10 Creepy Gaming Soundtracks Guaranteed To Fuel Your Nightmares
6. The Last Of Us
Naughty Dog’s PlayStation classic The Last of Us is a delicately woven, intricate story of love, loss, loneliness, friendship, and of course, a zombie outbreak. Unlike most of the entries on this list, The Last of Us relies less on the use of traditional ‘scare’ mechanics, and instead drives the fear forward by making the player experience mirror that of protagonist Joel; one of a cold emptiness, where players are made to feel as though they are part of a desolate wasteland with no end in sight.
The soundtrack to this game heavily influences this feeling in step with the games story: it relies heavily on the creation of pathos, using strings and a lot of reverb in its mix to evoke hordes of emotion within the player. Added to this is the use of guitar – both acoustic and electric – and there is a very distinct “lone wolf” vibe which lends itself to showcasing the game's more thought provoking elements.
Written in keeping with the ‘desert wanderer’ theme, the soundtrack to The Last of Us rarely uses a full orchestral ensemble, making it feel extremely cold and in a word, haunting.