What a year for video game music. I'm so glad Music of the Year is back for 2018 because I'm bursting at the seams to talk about all of the music I love from the last twelve months. There's bound to be stuff I've missed because most of my picks are from games I've played or reviewed, but there are some unsung heroes here that demand your attention. Let's jump right in!

If you're looking for some music to take you back to the PlayStation days, then look no further. CrossCode is a fast-paced game that deserves some funky, upbeat tunes, and Deniz Akbulut has nailed it. One thing CrossCode's music does so perfectly is capture the atmosphere of every location — the arid desert area sounds like an abandoned wasteland, and the music in Gaia's Garden is as mystical, lush and verdant as the forest setting. There are tracks that remind me of the Klonoa series, like the beautiful echoes of the temples and the exciting, upbeat exploration themes that bring a smile to my face. The soundtrack evokes a sense of nostalgia I wasn't expecting, and it has been a regular on my playlists since the game came out.

This is just a sneak peak of what we're going to get in the coming years, but oh boy, Toby Fox has come on leaps and bounds since Undertale, which already had an incredible soundtrack. Deltarune's music is instantly recognisable yet so different from its predecessor in many ways. There's more variety, even more instruments and a plethora of amazing battle themes that are so catchy you'll be humming them for weeks. And let's not forget the few remixes from the first game, which made me feel warm and fuzzy inside. Oh, and Laura Shigihara is also here for good measure with a beautiful ending theme. I could rave about Deltarune's music all day. Toby Fox can do little wrong in my mind, and this soundtrack just proves it.

Also Read: DELTARUNE Chapter 1 OST Review

You saw this one coming, right? Yasunori Nishiki isn't a name I'd heard of before Octopath Traveler, but it's now a name I want on every soundtrack. Octopath has become my go-to album for every emotion and every situation. Feeling stressed? Stick on "The Riverlands." Need to get pumped up? Any one of the incredible battle themes has you covered. Even the more lighthearted tunes, which are often relegated to the back of my playlists, have deep warmth to them and can flip my mood in an instant. Picking my favourite character theme alone was hard enough, with each of the eight travelers having a distinct musical style and set of instruments to match their demeanour and story. Octopath Traveler has the honour of being one of the first soundtracks in years to crack my top five all-time favourite list, and I think that's the highest praise I can give.

Also Read: Octopath Traveler Original Soundtrack Review

I had a hard time putting into words just how much I loved Timespinner in my review, but the music was a big part of it. At times, Jeff Ball's music is clearly inspired by Michuru Yamane's jazzy, eerie work on the Castlevania games, but it's also so much more than that. Tinged with melancholy, littered with techno beats and filled to the brim with pulse-pounding boss themes, Timespinner's soundtrack is a delight to listen to from start to finish. Each time period and location has a distinct style that separates it from the previous areas, and it's these tracks in particular that stand out among the best. Some tracks feel like they would be right at home in one of Konami's own games, but you'd be wrong to dismiss Ball's music as a simple Metroidvania tribute. It's a celebration of those 90s/2000s Castlevania games but also a wonderful musical feat of its own.

So I finally get to gush about this soundtrack properly! Xenoblade Chronicles 2's music is hands down the best thing about the game. Almost all of my favourite quirks are buried in this huge soundtrack: entire vocal themes with no instrumentation, rousing battle themes that mix electronic and orchestral music, soothing soundscapes to calm you down, and soft tearjerker piano pieces. I can't get enough of Anúna's vocals on both of Tantal's town themes, and I really hope to hear them on more of Yasunori Mitsuda's work (they even performed as part of the Xenogears concert!) The whole team have done an outstanding job of capturing the feel of every titan, location and situation, and I haven't stopped listening to this soundtrack since the game came out over a year ago.

Also Read: Xenoblade 2 OST Review

Hear me out; the music in the Secret of Mana Remake isn't all bad. In fact, a lot of it is really magical. The original SNES soundtrack is my favourite from that console generation, so it was always going to be tricky to match, but there's a small handful of tracks that are actually better than the original versions, and a quick glance at the arrangers will hint at just that. The album itself is definitely strange, but I treat it like a tribute album because it takes a few risks but also celebrates Secret of Mana's musical legacy. Those Balinese vocals really come to life in 2018. Trust me, when it hits the mark, it really does. This 2018 celebration gets a lot of undeserved hate, but there's bound to be something here you'll love.

Also Read: Seiken Densetsu 2 Secret of Mana OST Review

Just before the year closed out, OC ReMix decided to drop my idea of music heaven. It's hard to believe there's barely any Skies of Arcadia remixes out there, but judging from Arcadia Legends, there deserves to be a hell of a lot more. The album is an eclectic mix of arrangements and instrumentations, most of which are vastly different from their original counterparts, including dubstep, reggae, acoustic guitars, piano solos and more. "Blasting the Sand Demon" is Nasrad given the heavy-metal Arabian treatment, which works like a charm, and "The Silver Crystal" gives Fina a much more upbeat and jazzy theme. And I adore hearing those voice samples in "Unknown Menace." It's everything I could've wanted from a tribute album and more, and I hope this kickstarts a wave of Skies of Arcadia remixes.

So ignore what I said in my Games of the Year 2017 list because I should have talked about NieR: Automata's soundtrack. It's incredible and the perfect follow-up to the first game's music. At times, it is more bombastic and cinematic, but sometimes it's also more serene and atmospheric; Keiichi Okabe and the team have outdone themselves. Those four different ending themes, in various different languages, get me every single time. And as per Okabe's high standards, every single battle theme is extraordinary, utilising different vocal styles and instruments to really convey each boss' themes and style. Even almost two years later, the soundtrack still haunts me, conjuring up the same emotions I felt while playing the game. Do yourself a favour and dive in to this soundtrack. You're missing out if you don't.

Also Read: NieR: Automata OST Review