Best Original Music Score of 2017 - Article
by Taneli Palola , posted on 06 January 2018 / 5,531 Views
Music has always played an integral role in my personal enjoyment of any video game. A great soundtrack can elevate a game from being just another average or forgettable gameplay experience into something genuinely excellent, while a poor soundtrack can just as easily ruin what would otherwise be a perfectly acceptable game. Fortunately, 2017 has been a very good year for video game music, as we've seen more than just a few wonderful original scores come out of this year's video game releases.
Not only do some of the best scores of the year come familiar franchises - oftentimes trying out something quite different with their music and succeeding in the process - but a lot of them also come from entirely new places. However, as is always the case, only a few games can be fully recognised in these awards, and the following four games received the most votes to make it into this year's shortlist for the best original music score.
The Shortlist:
Nier: Automata
Persona 5
Super Mario Odyssey
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
The Winner:
Nier: Automata
Ultimately, the award for the best original music score of 2017 goes to Nier: Automata, which beat out some of the year's biggest and most acclaimed releases for this particular award. Composed by much of the same team that was responsible for the music in the original Nier, the music in Nier: Automata feels like a very direct continuation of the original's style. However, while elements of the score retained some of the quiet melancholy of Nier and its excellent soundtrack, Automata's score also incorporated various new elements that successfully conveyed the feel of the game's harsher themes and environments.
Additionally, vocals play a prominent role in much of the Automata's score, which another element that has carried over from the first Nier. The music in Nier: Automata emphasizes the game's atmosphere to a degree that very few other video game scores ever manage to do and fully deserves the honor of best original music score of 2017.
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Nier Automata did have a beautiful soundtrack. Mario odyssey was just more of the same you expect
Very deserved win for Nier Automata, the music was indeed top tier.
Cuphead deserved to be on list aswell imo.
Zelda BotW or Mario Odyssey. Don't get me wrong, both have great soundtracks, but Cuphead's was simply better imo.
All 4 are easily top 10 games of 2017
Umm, Cuphead? I know this site favours japanese gaming, but you could at least throw a bone at a great original score that Cuphead has.
Nier Automata wins Best Score music at the Game Awards 2017 !
I HONEStly think persona 5 deserved this category.The music in p5 is stellar and while the soundtrack of nier was awesome p5 had the best imo.Its really disappointing that botb p5 n nier aren’t getting the proper spotlight they deserve, all thanks to nintendo.Don’t get me wrong, i love nintendo and botw was incredible, haven’t played odyssey yet but i don’t believe that it can be better than p5 or nier automata at all.P5 stunned me cause of incredible it is in every aspect and niers gameplay was super addicting and super awesome.Well whateve anyone says these two games are my favourites of last year and p5 is one of my fav game ever
YOu should play it yourself and find how masterfully atlus have recreated japan.Its scope is simply outstanding.It makes you immersed in the world and its lore and makes you a part of it.Niers world might be bigger in size but the scope of p5 crushed it imo.Still , i love these two games but for me is the better one overall
I only came here to make sure you picked the right one. You did.
Persona 5 hands down this aint even a fair competition no offense to those other titles.
While I do like Nier's Soundtrack a lot, Persona was far more memorable imo. They're both good games though, and I can proudly say I own and completed both of them.
Xenoblade 2??????????
Definitely very epic from what I’ve heard.
My favorite OST ever.
Persona 5's soundtrack was good, but you hear what, 5 themes repetitively all game long?
Nier definitely has a much richer soundtrack.
I can't hear you over the sound of my swag.
haha, my swag hurt someones feelings.
Xenoblade 2 not being on this list is a travesty. Unless it just missed the window for voting.
Which of the 4 should xenoblade 2 replace?
Breath of the Wild, easily. It has some amazing tracks, no mistake. But it's OST is fairly minimalist. The power of BotW's audio design is the ambient sound, not the score so much.
Xenoblade 2, on the other hand, is bursting with exceptional sound tracks. Every town has an exceptional and fitting track, the boss themes are awesome, the epic cutscene music is thrilling, and every new region brings fantastic field music to the party. And the variety on display is huge.
No Xenoblade 2 on the list at least? Anyway, Nier has it. The first Nier game still has the best one for me.
