My favorite music of 2025
When I sat down to write my Game of the Year for 2024, I could've rattled off at least five soundtracks that still remain in my listening rotation, but this year has proven more difficult for me. You'll certainly see a particular French game on this list, but the biggest struggle for me was finding standout games with music that lasted beyond initially playing the game.
At least in the games I played this year, I felt like there was a big shift towards atmospheric, simplistic soundtracks; rarely did a game make me set down the controller and immediately seek out the soundtrack because of a particular track or music sting. I played plenty of games with great in-the-moment soundtracks, but that music slipped from my memory.
That said, today I'm highlighting five soundtracks from 2025 that are in constant rotation for me, both because of the moments they hit in game and the moments they hit while doing chores, driving, or just generally vibing. Without further ado, here are my top five soundtracks of 2025.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
If there is a piece of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 that I’d say is almost flawless it is the music. It’s also probably one of the soundtracks with the most music.
Clair Obscur’s soundtrack is the closest a video game soundtrack has felt like a symphony to me. The game felt so frantic that, besides the main hook, I rarely was appreciating the music while playing, but I’ve listened to it plenty while writing or commuting.
That symphony feeling is really well done; recurring themes and motifs make the entire soundtrack feel cohesive, instead of zoned like a typical RPG campaign does. You get a sense for how Flying Water is different from The Reacher, but, as George Lucas would say, “they rhyme.”
I will also say Clair Obscur’s soundtrack is very good representation of the classical music around in the Belle Epoque, but if you like this soundtrack, there’s so much more out there to listen to. While Expedition 33 wasn‘t my gateway into turn-based RPGs, it did serve as a gateway to listening to more classical music. Once you’re done with “Alicia” or that one song with the guitar solo, check out Claude Debussy or Igor Stravinsky. They may be very mainstream names, but that’s for a reason.
Tainted Grail: Fall of Avalon
Do you remember metal-adjacent cello quartet Apocalyptica? Chuck in some throat singing and Witcher-tinged, somber strings music and you've basically got the soundtrack for Tainted Grail. Everything about this game is focused on making the grimdark "mature" Oblivion you may not have dreamed of, but I sure have. The music hits just as hard as the game's character design, story, and general aesthetic without stepping too far into farcical guitar solos.
This soundtrack is definitely not for everyone, but if you listened to the Warhammer 40,000: Darktide soundtrack and loved it, this one is right up your alley. Check out "Bonebreakers" for a sense of the grimdark, or "Heavy is the Crown" for a more orchestral tone.
The Midnight Walk
I've not played The Midnight Walk. My friend and co-host from The Content Mill has been talking this game up for months now and, while I enjoyed watching him play it for an hour or so, I never thought about the music of this game until a few weeks ago. The music in The Midnight Walk is nothing like what I had expected from a game Gianni refers to as “more than a Tim Burton Simulator." It's smoky and subtle, miles away from anything Danny Elfman would ever do.
I instantly fell in love with this soundtrack. It's piano, strings, and woodwinds are understated and atmospheric, the perfect rainy day vibe. It's dower and low-to-the-ground (if that makes any sense) sound is moody and sad, but somehow is able to be incredibly uplifting at times as well. Songs like "The Final Fire" does something I love so deeply in music: the "giant wall of sound" effect that is so all-encompassing and swelling that I physically relax when the effect lets up.
If you enjoy soundtracks that feel like a smoky jazz club in the 30s two hours after closing time, The Midnight Walk is for you. And I mean, who doesn’t?
Mars First Logistics
Do you want music that is fun and makes you feel good? Damn right you do!
The soundtrack to Mars First Logistics is the coolest putting-together-Lego music you could listen to. It’s like driving down a California highway in the early 80s, delivering a watering can to some “astronauts” in the desert. You know, what if Drive’s soundtrack was cheery.
Mars First Logistics has two soundtrack modes: vibin’ while driving and vibin’ while building, and spoiler alert: both kick ass and both fit what this far-out farcical space game needs perfectly.
Check out “Data Box” for a grand old time, or throw “The Editor” on an endless loop for building Lego or just getting your think on. Did I mention this is my favorite soundtrack this year?
Ambrosia Sky: Act One
One of the late standouts of my year this year has been Ambrosia Sky (a game that will come up again later), an immersive sim style game where you use a chemical washer to navigate an overgrown space station above Saturn.
The music is mostly ethereal ambiance that hammers home the isolating atmosphere of space, but the main theme and a few other standout tracks flow in this somber tone (the game is about death) that really fits this space funeral vibe. Especially as nights are getting darker earlier, it’s a perfect moody soundtrack to relax to.
