For me definitely The world ends with you. It completely shaped my modern taste in funk, pop, rap and hip hop. That and Jet set radio.
FFX back in the PS2 day’s was when I discovered I really love heavy metal.
Strangely, despite playing many games over the years, and enjoying tons of soundtracks and themes, I don’t think any of them awakened any interest that weren’t already there. Owing, I suppose, to a pretty diverse exposure in my youth which led to a lot of seeking new genres.
With perhaps this exception:
Civ 4’s Warlords Expansion pack.
The theme is a classic Lebanese folk song called ‘Al Nadda’, popularized by famed singer and actress Sabah.
It’s a catchy little tune that sticks in your head. You can find many variations, including the original (roughly 1963ish), as well as instrumental versions, online. Sometimes it is reimagined in a modern style like this one:
SSX tricky for the PS2
Portal 2. Absolute banger of a soundtrack that I have listened to over and over, and I absolutely loved Exile Vilify by The National, which frustratingly is not on Spotify.
I always liked electronic music but Machinarium made me consciously realize how much I liked ambient music and how much could be done with it.
And now the sequel has been announced!!
Whaaaaa? I searched the tubes and it’s true. Amaaaazing!https://boingboing.net/2026/10/09/classic-puzzle-game-machinarium-is-getting-a-surprise-sequel.html
Adding a few more to my list.
Spyro (PS1) - Stewart Copeland’s genius cannot he understated, and subsuqently got me into his original band The Police (I’m seennddinngg out an S O S)
Final Fantasy VII and IX both sound tracks I go back to frequently
Kingdom Hearts definitely started my love for JPop
Lots of songs from Tony Hawk (the PS1 era)
need for speed underground for obvious reasons
Stubbs the zombie got me into indie rock
So many
Half life.
Thief 1/2
Wing Commander 3
I may have a sweet spot for industrial music.
Hotline Miami.
Undertale and Celeste for me for sure
Donkey Kong FFVI (or IV if you’re Japanese)
Tony hawks pro skater series and gta vice city mostly
Tony Hawk Undergound 1 and 2 for me, someone made a Spotify playlist for their soundtracks and I use it on at least a weekly basis
Ah, I used to just drive around like a normal driver listening to the radio stations in GTA vice City. Damn they were so good
The stations were just MP3 files on the game disc. I burned them to an audio CD and had them in my car.
Libertycityhardcore!
Libertycityhardcore!
Libertycityhardcore!
Fuck!
You!
lol… genuinely, DOOM. I grew up with just the radio and a mom who made weird and arbitrary rules about music so my music exposure was terrible. I found a journal from when I was ten talking about how excited I was to listen to the “top ten soft rock hits” of the week with Delilah. Hearing DOOM and going omfg this ROCKS!! made me realize there was other music out there, big music, epic sounds, distortion, heavvvvvy sounds I love it all, I’m also a bass head as it turns out. DOOM opened the door and I’ve spent my adult life exploring all the different kinds of music I never got exposed to as a kid.
Quake was amazing for that. I had the CD. It was a tiny data track for the game and the rest was the NIN soundtrack as an ordinary audio CD and the game played it automatically.
Although I still have Journey To Silius’s OST burned into my head, there have been plenty of very influential games, in no particular order -
Super Mario RPG
Chrono Trigger
FFVII
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater
Jet Set Radio (and Future)
Grand Theft Auto (Vice City and San Andreas, I only listened to talk radio in 3)
Stepmania
These days, I feel a little calcified but it’s always nice when I turn on a game and see artists I know.
Three, very early on in my life:
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Deus Ex (2000). Synthy classical/techno blend that’s hard to beat thanks largely to Alexander Brandon.
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Road Rash 95. Loaded with grunge hits from Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Nirvana and more. The bassy chip racing tracks were also awesome.
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Monsters, Inc.: Scream Team. This one might be slightly cheating since I also watched the movie on loop but jazz/ska is just too damn fun to ignore.
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