Oh hey, hello, hi. Somehow the end of 2022 is already approaching, which means it’s time for one of my favorite annual traditions: sifting through and showcasing my favorite video game music of the year. While I don’t know that 2022 was a banner year for video game soundtracks, I was reminded for the umpteenth time while putting this list together just how much good video game music exists every year, and how much better our games are for it. Music is one of my favorite aspects of this medium, and here’s my way of giving it the due it rarely gets. Thank you for reading and listening; I hope you have a wonderful day.

The usual disclaimers: I only considered soundtracks from games I actually played, I picked a single representative song from each soundtrack to feature (where possible), and these games are ordered by their original US release date; not by preference. Finally, I apologize in advance for overlooking your favorite game soundtrack.

Infernax

Featured Track: A Good Day To Be Alive (by Jason Letourneau, Jules ‘FamilyJules’ Conroy and Olivier Couillard)

Almost every year has at least one catchy throwback soundtrack, and in 2022, Infernax’s is the one that stuck with me. The old-school Castlevania vibes are strong here, and while it may not be all that novel anymore, it remained very fun throughout. Turns out a well-made throwback score still plays.

Elden Ring

Featured Track: Elden Ring (by Yuka Kitamura and Tsukasa Saitoh)

It speaks volumes that, despite the sheer number of times I booted up Elden Ring this year, I never got tired of hearing its main theme blast from my TV and fill up my living room. It’s powerful and mesmerizing, and always got me pumped to play. The rest of Elden Ring’s soundtrack is great, too. From ambient exploration themes to epic boss jams, it finds the right music for the moment, including silence when appropriate. A game as big as this is just as much about how you use music as it is the quality of the music itself, and Elden Ring succeeds on both fronts. From Software has worked with many talented composers over the years, and all of them bring their best in this masterpiece.

Triangle Strategy

Featured Track: March II (by Akira Senju)

Games in the lineage of Tactics Ogre and Final Fantasy Tactics have a history of epic, sweeping musical scores, and Triangle Strategy follows in their footsteps wonderfully. Its soundtrack hits all the right notes through every twisty turn in this tale of geopolitical strife, and the battle themes in particular really landed for me; even after hearing them for dozens of hours, they never failed to energize me in the fight for liberation. It’s just good, high quality music, and easily one of my favorites of the year.

Tunic

Featured Track: Memories of Memories (by Lifeformed x Janice Kwan)

Tunic is a deceptive, mysterious game on multiple levels, and I appreciate how much its soundtrack captures the journey. What initially appears to be a typical heroic adventure transforms into something else entirely, and the music joins us on that journey. It taps into the mystery, the wonder, the suspense, the sadness, and even the confusion; it brought out any emotion I was feeling, as the best music does, and wrapped me in them. And just as importantly, it is beautiful music I could stop and listen to at any moment and enjoy wholeheartedly.

Rogue Legacy 2

Featured Track: Citadel Agartha (by Tettix and A Shell in the Pit)

The original Rogue Legacy had a fun, jaunty soundtrack, and this sequel follows it up nicely. It’s maybe not as memorable the second time around, and maybe doesn’t have as many standout tracks. But I still found myself regularly humming along as I played, and re-listening now reveals plenty of enjoyable tracks worthy of a mention.

Citizen Sleeper

Featured Track: Sleeper (by Amos Roddy)

Citizen Sleeper’s soundtrack sets a great tone for this contemplative adventure. One of the game’s big successes is how it brings the Eye to life, and the music is one of the key ways it does so. I don’t have the best words for it, but this music is somehow able to capture the game’s emotional core: the emptiness of space, the cruel and unrelenting hand of capitalism, the camaraderie of those who help each other along the way. I regularly found myself sitting back, staring at the Eye, lost in this understated but beautiful music.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge

Featured Track: King of the Spill (by Tee Lopes)

Shredder’s Revenge’s soundtrack continues the decades-long trend of fun beat-em-ups with fun soundtracks. Similar to Infernax, what it lacks in novelty it makes up for in pure spunk; I thoroughly enjoyed every upbeat track as we smashed our way through the game’s many stages. I also appreciate that it contains identifiable throwbacks to classic TMNT music, while simultaneously sounding like its own, modern thing.

Into the Breach Advanced Edition

Featured Track: Mist Eaters (by Ben Prunty)

With Into the Breach’s Advanced Edition update came four brand new fantastic tracks from Ben Prunty. They expand an already stellar soundtrack, simultaneously slotting in seamlessly to the existing songs, while also proving different enough to stand out as distinct and worthwhile additions. Into the Breach’s soundtrack remains one of my all-time favorites, and its new material only makes it even better.

Metal: Hellsinger

Featured Track: Stygia (by Two Feathers and Alissa White-Gluz)

What an absolute treat. If Sayonara Wild Hearts could describe itself as an interactive pop album, Metal: Hellsinger could say the same as an interactive metal album. The songs here are perfectly good on their own, but it’s the way they integrate into the game that makes this soundtrack stand out as one of my clear favorites of the year. If you can stay on rhythm while murdering demons, your combo grows, which leads to additional layers of the music piling on. And when the vocals kick in when you reach maximum combo? Just sublime. It’s a fantastic melding of gameplay, aesthetic, and music into a deliciously cohesive metal concoction, and a novel approach to video game music that will stick with me for a long time.

Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope

Featured Track: Battle of Beacon Beach (by Yoko Shimomura)

Sparks of Hope’s soundtrack features an all-star cast of composers: Yoko Shimomura, Grant Kirkhope, and Gareth Coker, each of whom have created some of my favorite video game music over the decades. This collaboration may not reach any of their previous heights, but it does mesh their talents together seamlessly, and uses all of their individual strength to great effect. The exploration themes are all comfortably whimsical, the cinematic moments pop with energy, and the battle themes (my favorites) caught me off guard with their quality and sweeping intensity. The result is a consistently delightful, and occasionally wonderful score.

Bonus: River City Girls

Featured Track: The Hunt (by Megan McDuffee)

River City Girls did not come out in 2022, but I played it for the first time in 2022, and its soundtrack is an absolute treat. It’s catchy in the way the best beat-em-up soundtracks are, but with an extra layer of care and love that is immediately obvious. The vocal tracks in particular capture the soul of the game so well, and are extremely fun on their own. I’ve played a lot of beat-em-ups with good soundtracks over the years, and I mean it when I say River City Girl’s stands among the best of the bunch.