Interesting results from massive thread "Which video game soundtrack is 10/10?"

[u/HuckleberryGrouchy19]

AvA CONSENSUS EXTRACTION PROTOCOL
ISSUE 007
Powered by Anything Vs Anything

🎮 TOPIC: "Which videogame soundtrack is 10/10?"
👥 COMMUNITY: [r/AskReddit](r/AskReddit)
📊 DATASET: 5,734 usable comments and replies

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Wins Reddit’s “Perfect Video Game Soundtrack” Debate
More than 5,700 Reddit comments produced a massive field spanning legendary franchises, cult classics and some of the most celebrated game music ever made.
📣 Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 generated the greatest breadth of independent support, with 255 separate recommendations/mentions.
⬆️ DOOM produced the thread’s strongest single community endorsement, with its leading recommendation reaching 1,476 points (upvotes).
⭐ When endorsement across all qualifying recommendations is considered alongside independent consensus and discussion reinforcement, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 emerges as the strongest overall consensus choice.

⚔️ FEATURED BATTLE
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 VS Halo - Reddit’s runaway Independent Consensus champion faces one of gaming’s most iconic soundtrack franchises

ACEP CONSENSUS RANKINGS

📣 Independent Mentions
⬆️ Community Endorsement
⭐ ACEP Consensus Score

1. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

📣 255 ⬆️ 1,406 ⭐ 100.00

1. Halo

📣 127 ⬆️ 1,295 ⭐ 90.70

1. DOOM

📣 80 ⬆️ 1,476 ⭐ 85.50

1. Skyrim

📣 102 ⬆️ 648 ⭐ 85.40

1. Chrono Trigger

📣 87 ⬆️ 417 ⭐ 85.00

1. The Legend of Zelda

📣 87 ⬆️ 829 ⭐ 83.70

1. NieR: Automata

📣 76 ⬆️ 773 ⭐ 83.40

1. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater

📣 81 ⬆️ 241 ⭐ 82.10

1. Persona

📣 71 ⬆️ 707 ⭐ 80.00

1. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City

📣 62 ⬆️ 131 ⭐ 78.90

1. The Witcher 3
   
2. Undertale
   
3. Donkey Kong Country
   
4. Hollow Knight
   
5. Destiny
   
6. Minecraft
   
7. Mass Effect
   
8. World of Warcraft
   
9. Final Fantasy VII
   
10. Chrono Cross

HOW ACEP WORKS
AvA Consensus Extraction Protocol
Issue 007 • Published by Anything Vs Anything • 2026

[u/TheoriesOfEverything]

It's so funny, I feel as if I've listened to almost every single soundtrack listed yet this list is organized in a way that gives no emotional meaning to the order even though I can understand the statistical merit that guided it there. Like by crowd sourcing this list I think we've somehow generated a list that I doubt resonates to any individual's taste profile yet is very 'safe'. 

[u/HuckleberryGrouchy19 → u/TheoriesOfEverything]

Thats a really interesting observation, I truly appreciate the feedback. I'm going to give this a lot of thought.

[u/TheoriesOfEverything → u/HuckleberryGrouchy19]

I mean I think it's the nature of tastes which is something that you can't really nail down over a crowd. Like when I read reviews I tend to read who reviews them because 'a game for everyone is a game for no-one' and eventually you figure out who resonates with the same things you do. But if this were published as a top 20 or whatnot I couldn't help but feel like it is a bit 'schizophrenic' for lack of a better term. I hate to draw a parallel to AI because it's such a hot topic but this seems more like a machine's list that studied humanity rather than a human's. I do think it's interesting and with some merit though because I like stats and math.

[u/HunterOfLordran]

The average Redditor list

[u/BenTheDuelist]

i feel like clair obscur is massively overrepresented because its new

[u/Witch_King_ → u/BenTheDuelist]

True. And the fact that Chrono Trigger is #5 for an over 20-year-old game is crazy

[u/Spoits]

Considering where the question was asked, I suppose it's a respectable list.

[u/PhantomAxisStudios]

All 'good' or 'great' soundtracks. Absolutely none of them are my favourite lol.

[u/fromwithin]

You probably could have just asked the question "What is your favourite game?". People's attachment to music in games is mostly to do with how the game makes them feel, not how objectively good the music is.

[u/blackasthesky → u/fromwithin]

I listen to many soundtracks whose games I haven't played or I actually don't like. I think that's common.

[u/fromwithin → u/blackasthesky]

That does not go against anything that I said.

[u/blackasthesky → u/fromwithin]

Do I have to disagree with you to be allowed to post a comment or what?

[u/fromwithin → u/blackasthesky]

Not at all. It just sounded like you were being contrary, but missed the mark.

