My MMO asks: Which MMO has the coolest soundtrack?

Many online (role-playing) games impress with a grand soundtrack, perfectly scoring epic battles, dark dungeons, and breathtaking sceneries. Therefore, many players recognize their favorite games by their leitmotifs. But which MMO soundtrack is the best?

Anyone who played The Elder Scrolls Online for the first time was immediately greeted by the well-known leitmotif of the Elder Scrolls series, and the bombastic intro to World of Warcraft is even known by those who have had little to do with Blizzard’s online RPG. Spectacular soundtracks are often surprisingly good in MMOs, especially MMORPGs.

World of Soundcraft

When it comes to soundtracks, World of Warcraft stands out in particular, as Blizzard has always placed great value on a good sound backdrop. Especially with the powerful intro theme that played in the very first trailer for WoW, and still evokes pleasant goosebumps when heard today. Blizzard’s exceptional MMORPG impresses primarily with epic, impactful pieces and dark chants, but also has calm moments full of majestic sublimity.

Each area and addon has its own theme, for example, Asian-influenced pieces in Pandaria or powerful Orc drums in Draenor. One can basically listen to the entire soundtrack list without disappointment.

Chillingly beautiful and barbarically good

A completely different path is taken by the dark horror and mystery MMO The Secret World. Here, unobtrusive pieces dominate, which weave themselves more insistently into the ear canals and create a persistent atmosphere of fear and discomfort during the excellent quests and puzzles in Funcom’s exceptional MMO.

In contrast, the also Funcom-developed Age of Conan somewhat resembles World of Warcraft in its sound style. However, Conan’s arid world is not Azeroth, and the soundtrack fits extremely well to this prehistoric barbarian playground. Each region has its own unique sound, from the Celtic-like chants of Cimmeria to the dark, ominous Egyptian themes of Stygia.

Guilds and Star Wars

A particularly beautiful soundtrack comes from ArenaNet’s “Guild Wars” series. The majestic intro impressed a lot back in the day, and especially in the later addons like Factions (the main theme), Nightfall (the feast of Lyss), or Eye of the North (the Dwarven theme), several very good motifs were added. The special thing about the Guild Wars themes is that they stand out pleasantly from the usually heavy works of other games by sounding softer, yet no less impressive.

In an article about soundtracks, Star Wars: The Old Republic cannot be missing. After all, the underlying Star Wars saga would have been only half as good without the excellent soundtrack at the time, and even though the master John Williams was not personally involved in SWTOR, the pieces from the Star Wars MMO do justice to the film’s predecessor. Particularly cool: The music from the recently released addon Knights of the Fallen Empire. That’s pure Star Wars epic!

The crazy hamster

Finally, I want to share a personal tip of mine. My favorite MMO Wildstar has some extremely cool pieces, especially the delightfully eccentric theme of the Chua, which perfectly fits a crazy psycho hamster. But the theme of the Dominion or the western music of the Exiled are also quite cool. And when one enters a facility of the mysterious Eldan, their creepy-cold music sends chills down your spine.

But enough of my stuff, what are your favorite soundtracks from MMOs? Or do you turn off the music entirely and listen to your personal playlist on Spotify and Co. while grinding? Let us know! By the way, a big thank you to my colleague Petra Schmitz from GameStar for the tutorial on the best Guild Wars themes!