5 Underground Indie Game OSTs: 1000 Eyes (“SIGNALIS”), breakcore icon Lauren Bousfield & more [Start Gaming via Music #5]

“You don’t have to play the game—it’s fine to just listen to the soundtrack.” This series began with that bold statement.

Just like game developers, composers who create music for games possess a distinct artistic vision. And it’s by no means uncommon for the unique sounds they create to significantly influence the game’s tone and mechanics themselves.Just as you might follow your favorite developers or studios, try making “composer” one of your selection criteria. We’ll be sharing plenty of the fun that comes with this approach once again.

Listen to the *Train Attack* soundtrack, and you’ll be a true video game music enthusiast. The soundtrack to this ultra-high-quality cat meme golf game is spectacular—5 albums that will make video game music lovers drool [It’s Okay to Start Playing Games Because of the Music #5] | Game*Spark - Domestic and International Game News Site

Let’s forget everything and get excited with some silly game music

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The fifth installment (August 2026) turned out to be an even “darker and sharper” month than usual.Abandoned theme parks, crumbling brutalist cities, dungeons where blood and bones fly, and a young girl’s sweet yet toxic nightmares—this selection features works set in horror and dystopian worlds, accompanied by music unearthed from the deepest recesses of the underground.

Lauren Bousfield, who has blazed a trail through the wilderness of breakcore; Ada Rook, who ventures to the farthest reaches of noise pop; and 1000 Eyes, who created an unforgettable soundscape in *SIGNALIS*.These creators, who typically produce cutting-edge sounds within their respective scenes, are now fully showcasing their artistic vision in settings such as visual novels and parkour action games.

Personally, I don’t think there are many months that offer such a great “entry point” even for those unfamiliar with noise or experimental music.

From well-known hits to works that many have overlooked, I’ll be introducing them through the lens of “video game music.” Please enjoy the unique experience of discovering games on Bandcamp rather than Steam.

(*If you’d like to delve even deeper into game music, I’d be delighted if you’d pick up my book, *Guide to Overseas Game Music: Music from Around the World Through the Ages, Traced Through Video Games*.)

"The One Fish" (Released August 12)

"The One Fish" is a laid-back cooperative fishing game where 1 to 6 players team up online to fish endlessly and keep "The One Fish"—a giant fish—satisfied. To satisfy its bottomless appetite, players reel in fish of all shapes, sizes, and bizarre effects.

The soundtrack is composed by Garrett Williamson, an indie artist and composer based in Nashville, USA. A die-hard musician who began composing at age 4 and made his first recording at age 10, he has contributed to games highly acclaimed for their music, such as *No Straight Roads* and *Omega Strikers*.

True to the game’s sea fishing theme, the OST features a full lineup of refreshing, tropical-sounding tracks.It’s a laid-back yet sophisticated sound that spans 2000s R&B, hip-hop, jazz fusion, and even yacht rock (a mellow style of rock music that blends soft rock with elements of jazz fusion, R&B, and soul).

This album brings light, sophisticated grooves and a chill vibe to a laid-back fishing game. It’s sure to be the perfect soundtrack for real-life fishing as well.

"Twisted Tower" (Released August 18)

“Twisted Tower” is a horror FPS set in an abandoned 1950s theme park, where players race up a tower haunted by fairy-tale mascots.Developed by Atmos Games—the studio of Thomas Brush, known as an indie developer and short horror film director—and published by 3D Realms.

As the developer himself has openly acknowledged the influence of *BioShock*, the game’s signature feature is its structure, in which a collapsed utopia allows the ruins themselves to tell the story of its downfall.

Quinten Coblentz is the main composer for the soundtrack. Chandler Anderson, Matt Rexford, and developer Thomas Brush himself also contributed to several tracks.

With a score that combines retro, unsettling tones—perfect for the 1950s theme park setting—with the fast-paced energy of an FPS, it’s very much in the vein of *BioShock*. The toy-like sounds mingling within this dark world are eerie and effectively evoke the atmosphere of a decaying theme park.

The final track, “Your Love Was Never Mine,” is a 1940s-style jazz song built around violins, a brass section, and live female vocals.The behind-the-scenes story—in which developer Thomas Brush sent a hummed melody to Chandler Anderson and Matt Rexford, who then refined it into a full song—adds a nice touch to the album.

*Vholume* (Released August 24)

Set in a dystopian city of crumbling Brutalist architecture, *Vholume* is a first-person parkour adventure where a single, trivial errand is transformed into an endless journey by bureaucracy—a melancholic world you race through.

