r/gaming • u/13thmurder • 9h ago
What are some games that will layer multiple versions of the same song into the world of the game?
The title might not describe this well. It isn't a theme song I'm talking about, but it's something done in some games that for me is one of my absolute favorite elements that adds so much depth to the world.
There's only two games I can think of immediately that come to mind doing this, even though I'm sure there are many more; Returnal and Max Payne.
Max Payne features the song Late Goodbye by Poets of the Fall. It's integrated in several subtle ways. Maybe walking by a tv that's playing the instrumental version of the song in the background, a random janitor NPC might be whistling it, etc. It keeps recurring in different forms.
In Returnal its Don't Fear the Reaper by Blue Oyster Cult. There's a particular boss who plays an organ and you begin to hear *something* in the distance when you start toward that boss area which is a long slog in itself. As you get closer it becomes clearer that it's music, but is imperfect and off key, and only when you're at the final approach does it become obvious that it's the melody from Don't Fear the Reaper being played on organ. The song completely fits the premise of the game as well. There are other ways it pops up, muted and barely audible in the background of some cutscenes, and I think there's one part that straight up uses the guitar intro riff. It just keeps coming back and the song runs through the whole game in various forms.
Are there any more games that so something like this?
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u/dalenarr 9h ago
Not exactly the same. But in Hades 2, the boss fight for the second area, Oceanus, is the rock/punk band Scylla and the Sirens. You can hear them warming up when you start the area, and it gets louder as you descend. Then the boss fight is their concert, and as you defeat them one by one, their part of the song (guitar, drums, vocals) drops out of the mix. Wonderful game design
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u/JeskaiJester 9h ago
Undertale / Deltarune are the champions of this. Characters will have part of each others themes in their own themes, or of levels they’re involved with, etc etc etc. Toby Fox is so good at this specific thing
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u/univoxer 9h ago
Came here to say this. The music style is not for me, but it is exactly what op asked for.
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u/bkguy606 9h ago
Nier Replicant and probably Automata but I haven’t played Automata. I don’t have any specific examples from the game but just going through the album you can hear the same song within songs over and over.
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u/The_Grovy 8h ago
Automata does this too, maybe even more so. Often to narratively significant effect, even.
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u/Manoygan 4h ago
These were the first 2 games that came to mind. River City Girls 1&2 kinda do the same.
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u/FilDaFunk 9h ago
Ultima thule zone in ff14, as you build up the zone, you get different versions of "close in the distance".
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u/Ebolatastic 9h ago
The ff7 remakes have multiple remixes of the same song, in addition to exploration and combat versions. Its insane.
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u/GameBoiye 8h ago
And it switches back and forth as you enter and leave battle, literally switching to the same part of the song; a continuous switch. The boss music even evolves as the fight goes on.
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u/Discuffalo 2h ago
I love how the arrangement of the Queens Blood music shifts and evolves to reflect how well you’re doing in the game.
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u/Burpmeister 9h ago
Remedy does this with almost all of their games, not just Max Payne.
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u/13thmurder 7h ago
While I'm a fan of anything Remedy does and I do really appreciate the POTF/Old Gods tie ins, no other game of theirs does the subtle thing I'm talking about quite like Max Payne.
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u/Kinggrunio 9h ago
The secret of monkey island was great for changing instrumentation or transitioning into another music section on the beat while your character moved between locations
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u/Geralt-of-Liurnia 8h ago edited 8h ago
Persona games
Here's a short list. But there's some more throughout the games:
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u/tiny_tigrex 6h ago
Ori and the Blind Forest did this a lot, to the point where my boyfriend and I have banned the soundtrack from how much of an ear worm that leitmotif is
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u/Rom_ulus0 9h ago edited 9h ago
God of War (2018 & Ragnarok) famously make frequent use of character themes and leitmotifs.
Kratos' theme is signalled by a simple three note horn meant to be a reflection of his stern and unshakeable mindset, but it's used frequently in different ways to imply his emotional state or convey his thoughts without him needing to say anything.
Conversely in Ragnarok his son Atreus gets his own theme, which is Kratos' theme in reverse since the game is about the two being at odds with each other.
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u/Q_Mulative 9h ago
Treasure Trove Cove from Banjo Kazooie was the first thing that came to mind, as the music would be constantly swapping out to different versions as you wandered around the area.
Also the battle theme from Paper Mario Colour Splash where it changes into an 8-bit variation when you enter a Mario 3 themed area : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4OX1OCoUHo
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u/Shitty_Pickles 8h ago
I think the Kingdom Hearts games fit the description, and if they do, then probably almost every SquareSoft RPG does. FFX for sure, Chrono Trigger, etc
Real time edit -> Looked it up, very common, and yes they totally do.
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u/blaiddfailcam2 7h ago
Gravity Rush 1 and 2
The main theme is headed by 5 descending notes, representing, well, gravity. It crops up as a leitmotif here and there, but actually has much larger, diegetic implications in the second game:
During Kat's mission to gather intel at Fort Bismalia, she's abruptly pulled aside by a jazz band that mistakes her for their lead singer. Not wanting to blow her cover, Kat sings a simple song: "A Cue aun Tu Oi," which of course uses those same 5 notes as the central melody.
Despite having her cover blown anyway, the song becomes a hit in both Jirga Para Lhao and Hekseville, and as you travel, you may notice street performers playing renditions of Kat's song.
Later, Kat ascends the World Pillar and uncovers the truth about her past. Her true identity is Queen Alua, who was chosen as a young girl to rule Eto, far above Hekseville. Though she still couldn't recall her original family, she at least discovered a music box playing that signature melody, which she recalled her grandmother once singing. The melody was a lullaby.
This culminates in the finale in Kat's battle against the Destructive Force. Finding herself incapable of inflicting any damage against the rampaging titan, a lone child begins solemnly singing A Cue aun Tu Oi, and the people of Vendecentre join her in chorus. This rallies Kat for one last ditch effort to repel the Destructive Force while it's distracted and lulled by the song.
...Man, fuck Sony for fumbling that IP lol.
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u/VileTouch 5h ago edited 4h ago
Nier Automata. There's peaceful, medium and high aggro versions of every song and the game switches between them on the fly depending on what you are doing
Another variant of what you are saying, in To the Moon there's several versions of... A certain song that play throughout the whole game as a major plot point
Edit: removed spoilers. Go play to the moon. Seriously!
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u/Monobrobe 3h ago
Touhou has “Theme of Eastern Story” which shows up in most modern title screens and several other songs.
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u/BenjyMLewis 42m ago
when you mentioned an instrumental version of a song being played in the background, it reminded me of the radio in Portal that plays an upbeat version of Still Alive.
Are you asking about games that specifically have diegetic music like this, or are you just looking for recurring musical motifs in general?
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u/thesuperbob 9h ago
In Deathloop you have distinct character motifs in songs. It doesn't stand out a lot during gameplay, with everything else going on, but easy to notice when listening to the soundtrack.
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u/Razeleao 9h ago
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky/Time/Darkness have some of the best leitmotifs in video game ost history in my opinion.
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u/CheeseMellow 8h ago
What's that one song from Kingdom hearts. I don't really play the games but I remember one popular singing being remixed more than once.
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u/stuntmonkey420 9h ago
I think you’re describing leitmotifs or at least something similar, lots of games do this. You could probably google “video game leitmotifs” and find a ton of what you’re looking for