I’m just listening to the Last of Us soundtrack, and those of you who read the PS3 purchasing thread might remember that I said that this game was my favourite since PDS… making it my second favourite of all time.
One of the main reasons for this is of course story - I play games for the experience but I will remember them for the story. TLOU has an exceptional narrative, that explores multiple aspects of human interactions. PDS also does this. albeit in a drastically different futuristic setting.
But on top of story, both gameplay and music are the next two disciplines that form the whole that is a groundbreaking game. No one wants to play a game that isn’t fun, but if you have both a great story and gameplay that makes you want to keep playing, are both of those really enough to create a top tier experience without a soundtrack to go along with them?
A musical score has to be perfectly matched to what your eyes are seeing… be it a game, a film or a television show. The architects of audio experiences are at their best when they know exactly what symphony to orchestrate to the right action on screen, and this is where I think both PDS and TLOU excel, in surprisingly similar ways.
Sound is broken down in two main aspects; one being the presence of sound, and the other being the absence of it. Both are equally as powerful when used properly, and both can have as much meaning as each other if you’re prepared to listen to it.
Now, it’s been far too long since I played PDS, and a few months since I played TLOU, so I won’t be citing any examples. However both games deal with a sense of isolation and heroism that enables the audio to follow the leading protagonists with an equal amount of both support (uplifting, motivational tunes) and sincerity (silence, or deep, foreboding ambience).
I’m surely not the only one here, amongst you most attentive of gamers, that have been emotionally entwined with a game because of it’s musical score. So, my question is, what other games have affected you by the way they sound? What other games are only made as great as they are due to the right music at the right time?