Video Games Chronicle asked professional video game composers to pick their favorite soundtracks of 2025, and the results paint a fascinating picture of a year that delivered everything from ambient minimalism to massive orchestral scores. While awards shows handed trophies to blockbusters like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, the composers themselves gravitated toward diverse picks that showcase the creative breadth of game music in 2025.
Death Stranding 2 Captures Composer Attention
Several composers singled out Death Stranding 2: On the Beach as a standout achievement. The collaboration between Ludvig Forssell and Woodkid created what one composer described as part ambient sound bath, part modern intensity, while always retaining an organic quality. The immersive soundscapes earned particular praise for tracks like A Heartfelt Apology, which demonstrates how much emotional weight properly composed game music can carry.
The Death Stranding 2 soundtrack walked a tightrope between atmospheric exploration music and intense action sequences. Forssell and Woodkid achieved something rare in video game scoring by making the music feel essential to the experience rather than background decoration. The organic quality mentioned by fellow composers refers to how the score breathes with the gameplay, expanding during quiet moments of traversal and contracting during tense encounters.
Clair Obscur Dominated the Awards Circuit
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 swept The Game Awards 2025, winning nine total trophies including Game of the Year. Composer Lorien Testard took home Best Score and Music for a soundtrack that masterfully blends orchestral and classical influences. The French composer created music so compelling that multiple reviewers mentioned pausing gameplay just to listen to certain tracks in full.
The Expedition 33 score stands apart from typical action RPG soundtracks by leaning heavily into Belle Epoque French musical traditions mixed with modern orchestration techniques. Testard studied period-appropriate instrumentation and composition styles to create an authentic yet contemporary sound that perfectly complements the game’s turn-based combat and steampunk-meets-art-nouveau aesthetic. The recurring motifs evolve throughout the 40-hour campaign, rewarding attentive listeners who notice how themes transform as the narrative progresses.
Indie Scores Get Major Love
Amos Roddy, composer behind Citizen Sleeper and Kingdom, chose Many Nights a Whisper by Fingerspit as his favorite soundtrack of 2025. In a year filled with 100-plus minute soundtrack epics, Roddy praised Fingerspit’s subtle and introspective score for invoking an intimate spaciousness. The composer highlighted the lovely use of ambient textures and repetitious piano arrangements that tie the game’s narrative together beautifully through recurring yet evolving motifs.
This choice reflects a broader trend where composers themselves often appreciate restraint and minimalism more than the bombastic orchestral scores that typically win mainstream awards. Many Nights a Whisper demonstrates that effective game music doesn’t require massive budgets or symphony orchestras. Sometimes a well-placed piano melody and carefully crafted ambient layers create more emotional impact than the most expensive recording sessions.
Hollow Knight Silksong’s Christopher Larkin Recognized
Christopher Larkin earned widespread recognition for Hollow Knight: Silksong, which received multiple nominations across various awards ceremonies. The follow-up to one of indie gaming’s most beloved soundtracks had enormous expectations to meet. Larkin’s ethereal compositions blend melancholy strings, haunting piano, and atmospheric sound design to create music that feels simultaneously alien and deeply familiar.
The Silksong soundtrack expanded on the original Hollow Knight’s musical vocabulary while introducing new instruments and compositional approaches that reflect the different setting. Larkin recorded in churches and unusual spaces to capture specific reverb characteristics that make the music feel like it’s echoing through vast underground caverns. The attention to spatial audio design sets Silksong’s score apart from most indie game soundtracks.
Hidden Gems Composers Love
Jukio, the composer behind Nuclear Throne and Dave the Diver, picked Caves of Qud by Craig Hamilton as a personal favorite. While technically released in late 2024, Caves of Qud’s music dominated Jukio’s listening throughout 2025. The score fits perfectly with the game’s post-human chrome jungles through sometimes ominous, always beautiful innovative soundscapes that create an entirely unique sonic identity.
These deeper cuts reveal how composers pay attention to music from games that mainstream gaming media often overlooks. Caves of Qud represents a decades-long development cycle that finally reached completion, and Hamilton’s soundtrack evolved alongside the game. The organic development process resulted in music that feels completely integrated with the bizarre world rather than applied after the fact.
