“In truth I wasn’t very good at the game, which can seem very lengthy when you’re not that interested in sliding around the rim of a wireframe web taking potshots at wiggly clumps of polygons. As a result, I have just a few of the game’s half a dozen or so tracks seared into my brain. In addition, the soundtrack album that’s the basis for today’s playlist features another six tracks that didn’t make it into the Jag release, apparently due to cartridge size constraints. Guess I was wrong to say no compromises; all those impressively clear samples didn’t come cheaply.”
“The Bully soundtrack was composed by Shawn Lee, who doesn’t normally work with video games. Before Bully, the only game he’d composed music for was The Getaway. While it might seem odd to hire someone who hasn’t done a lot of game soundtrack work, it paid off with Bully. What Lee created was unlike any game soundtrack I had heard before and, really, unlike any I’ve encountered since.”
“Zelda’s soundtrack isn’t long or complex; aside from that title theme, the famous overworld song, and the closing credits, most tracks aren’t even a minute long. The underworld track loops in a mere 20 seconds, yet may be the most memorable piece of dungeon accompaniment I’ve ever heard. Iconic, and perfect fuel for my younger self’s imagination. The sound effects, too, were so crunchy and enjoyable. The tinking up of a big rupee score, the meaty KRRRR-SHING of firing the beam sword, the funny little “buh!” Link emitted when injured, those super bit-crushed roars you’d hear as you neared a boss…it’s all gold, just like the cartridge that housed it.”
“Tri-Ace’s mix of deep crafting systems, action combat, and sci-fi fantasy—that sees a group of exiled magicians try to return to their home by slamming an entire planet into it—is, as you can probably tell, a whole lot of things. “Prestige role-playing game“ isn’t necessarily one of them. I love Second Story, but it can be a hot, goofy mess. Its credit music, however, blew me away the first time I heard it”
Last OST that I bought is the South of the circle OST
A year back somehow I managed to obtain an OST pack from the same developer without the need to buy the game itself, recently few months back the base game was FREE on GOG. Sadly the game on GOG doesnt include the OSTs.
Have to share this. I added 2 OSTs from the game Hue to a spotify playlist leaving it untouched for over 2 years and recently realized how good are they, beautiful songs. They stuck in my head. One of them is included in the trailer.
The OST on steam is quite expensive 6,99€ but it can be found and appreciated on Spotify.
These are the 2 my favorites.
Hue was previously free on Steam and EPIC. You may know that Im not really playing 2D games, platformers, puzzle games (and indie games - that changed a a bit past few years). . But watching the trailer caught my attention.
Lots of game soundtracks can be found on Spotify/Apple Music/YouTube/whatever for streaming, though. This thread is for soundtracks that are free to download and play offline, which–as you yourself pointed out–Hue doesn’t qualify for.
So since only free soundtracks count, might as well post those two below:
They’re “tribute” soundtracks made by indie artists, and are really good, and I use them on my Forza Horizon 5 gameplays together with other racing game soundtracks and tributes.
Eh…again, lots of soundtracks can be downloaded from YouTube/Soundcloud/Bandcamp/whatever via external “download audio off of this website for free” websites, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the soundtrack was meant to be free. For example, one of the game soundtracks in that article is for Sea of Stars, but…
I mean, if you want to pirate soundtracks, I’m not gonna stop you, but that’s not exactly what this thread is about, is it? If it was, Iwouldhaveafewsuggestionsofmyown.
Lots of game studios put their whole soundtrack for free on YT though, even though you can buy them on Steam. I wouldn’t consider downloading those pirating then, would you?
Also, you gotta start wondering at some point. If you actually buy them on Steam you still don’t even own them then. Steam is kinda pirating us out of our money as well in a sense.
Because Youtube is sold to them as a streaming service, like Spotify (remember Youtube Music? Everything there gets cross-posted to regular Youtube automatically). I looked it up, and Spotify won’t let you download music unless you pay for Spotify Premium (free users can only download podcasts): Listen offline - Spotify. Similarly, Youtube also won’t let you download videos through them directly unless you have Youtube Premium, which also costs money.
