I am a firm believer that video games are a form of art. They meld together storytelling, visual art, and music into an interactive package. Behind even the most generic cash-grab shooter is a team of artists painting concepts, modeling environments and characters, and composing music.

The sounds of a game are an integral part of the experience. Even years after playing a game, hearing its soundtrack can bring me back to the first time I played it, and elicit all the emotions I felt while doing so. While your response might not be as strong if you’ve never played them, here are some games with top-tier soundtracks. And who knows: maybe listening will convince you to give the game a try.

1. "Hotline Miami"

Hotline Miami throws the player back to 1989 in a Miami seemingly trapped in perpetual twilight. You take control of Jacket, a chicken-masked psychopath who embarks on murderous top-down rampages on the whims of the voices on the telephone. The game sports a perfectly-crafted aesthetic: arcade action, retro, outrun-style visuals, and a fitting soundtrack. Hotline Miami’s soundtrack is a compilation of music from different artists, each with their own unique style. Some tracks are mellow and distant for loading screens and Jacket’s midnight “snack” runs, and some tracks are intense and dissonant (almost grating), perfect for putting golf clubs through the skulls of the scum the Miami underground has to offer.

2. "Bastion"

Playing Bastion feels like participating in an ancient legend being retold over a campfire. The hand-painted set pieces and the narrator’s gravelly drawl create a sense of mysticism that is amplified by the soundtrack. With an acoustic guitar taking center stage, the soundtrack mirrors and supports the action: light plucking accompanies stops in safe zones, and rhythmic strumming picks up during combat. Sometimes accompanied by humming and singing, the guitar fills in the gaps between the narrator’s musings, forcing the player to reflect. The only reason I even played Bastion in the first place was the unanimous praise I found for its soundtrack.

3. "Skyrim"

I’m sure you’ve heard of Skyrim by now. You might’ve listened to its rousing main theme, which never fails to send chills down my spine. But the music of Skyrim can do much more than accompany a Norse warrior-god’s valiant duel with a dragon. It can warm a rain-soaked traveler on a long trek. It can amplify the wonder of the northern lights from the top of a snow-covered peak. It can populate a modest fishing village with wind instruments. It can scare a dungeon-diver slowly realizing he’s in over his head. It enhances the sense of scale in an already enormous world. Each track from the Skyrim soundtrack brings me to a specific place in the world in a way that no other game music can.

4. "Doom"

Doom is a little different. Doom isn’t about narrative. Doom doesn’t try to make the player feel sadness, empathy, or wonder. Doom is about rage. Doom is about killing literal demons from hell. Doom is about feeling like a badass. Mick Gordon’s metal soundtrack has a machine-like, electronic feel to it, which fits nicely in the futuristic setting, however, the chugging djent is never far behind to remind you of the swathes of hellspawn you need to cut through. The track “bfg Division” in particular never fails to pump me up, and made me question my aversion to metal. The Doom soundtrack screams: “You are the Doomguy, and the demons fear you.”

5. "Halo"

The Halo soundtrack is a prime source of chills. The worldbuilding and storytelling of the Halo series are top-notch, but the thing that keeps me coming back is the music. I used to have to force myself to leave the main menu and actually play Halo 3 because of the haunting, yet epic chords of the beginning of "Roll Call." The whole soundtrack is an inspiring mix of grand piano, orchestra, and choral voices. The classic choices of instruments give the Halo series the feeling of a title it rightly deserves: a space epic.

6. "The Talos Principle"

The Talos Principle is the game on this list that is most difficult to separate from its music. To fully appreciate the music, you need the full experience of playing the game. The music makes heavy use of harsh, reverberating piano and deep choral voices, both of which jump from loud to soft frequently and quickly. The music helps the game environment feel ancient, but its aggression makes the player feel like a trespasser . . . like you were never supposed to step foot there. This fits with the game’s themes perfectly, although I’d rather not spoil anything . . . .

7. "Terraria"

Terraria’s music sounds like chiptune left to evolve for a few millennia. The music changes each time you enter a new biome or start a boss fight, and after some time playing the game, each track acquires a psychological connection to its respective biome or boss. Even the composer named each track after the location in which it plays. Bright, chirpy synths let you know that it is finally daytime and its safe to explore, while eerie chords and drums tell you you’re digging too deep. The boss music makes the colorful sprites of the bosses seem much angrier. Terraria is one of the few games I’ve played for hundreds of hours without getting sick of the music.