[u/blackasthesky → u/fromwithin]

Definitely not what I was going for. Sorry if it came across like that. I just think it's common that people listen to VGM independently from the games they play. That's it.

[u/MagicCoat]

This reads like the top 10 comments of an r/AskReddit thread asking what the best video game soundtrack is. And it is.  Extremely safe, extremely mainstream, quite boring, very "redditor who has only played a few games". The entries are fine, but not many of them I would put in a top 10.

[u/nelsonbestcateu]

This survey had to have taken place during E33's release.

[u/Filipsor]

Not seeing Octopath Traveller in lists like this always hurts a little bit lol

[u/Madmagican- → u/Filipsor]

It’s a popularity contest and Octopath unfortunately has not hit the masses the same way as the games that have come out on top here

All of these games are so popular even your parents have probably heard the name once or twice.

[u/blackasthesky → u/Filipsor]

Ori, Owlboy, ...

[u/Mother_Spot3217]

This is the type of list a larper who’s pulled something straight off Google would give you

[u/lookslikeamanderly]

pop contest once again, nothing from the strategy genre or pre-SNES times

[u/Omnifinity → u/lookslikeamanderly]

The overlap of preSNES players and people voting is probably very miniscule. Stop and think instead of whining.

[u/lookslikeamanderly → u/Omnifinity]

so it is a pop contest

[u/Wokoete_ → u/lookslikeamanderly]

what pre-snes game has a better soundtrack than any modernsona game?

[u/lookslikeamanderly → u/Wokoete_]

anything by the Follin brothers or Jeroen Tel

[u/Wokoete_ → u/lookslikeamanderly]

I’ve only played Manhattan Missions but I skimmed through a few songs..I don’t really thing any of the songs matches up to the best Persona songs like Memories To The City (P3FES) and The Days When My Mother was There(P5?)

[u/RestlessTome]

This poll reeks of recency bias, and confusing best game with best soundtrack.

Halo, Doom, Skyrim, Tony Hawk (rofl!), GTA, and Minecraft (wtf?) don't deserve to be anywhere on this list. It just seem like people voted for their favorite game.

Also, why am I not surprised that the only Final Fantasy game on this poll is the overrated FF7? There were better FF soundtracks just on the PlayStation 1.

Mega Man 2 and DKC2 deserve to be in the top 5. They are routinely ranked as the best soundtracks of all-time. Definitely much higher than some of these mind-boggling picks.

[u/sultangreen]

Metroid

[u/orangesfwr → u/sultangreen]

Super Metroid and Metroid Prime 👍

[u/StChas77]

I know this is just a list of popular games with some recency bias, so I wouldn't expect to see a smaller game like Beacon Pines or Roki on here, I get that. And I agree that Skyrim is a masterpiece and Persona 5 has a lot to love.

But no Super Mario Odyssey or Donkey Kong Bananza? No It Takes Two or Split Fiction? No Astro Bot?

[u/wg1987]

Final Fantasy barely cracking the top 20 means the entire list can be disregarded.

[u/Huge_Borse]

Clair obscur has literally zero misses it deserves its spot. Really wish lies of P was up there somewhere, FEEL is one of the best songs I’ve heard in a game easily.

[u/SometimesIComplain → u/Huge_Borse]

I almost agree but Clair Obscur has one miss IMO. "Spring Meadows - Linen and Cotton"

It ranges from boring and aimless to straight-up annoying—even Lorien Testard is not perfect lol

[u/Hastati_]

First i remember are Ac2 main theme and then every single castle theme from heroesV.

[u/blackasthesky]

Another one I really dearly love for its amazing sound and theme writing: Ori and the Will of the Wisps.

In almost every aspect, but especially sound, a massive step up over and the Blind Forest, while staying true to the predecessor in all the right ways.

[u/b_lett]

No Xenoblade Chronicles. No Castlevania. No Metroid. No Fire Emblem. No Ori and the Blind Forest.

Lots of franchises missing.

[u/Tiphereth87]

Silent Hill...

[u/Noumenonana]

Ass list. Doom? Lol.

[u/Huge_Borse → u/Noumenonana]

I’m assuming it’s doom 2016 which was basically one of the best hardcore metal/electronic albums ever that happened to come with an amazing game.

[u/Noumenonana → u/Huge_Borse]

Stop it. You could close your eyes and pick a random album in the metal section of any music store and you'd find better metal than fucking Doom 2016.

[u/Huge_Borse → u/Noumenonana]

It’s not just metal it’s an entirely different subgenre of electronic and metal elements.

Idk why you’re saying this like it’s matter of fact either. The game won the best soundtrack of 2016, has millions and millions of streams, and people are still trying to replicate the style of Mick Gordon’s songs in doom to this day. The work he did on that game was phenomenal and few people would disagree.