SEPTEMBER_UNIKUM_WEB (1)

CULTURE
Unikum’s Corner of Hidden Treasures:
Video Game Music
Tobias Klausen
Editor in Chief
Photos: Spotify and IGN; Illustration: Freepik // rawpixel.com
Unikum’s Corner of Hidden Treasures is a column in which Unikum recommends
pieces of media they believe more people should know and love.
For this Unikum’s Corner of Hidden Treasures I’m casting a wider net, not just putting a single media in the spotlight but an entire genre!
Funny enough, music and soundtrack in video games are not merely bops, whistles and sounds synchronized with the gameplay in an
effort to immerse the player, but can be evocative and heartfelt, exhilarating, and epic, terrifying and nerve-wracking or gut-punching
and sorrowful. Remember, to the composer the ultimate goal is trying to communicate a certain feeling to the player, a sense of the
world, characters or story. Let’s use the final boss as an example, if it’s a giant Lovecraftian monster, you’d want the score to be epic,
but also contain hints of horror, to truly underscore its horrific nature. Same with an emotional scene shared with loveable characters,
unless there are notes which opens the tears ducts, well, what’s the point of writing and programming such a touching scene if it’s not
highlighting that emotion? A soundtrack can elevate an experience, and sometimes even redeem horrible writing or poor graphics,
because they just add such a depth to it.
Video game music can be great for several things. Firstly, I love using it for studying. As much of it is without vocals, it makes it easier
to focus on the words on the page, and sometimes with just the right track, it might even contribute positively to the study session (this
works for workouts too). Or you’re reading something, and the words aren’t quite conveying the emotional depth you’re looking for, then
video game soundtracks can help you to get in that mood. Or, let’s say you just had a shitty day and need a good ol’ crying session, trust
me, there are plentiful of tracks that fulfill this criteria. I personally also almost exclusively use video game music when doing creative
writing, hell, I’m listening to one right now (Hi-Fi Rush “Whirring”)!
But while writing this I realize that I’m falling into the same pitfall as with my Owl City’s ‘Ocean Eyes (Deluxe Edition)’ recommendation,
there’s really not much to explain with music, you need to listen to it, feel it. But where do you begin!? The world is so vast, with numerous
video games and subsequent tracks! This is where my expertise can finally shine! So sit back, and let me dish out a few categories that
you might want to explore and some tracks you might want to add to your fall playlist or just save in preparation for the midterm papers
which are right around the corner! Be prepared to scurry the pages of YouTube as not every soundtrack can be found on Spotify, the only
downside to video game music I would argue.
Studying
Ah, studying, something we all should be doing, and yet we neglect. Sometimes you’re just chilling, reading something for an obligatory
assignment not stressing, other times (read: often), studying is done in the very last possible moments before a deadline or an exam. So,
this category I’m actually gonna split in two, one for chill studying and one for intense studying. Again, there are tons of video games
I haven’t played, so someone might add more or different songs to the list, and feel free to do so, but these are my usual go-to songs.
Chillax Studying
“Box 15” – Danganronpa
“Moonlit Melody” – Bloodborne
“Comet Observatory 3” – Super Mario Galaxy
“Metropolis” – Ratchet & Clank
“Knitty-Knotty Windmill Hill” – Yoshi’s Wolly World
INTENSE Studying
“Cross – Examination Allergo” - Ace Attorney Series
“Reasoning Death Match” – Master Detectives
Archives: RAIN CODE
“Non-Stop Debate – Heat Up” – Project: Eden’s Garden
“The Dual-Bladed Duelist” – Paper Mario: The Origami
King
“Decisive Battle II” – Octopath Traveler
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