this was all very good and lovely, but I think the way they used music to enhance the actual world was incredible. This is because the thing is, most the game didnt have music. Other than boss fights there are 4 in game areas with music.
I beleive they are
Firelink Shrine
Gwynevere’s room
Ash Lake
Daughter of Chaos
By taking away music from everywhere else these areas feel so much more incredible.
Id also like to mention a few more
Phoenix Wright Ace Attourney was good
Portal and Portal 2 (especially those credit songs)
Hollow Knight did an AMAZING job
Example for people: Rules of nature, metal gears are becoming outdated in the presence of cybernetic enhancements it’s the survival of the fittest it’s the Rules of nature No pun intended
