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The best games of 2023 haven't just been a visual treat; they've been an audio delight as well. Web-slinging adventures across New York City, pulse-pounding battles against dragons, and a journey across the stars have been fun experiences punctuated by soundtracks that have captured the spirit of those games. While there's no single video game score to declare as the best of 2023, there's no shortage of great tracks to throw on and listen to long after the credits have rolled on your favorite games. We've gathered up a number of the standout examples of this year, so grab your comfiest headset, sit down, and strap yourself in for a tour across the best video game soundtracks of the year. For more of the best games in 2023, you can check out the crème de la crème of the PC, PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch games that launched this year.
El Paso, Elsewhere (RJ Lake and Lake Savage)
El Paso, Elsewhere's soundtrack gets your heart beating with its heavy and aggressive design: action-packed beats with a cool factor that make you feel like you're living in the moment as you slay monsters. There's a journey that unfolds across this soundtrack, which is a bleak story of sadness and heartbreak where hope is in short supply. But it's balanced by moments of introspective bliss and quiet moments of reflection that help create a stunning partner to the neo-noir visual design in one of 2023's best games.
Hi-Fi Rush (The Glass Pyramids)
Hi-Fi Rush has an eclectic mix of licensed tracks from bands like Nine Inch Nails and The Joy Formidable, but its real audio magic lies in the streamer-friendly soundtrack created just for this game by The Glass Pyramids. While the other tracks produced by Shuichi Kobori, Reo Uratani, and Masatoshi Yanagi set the stage, The Glass Pyramids rock out on that foundation with an electrifying barrage of sounds that sync brilliantly with the action unfolding on-screen. From the jazz-powered tunes of My Heart Feels no Pain to the perfect epilogue track of Synesthesia, this is one playlist that you'll want to have on a constant loop.
Sea of Stars (Eric W. Brown in collaboration with Yasunori Mitsuda and Vincent Jones)
A synthwave odyssey of chill and exciting music, the soundtrack for Sea of Stars plays like a retro blast from the past. It's nostalgic but modern--a fusion of the past and present that is best exemplified through tracks like The Frozen Peak and Encounter Elite. Composer Erick W. Brown--alongside Yasunori Mitsuda and Vincent Jones on several tracks--have put together a collection of tunes that perfectly complements the old-school spirit found in Sea of Stars, and with literal hours of music to listen to, it's a beautiful and inspiring soundtrack.
Final Fantasy 16 (Masayoshi Soken)
Every mainline Final Fantasy of the modern era has had a unique sound, but Final Fantasy 16's soundtrack easily has some of the most defining music in the franchise. Find the Flame is easily the signature track of Final Fantasy 16, an awe-inspiring battle theme that makes even the smallest battle sound epic in nature, but with several other emotionally-charged pieces of orchestral--and hard rock in that one Eikon battle!--music that's backed up by incredible operatic performances, Final Fantasy 16's soundtrack brings a big-budget blast of audio power to the experience.
Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical (Austin Wintory with Tripod and Montaigne)
If you're going to focus a video game on the power of music, you're going to want to make that part of the project an unforgettable experience. Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical succeeds on that front, as the theatrical energy of this interactive musical is used to tell and enhance a captivating tale of gods and magic. Passionate performances from an all-star cast–Laura Bailey and Troy Baker to name a few–and surprising swerves in the plot makes for a game which brings the experience of a Broadway blockbuster right to your doorstep.
Pizza Tower (Ronan "Mr. Sauceman" de Castel, ClascyJitto, and Post Elvis)
It's Pizza Time! One of the best gems of the 2023 gaming year, Pizza Tower is a captivating romp across colorful levels enhanced by a retro-inspired soundtrack. The 16-bit energy isn't just nostalgic; it's a rule-breaker for the type of sound that you'd expect from this genre of music, as it reimagines familiar themes with pasta-powered beats that live up to the zany design of this indie hit.
Starfield (Inon Zur)
While Starfield received a mixed reception on launch, there's no denying that the game's soundtrack is something special. It's a hopeful and optimistic collection of tracks: a reminder of just how vast the universe is from a human perspective. It's the sound of the spheres given life by elegant musical arrangements, always striving to remind you of the grandeur of the cosmos and how it's waiting to be explored.
Forspoken (Bear McCreary and Garry Schyman)
You'll be hard-pressed to find Forspoken in GOTY lists, but Square Enix's magical adventure is still a charming and visually impressive game in its own right. It's also an audio treat, as Bear McCreary and Garry Schyman's soundtrack captures the atmosphere of a magical world under siege from dark forces. There are moments of triumph and tragedy throughout this score, with a sense of wonder and a scale woven between modern beats and classic influences.
Diablo 4 (Ted Reedy and Leo Kaliski)
Diablo 4 sets a tone with the first notes of its soundtrack, reminding you that you're in a world of gods and monsters. There's an atmosphere of despair, but as the story changes, so too does the music around you. Diablo 4's eerie and enchanting sounds adapt and evolve alongside your warrior, reflecting the struggle of a hard-earned victory and brief moments of respite between your battles against demonic forces. The real charm here is in how the soundtrack knows exactly when to ratchet up the tension, with boss fights serving as prime examples of the score having a maximum impact. Diablo 4 embraces the darkness with its soundtrack to create a hauntingly effective descent into hell.
