=AtG=
As a game, Ori and the Blind Forest probably qualifies as an exercise in sadomasochism. It’s one of those brutal unforgiving platformers in the vein of Super Meat Boy.
But as a soundtrack, OatBF strikes me as something that was legitimately composed to be listened to as a standalone epic. Now, its function as a game OST means that it has to represent a variety of environments, so most OSTs probably deliver a fair variety of musical attitudes. Yet Ori represents such a diverse range: anxiety, fear, mystery, curiosity, playfulness, tragedy, joy, PANIC.
The production quality of the game in other fields is also spectacular. The environments are hand-painted, and the cinematic direction manages to tell a hard-hitting story, enhanced, of course, by the soundtrack. Most critically, it has good controls for the controller, which is an important gameplay feature of a platformer! (It’s kind iffy on keyboard and mouse, but what platformer isn’t?)
You can see it all come together with this clip:
Your suggestions from the last thread have been heard, as well! Keep ’em coming. :)
-Shiv
If you enjoyed Ori and Blind Forest I would also recommend Environmental Station Alpha. One of the worst titles ever, but it’s one of the funnest ‘metroidvania’ games I’ve played. The style is more sprite-based and chiptune. Might be up your alley.
As far as great music with a lot of character, the Psychonauts OST always impressed me, as the different tracks represent the different mind-scapes that you’re entering.
Any of the Elder Scrolls OSTs from Morrowind onward. The music is just… sometimes I’ll stop playing just to listen.