Game of the Year 2024 – Best Original Soundtrack

As wild as it is to have quirky pixel art and claymation going up against photo realistic graphics in our best Visual Design award, it’s just as broad a spectrum of styles and genres when looking at soundtracks. From jazzy chip tunes to sweeping orchestral scores, there’s such variety in video game soundtracks these days that it’s almost impossible to choose.

And yet here we are, picking the soundtracks that stuck with us most through the year, whether it was ramping up the atmosphere, putting a little smile on our faces as we played, or even getting us to sing along while hurtling through a loading screen – can you guess what game that refers to?

There are are a remarkable 101 different tunes in the soundtrack of Astro Bot, each one reflecting the style and tone of level you are playing. From disco to ragtime to 80’s hair rock you will never get bored from the upbeat bops that propel you forward just as much as the actual on screen action – just imagine what the soundtrack to a Muppets game would be like and you would be close.

Just like the in-game cameos, the music features nods toward Sony’s franchises, the Bot of War track is superb with with a perfectly timed “BOY!” dropped in the music, and the jazzed up glitchy remix of the Uncharted theme will bring back many happy memories. If you’ve managed to finish the game you can stop by the massive PS5 in the Crash Site where the various components of the console will serenade you, singing “Cooling Fan” and “GPU” in time with the theme.

The music was honoured at this years The Game Awards with a full orchestral version of the game’s theme, I Am Astro Bot, check it out:

– Tuffcub

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth – Runner Up

You’d be hard pressed to name a more iconic soundtrack than Final Fantasy VII. Nobuo Uematsu’s score has gone down in games history as the defining soundtrack of a generation. Over the years since, it has graced theatres and halls as part of Distant Worlds, and been alluded to in everything right up to Metaphor ReFantazio (which sounds eerily like Uematsu at times).

This incredible score not only defined a generation, but set the bar for what we expect from this franchise. With that in mind, it’s safe to say that composers Mitsuto Suzuki and Masashi Hamauzu had a lot riding on their work, when it came to FF7 Rebirth. Not only did they have to remaster perfection, but they had to expand on it, filling in the blanks where the story branched out into new and untold areas.

One example of their brilliance is the boss fight against Jenova Emergent, which has all of the motifs you would expect from the score, while also being a fresh new track. And when you beat Jenova, you get the victory march — yes that one — again redone beautifully, and with lyrics this time.

But we can’t just focus on the big stuff that you’d expect — like the remastered Chocobo theme or Sephiroth’s One-Winged Angel. The rest of the game sounds incredible, from big brass band battles to synth pop, upbeat guitars.

Ultimately, however, you only have to look to the main theme for something that beautifully sums up how exquisite this soundtrack is.

This wistful, melancholy but hopeful score underlines everything you’ll feel playing this game. And talking of playing, you can even take to the in-game pianos in every city and try your hand at playing it yourself.

– Nic B

Helldivers 2 – Runner Up

Sometimes all you really need is one booming leitmotif to lodge itself into the collective consciousness of gamers. For a couple months earlier this year, it felt like almost everyone was joining in with the “Dun-dun-dun-duuuuuuuuuuuuuun, Duuun-duuuuuun” of the drop sequence in Helldivers 2, the orchestral soundtrack perfectly capturing the bombastic patriotism and themes of the game as you hurtle towards overwhelming odds against bugs, bots, and now glowy-eyed alien zombies.

– Stefan L

Honourable mentions (in alphabetical order)

• The Cub
• Metaphor: ReFantazio
• Silent Hill 2

Which soundtracks really captured your imagination, amplified the gameplay and story, and got your toes tapping this year?

Tags: Astro Bot, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Game of the Year 2024, Helldivers 2