These Video Game Soundtracks Will Make You Cry… You Need to Listen Right Now! - Carbonext

Understanding the Context

Video game soundtracks excel at emotional storytelling because they’re personalized and adaptive. Composers craft music in sync with gameplay, dynamically shifting to match your actions and atmosphere. Unlike film scores, which are fixed, video game music responds, building tension, evoking nostalgia, or amplifying grief at just the right moment. This interactivity makes emotional responses deeper and more impactful.

Studies show background music can heighten feelings of sadness, joy, and empathy by triggering memories and associations. In games, impactful scores often accompany pivotal story moments — deaths, farewells, or triumphs — embedding those emotions in players’ minds.

Top Video Game Soundtracks That Will Break Your Heart

Here are some of the most moving soundtracks in gaming history — perfect for winding down with immersive listening.

Key Insights

1. The Last of Us (2013) – Gustavo Santaolalla & Christophe Barratier

The haunting guitar-driven score by Santaolalla and Barratier feels like a personal elegy. Tracks like Silent and At Last the Trees resonate with longing and loss, perfectly mirroring Joel and Ellie’s turbulent journey.

2. Je vais dans mon pays – Journey (2012)

Exceptional in its silence, Journey’s score immerses players in fragile hope and melancholic beauty. Though minimal, it’s unforgettable—evoking feeling loss and architectural grandeur.

3. To the End – Firewatch (2016)

Created by Inside’s in-house composers, To the End matches Bruce Green’s voice lessons with an intimate piano melody, making you feel both warmth and heartbreak in equal measure.

4. Come Dorillac – The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask (2000)

This melancholic track blends flutes and strings in an eerie yet tender tune that lingers long after playing — a perfect example of emotional condensation in game music.

5. Silent Hill 2 – Aすすめ / Watery Window

Ahead of its time, the score by Kei Muramatsu uses ambient heaviness and fragile piano to conjure dread and sorrow, capturing the game’s psychological depth.

Final Thoughts

6. Walden – narrative-driven体验 (available on Steam)

Though less mainstream, Walden features a transcendent choral score that mirrors its themes of isolation and discovery, stirring authentic contemplation and sadness.

How to Listen Like Never Before

When you want to truly feel these emotionally powerful scores, try setting the scene:

• Dim the lights.
  
• Put headphones on.
  
• Find a quiet space.
  
• Let the music wash over you without distraction.

You’ll notice details — the way a violin swells, a cello moans, or a piano note lingers — that heighten every tear track.

Final Thoughts