The Darren Korb Effect
Darren Korb’s work on Hades II earned multiple nominations and widespread critical praise. Korb has become something of a legend in video game music circles for his ability to create instantly recognizable sonic identities for Supergiant Games’ titles. Hades II continues his streak with Mediterranean-influenced rock compositions that blend electric guitars with traditional Greek instruments in ways that shouldn’t work but absolutely do.
The Hades II soundtrack captures lightning in a bottle twice, an almost impossible achievement. Korb took everything that made the original Hades music special and expanded it without losing the essential character. New vocal tracks featuring Ashley Barrett add emotional depth to key narrative moments, while combat music maintains the driving energy that kept players engaged through hundreds of runs.
What Makes 2025 Special
The diversity of sounds and approaches in 2025’s best game music reflects how the medium has matured. Composers feel empowered to experiment with minimalism, embrace cultural specificity, and reject the Hollywood blockbuster orchestra template that dominated for decades. Whether it’s intimate piano pieces, traditional instrumentation from specific cultures, or innovative electronic soundscapes, 2025 demonstrated that video game music has truly come into its own as an art form.
The fact that professional composers chose such varied favorites also highlights how subjective music appreciation remains even among experts. There’s no single correct answer to what makes great game music. Some situations call for sweeping orchestral grandeur. Others need restraint and space. The best composers understand which approach serves their specific game, and 2025 delivered excellent examples of nearly every possible style.
FAQs
What won Best Score and Music at The Game Awards 2025?
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, composed by Lorien Testard, won Best Score and Music at The Game Awards 2025. The game dominated the ceremony with nine total wins including Game of the Year.
Who composed Death Stranding 2 On the Beach?
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach was composed collaboratively by Ludvig Forssell and Woodkid. Their work earned widespread praise from professional composers and received a nomination for Best Score and Music at The Game Awards.
What soundtrack did composers pick as their favorite?
Composers picked diverse favorites when asked by Video Games Chronicle. Choices included Death Stranding 2, Many Nights a Whisper by Fingerspit, and Caves of Qud by Craig Hamilton, showing the wide range of excellent game music in 2025.
Did Hollow Knight Silksong win any music awards?
While Hollow Knight: Silksong received nominations for Best Score and Music at major awards ceremonies, it did not win the top prize at The Game Awards 2025. However, Christopher Larkin’s work earned significant recognition and praise from composers.
Who composed Hades II soundtrack?
Darren Korb composed the Hades II soundtrack, continuing his collaboration with Supergiant Games. The score blends Mediterranean-influenced rock with traditional Greek instruments and features vocal tracks by Ashley Barrett.
What is Many Nights a Whisper?
Many Nights a Whisper is an indie game with a subtle, introspective score by Fingerspit. Composer Amos Roddy chose it as his favorite soundtrack of 2025, praising its ambient textures and repetitious piano arrangements.
Which Grammy won for Best Video Game Soundtrack in 2025?
Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord won the Grammy for Best Video Game Soundtrack at the 67th Grammy Awards in February 2025, beating nominees including Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora and Marvel’s Spider-Man 2.
What makes Clair Obscur Expedition 33 music special?
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s music blends orchestral and classical influences with Belle Epoque French musical traditions. Composer Lorien Testard created recurring motifs that evolve throughout the game, making the soundtrack both historically informed and contemporary.
Conclusion
Video game music in 2025 proved that the medium has fully matured as an art form worthy of serious attention. From blockbuster orchestral scores to intimate indie compositions, composers delivered soundtracks that enhanced gameplay while standing alone as compelling musical works. The diversity of approaches and styles shows that there’s no single formula for great game music. Whether you prefer the ambient soundscapes of Death Stranding 2, the orchestral grandeur of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, or the minimalist beauty of hidden gems like Many Nights a Whisper, 2025 offered something exceptional for every taste. The fact that professional composers chose such varied favorites demonstrates the incredible creative breadth achieved this year, setting a high bar for what comes next.