At its core is the *Mirror’s Edge*-like thrill of running along walls and leaping with momentum, which, combined with the time-attack element of competing against other players’ ghosts, is creating a wave of addicts.It was developed by the team behind *STRAFTAT*, a competitive FPS that created its own wave of addicts through relentless one-on-one matches. Hearing that, it’s easy to see why this game is such a hit.

The soundtrack for this game is by 1000 Eyes—a project led by German musician Tom Schley (who also contributed to *The Stanley Parable*), known for co-creating the score for the acclaimed indie survival horror game *SIGNALIS*.Berlin-based Konstantin Schimanowski also contributed several tracks. This cold, architectural setting paired with German composers—it’s bound to be amazing.

In stark contrast to the fast-paced gameplay, what resonates is an endlessly cold ambient soundscape and metallic noise. Yet this calm, melancholic soundscape lends a unique sense of tension to the repetitive concrete landscapes.

Interwoven with this are sounds like acoustic guitar, glitches, and vinyl crackles, infusing the cold, brutalist world with the physical warmth of parkour. It is precisely these breath-like textures—alive within the metal and concrete—that shine with unyielding brilliance as the unforgettable signature of this work.

*Money for Girls: Amortized* (Released August 24)

*Money for Girls: Amortized* is a horror-romance visual novel in which a teenage detective tackles the greatest mystery of her life: “saving her mother from a debt spiral.” Development is led by Porpentine—known as an experimental artist—who handles writing, coding, and direction under the pseudonym Xrafstar, with art by Vich.

The story unfolds against a backdrop of a beautiful tropical landscape that hides a world of sin, where the school’s most popular student takes an unsettling interest in the protagonist, and the predatory loan that preys on her mother bares its fangs…The game also features fashion elements sure to appeal to girls, including 16 stickers to customize your character and 7 outfits to choose from.

The soundtrack is by Lauren Bousfield.She is a composer known for the seminal breakcore album *Nero’s Day at Disneyland*, who fuses intricately fragmented beats with organic, acoustic-like melodies. Additionally, underground electronica and noise artists such as Ada Rook, ESPer99, and Ash Nerve have contributed tracks.

Among them, Ada Rook is best known as a member of the noise-pop band Black Dresses. She is also active in numerous other bands and projects. In fact, the music I listened to most in 2025 was by Angel Electronics, the brutal euphoria wave band featuring Ada Rook.What’s more, her partner in Angel Electronics is none other than Ash Nerve, who also appears on this album. Ada Rook’s talents extend beyond music—she develops indie games on her own and has demonstrated her versatility by releasing *Fallow* in 2021.

This avant-garde album, a chaotic blend of breakcore, glitch pop, noise pop, drone, and ambient, amplifies the game’s toxic yet sweet worldview through sound. The outpouring of hatred—so destructive and heart-piercing, steeped in both fear and love—perfectly matches the game’s abnormal emotions, which spiral deeper and deeper inward.

For those who aren’t used to noise music, I recommend starting with tracks 24 through 26, as they are relatively easier to listen to.

*Blood Dungeon* (Released August 25)

“Blood Dungeon,” a 2D platforming auto-shooter created by Messhof (Mark Essen) of “Nidhogg” fame—a name likely familiar to any fan of indie games from the 2010s.

It was released as a high-difficulty roguelike that combines *Vampire Survivors*-style auto-battle—where you fight while dodging—with the ultra-light, acrobatic 2D action inherited from *Nidhogg*, all while adding wall-climbing and exploration.Race through dungeons teeming with over 100 types of enemies, collecting blood and bones along the way, and upgrade your character between runs. Featuring rough, primitive pixel art drawn by Mark Essen himself and brimming with dark humor, this is a new title that’s sure to turn heads.

The soundtrack is composed by Thomas Hooey, who was also commissioned for *Wheel World*.The score—which the development team calls “dungeon dnb”—is rooted in jungle, breakbeats, and drum ’n’ bass, genres that flourished in the ’90s and ’00s and have long resonated across both the music and gaming scenes.

The title screen features a rather peculiar sound that unfolds at a mid-tempo pace, blending harpsichord-like tones and operatic female vocals with a squelchy acid bassline and choppy, staccato drums.

This sonic style carries over into the gameplay, where classical instruments intertwine with high-speed drum machines to create a groove that’s far too stylish to be enjoyed while leaping over giant mummy heads. It’s an album that masterfully balances the adrenaline-fueled rush of intense combat with the ambient atmosphere of quiet exploration, creating a dynamic interplay of pace and intensity.

海外ゲーム音楽ガイドブック ビデオゲームからたどる古今東西の音楽
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