Gaming: Stardew Valley's Soundtrack Is The Game's Unsung Hero, And Nails...

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Welcome to Soundtrack Sunday, where a member of the PC Gamer team takes a look at a soundtrack from one of their favourite games—or a broader look at videogame music as a whole—offering their thoughts or asking for yours!

God, Stardew Valley turned 10 this week, didn't it? That feels sort of wild to think about. I didn't jump into the game until around 12 months later, but that's still nine entire years that this game has been in my life. It's certainly not been in my regular gaming rotation anywhere near as much as some of Pelican Town's most dedicated farmers, but it's one of those I always come back to when I desperately crave some cosy warmth in my life.

The one thing that is in my regular rotation, however? That game's freakin' soundtrack, baby. Not a day has gone by this year that I haven't listened to at least one song from its fantastic OST. Seriously, it boggles my mind that Eric Barone cooked so hard in so many aspects of Stardew Valley, but to absolutely nail the music on top of all of that? Madness.

Because I don't know about you, but something I so often find with my cosy games is that I don't really remember their soundtracks. I know, I am a terrible appreciator of videogame music. Despite, you know, writing about how much I love it every week. But I think when a lot of these games are designed to feel relaxing, or comforting, their soundtracks sort of take a backseat.

Sometimes it's ambient music that fits well in the context of the game, but doesn't have much listening power beyond it. Or filled with lo-fi tracks—which, while I am a total sucker for lo-fi, I never find any one particular track burrowing its way into my brain to infinitely loop around my noggin as I go about my day.

But Stardew Valley does something special. It carefully toes the line of nostalgia and newness, bringing something that feels fresh but deeply rooted in the games that inspired Barone in the first place. Jaunty synths for bright summer days that transform into more gentle, ethereal sounds as the seasons grow colder, an almost comically stereotypical ragtime piano piece for the Stadrop Saloon, and the delightful main theme.

It's one that feels a little dreamy—funnily enough, it reminds me just a teeny-tiny bit of the Donald's Dreamland playground theme from Toontown. Not in terms of any actual melody running through either track, but just the way both of them

Source: PC Gamer