Baldur's Gate 3 (Borislav Slavov)
Like the game itself--you could say that we're quite fond of it here in the GameSpot offices--the audio design of Baldur's Gate 3 is immense. There are hours of tracks, rich ambient melodies to savor, and epic battle hymns to enjoy. It's an interactive soundtrack, but also one that you could very easily use in a real-life tabletop session of Dungeons and Dragons.
A Highland Song (Laurence Chapman, Talisk, and Fourth Moon)
A Highland Song's soundtrack is a reflection of the beautiful and artistic recreation of the Scottish highlands. Composed by Laurence Chapman alongside Scottish folk musicians Talisk and Fourth Moon, there's a haunting beauty to these melodies as they complement the rhythmic runs of ancient lands. The world around the young protagonist Moira reshapes itself according to the music, and with those tracks having a fast and inventive rhythm to enjoy, each run is an audio-visual treat across hills that are full of secrets and stories.
Bayonetta: Cereza and the Lost Demon (Aoba Nakanishi, Hitomi Kurokawa, Masahiro Miyauchi, and Rina Yugi)
Just like the game, the soundtrack for Bayonetta: Cereza and the Lost Demon has a storybook quality to it. There's a sense of whimsy and playfulness to each melody, but in typical Bayonetta fashion, there's a lurking theme of darkness in the background. It's an elegant wonderland of woodwind, string, and brass instruments, all coming together to create sounds that embody the spirit of Bayonetta during her formative years.
Laika: Aged Through Blood (Beicoli)
The soundtrack for Laika: Aged Through Blood is a perfect example of the power of restraint. The somber sounds and sparing plucks of guitar strings help paint a desolate image in this spaghetti western-themed twin-stick shooter, and when the complexity of the score does increase with more instruments and vocals, it creates an audio impact that sticks with you as you navigate across a post-apocalyptic landscape.
Alan Wake 2 (Petri Alanko, Rakel, Jean Castel, Mougleta, Paleface, Roos+Berg, Jaimes, and the Old Gods of Asgard)
Alan Wake 2's soundtrack is dark and foreboding, and that's just the way we like it. And yet, you're getting so much more than a spike in your adrenaline, as the Alan Wake 2 soundtrack is a custom work of art that frequently takes detours into unexpected territory. Remedy Entertainment went the extra mile with its selection of music, weaving each carefully chosen track into the very fabric of the game. "Follow You Into The Dark" with Iceland's Rakel on vocals is a haunting track, Poets of the Fall--performing once more as the in-universe Old Gods of Asgard--provide some of the most memorable musical moments in the game, and Lost at Sea is a surprisingly relaxing single when you've had enough of homicidal horrors that go bump in the night.
Chants of Sennaar (Thomas Brunet)
Chants of Sennaar is one of the most fascinating games of 2023, an exploration of language and logic inspired by the myth of the Tower of Babel. It's a great game for making you feel like a linguistics genius when you solve its puzzles, but it's also got an enchanting soundtrack to subtly guide you through its world. You wouldn't imagine that a diverse collection of instruments could be used to create these harmonious sounds, but composer Thomas Brunet used them to create a tapestry of cultural influences.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor (Stephen Barton and Gordy Haab)
The Star Wars franchise is one that can easily be recognized with just a few notes of music, and Star Wars: Jedi Survivor lives up to that legacy. It's a soundtrack of classical instruments bringing a faraway galaxy to life: a playlist that can effortlessly make you feel like you're exploring an alien world one moment and convince you that you're in the fight of your life against a Sith Inquisitor the next. Stephen Barton and Gordy Haab's score doesn't just feel like an organic part of the Star Wars universe, but expands on those themes and explores new territory with tracks that raise the bar for Star Wars media.
Persona 5 Tactica (Toshiki Konishi)
Persona games are typically a killer combo of style and substance, and for Persona 5 Tactica, that charm offensive extends to the game's punchy score. There's a jazzy energy mixed with delicate guitar solos and hard-hitting drums that give rebellious life to the latest adventure starring the Phantom Thieves. Don't be surprised to see a few holes in your floor from tunes that'll turn your feet into jackhammers as you stomp along to the beat.
Street Fighter 6 (Yoshiya Terayama, Shigeyuki Kameda, Yasumasa Kitagawa, Tom Fox, Marshall Smith, and Haruki Yamada)
Street Fighter 6 comes out swinging with its selection of hard-hitting music. Hip-hop haymakers and high-energy beats will challenge the position of any track in your daily Spotify rotation, but throw in an incredibly diverse selection of character themes that accurately capture the soul of the world warriors that they represent, and you've got the definitive Street Fighter soundtrack.
Scott Pilgrim Takes Off (Anamanaguchi and Joseph Trapanese)
Yes, we're cheating by including the animated series Scott Pilgrim takes off on this list, but seeing as how it's so intrinsically linked to video games, it'd be a crime not to have it on this list. With Anamanaguchi back for a fresh tour of duty in the ScottVerse and joined by veteran composer Joseph Trapanese, the end result is a leveled-up playlist of Sex Bob-Omb hits and chiptune delights.
Octopath Traveler 2 (Yasunori Nishiki)
Like its predecessor, Octopath Traveler 2 is a game inspired by the classics of the RPG genre and an evolution of those beloved games. The soundtrack follows in those footsteps, and with music feeling more integral than ever to the design of this sequel, the score provides plenty of uplifting moments, magical ambient sounds, and riveting battle themes. It's a soundtrack that strives to be timeless, and with high-quality compositions in every scene, it just might be one of the most memorable scores of the year.
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