4 Video Games that Pulled Iconic Artists for Their Soundtracks

Video game soundtracks are important tools in storytelling. However, they have to be done in certain ways that don’t take players out of the game. The music needs to be atmospheric but not boring, exciting but not overwhelming, and narratively relevant but in a way that doesn’t give the whole game away. The right balance is crucial, and sometimes it takes an iconic artist stepping in to elevate a track. Here are four video game soundtracks that pulled in amazing artists to create a story-rich soundtrack.

The 2018 gun-slinging, coach-robbing, narratively rich prequel to the video game Red Dead Redemption from 2010 featured an aesthetically appropriate soundtrack that called upon banjo master Rhiannon Giddens for a couple of tracks. She performed on “Mountain Hymn” and “Mountain Banjo,” taking vocals on the former and banjo on the latter.

“Mountain Hymn” is used in the interim between the prologue of the game’s story and chapter one, where …