Think of it this way: Bandcamp allows albums to be “pay what you want”: you can download them directly from the album’s Bandcamp page for free, but you have the option to donate money if you so choose:
However, the Sea of Stars soundtrack $10 on Bandcamp as well (not just on Steam), like I showed before. If those soundtracks truly were meant to be freely available for download, why not do the pay-what-you-want method? Why require the use of third-party Youtube downloaders? Even if those specific composers don’t mind some people pirating their soundtracks, it’s pretty clear that their intention is to SELL their music, not give it out for free to everyone. Likewise…
If Humble really did want us to have those soundtracks for free, why not include direct download links in the article? Why not offer free keys like they did with Aegis Defenders and other games in the past? Instead, they linked to Youtube, a popular streaming website without any immediate download functionality (and no download link in the videos’ descriptions, either) and where anyone can find those exact videos simply by searching for them. Sure, the article author might be secretly hinting towards piracy with a layer of deniability by linking to fan-uploads instead of places you can buy them directly, but the Youtube links could just as easily be a standardized way of letting people listen to the entire track (unlike Apple Music) without registering an off-site account (unlike Spotify) or buying it beforehand. Just because we know there are third-party methods for getting music off YouTube for free doesn’t mean everyone knows, or even that most people in the gaming space know.
Again, not trying to shame anyone for piracy, but at least own up to it; don’t try to pretend that’s not what this is or that Youtube links automatically endorse free downloads. By the way, @delenn13, since you dodged my question despite quoting it, I’ll ask again: as the thread’s creator and site mod, are you okay with others contributing pirated soundtracks as well, or did you intend for this thread to be for OSTs that are free by official means only?
This will depend a little on the laws within your jurisdiction but I look at downloading music and other videos from youtube in the same light I do recording music on a tape from the radio.
The content is being broadcast and there is nothing you can really do about what people do with the data once it’s been put out into the world. Sure there are plenty of technical differences, but none of any practical importance. While using a program that directly siphons the data from the server in an efficient manner giving you the best possible copy it can make, the effective result is no different than were I to record with a screen capturing software, or just record it with a camera filming the monitor.
There were certainly places where recording music from the radio was considered piracy too and the music industry certainly wanted it to, but there was really nothing they could do about it back when tape decks were a thing. In a very similar way there is nothing youtube can do about someone intercepting and saving the data stream they send.
In both cases however you will have created a very low quality copy compared to what you would get if you went and purchased the music. For an awful lot of people having a song with a radio DJ talking over the outro doesn’t so much matter and they can’t really tell that the music has been compressed multiple times and what might have once been a 320kbps source is now at best 190, but probably with an effective clarity more in the 60kbps range.
All that being said, I think it’s hard to truly call it piracy. Supporting art you enjoy is certainly something one ought to do if one has the means, but no artist has really lost anything by you playing a ripped youtube file while offline as opposed to you not listening to the music at all.
Okay, fine; call it what you want, but the main point I’ve been trying to make this whole time is that “Free Gaming OST’s” is distinctly different from “Gaming OST’s That Can Easily Be Obtained Without Paying For Them,” and it’s disingenuous to conflate the two. Can we agree on that much, at least?
NO!!! Your MAIN point is trying to make me out a pirate…Nothing you said was about the title of the thread that is over 4 years old.
I was going to answer your question but since you think it is OK to change gears, so will I. I refuse to answer your question. It’s none of your business. People have been downloading from YouTube for years and years.
For sure, it is my opinion that as you point out that this thread was at least originally intended to be a place to share good soundtracks that the creator themselves decided to provide free of charge. This is clearly different from soundtracks that you can in some way shape or form attain without paying.
As such I find your question both warranted and in good faith.
. But watching the trailer caught my attention.
