Chill game soundtracks to help you focus

Working in absolute silence is maddening. Whether you’re working a desk job or a student studying for a test, those hours you spend focusing on any given task wear away at your mind until you end up cracking and opening YouTube or playing a game on your phone. There’s no shame in that, but there are better ways to make sure you stay focused on whatever task you have in front of you. Music can work all kinds of magic on your brain, but listening to the wrong kind might end up being a bigger distraction than anything else. Chill music, preferably without lyrics, tends to help people enter a nice flow state.

Mainstream music doesn’t give you many choices for chill music meant to flow in the background, but video game soundtracks are perfect for it. Hundreds of hours of music are composed to keep you engaged while exploring fast landscapes, grinding against monsters, and navigating menus without getting bored. They also just so happen to be amazing at keeping you focused. Unless you go out of your way to look up specific game tracks, odds are you don’t have a list handy for relaxing game music. Thankfully I’m just the kind of nerd who has a Spotify playlist with hundreds of hours of relaxing video game music to share.

1 Kingdom Hearts II

Lazy Days

Before you scream “Where’s Dearly Beloved?” at me, give me a second. We all know Dearly Beloved is a masterpiece, so I would be wasting a spot recommending it since you probably already have it on your playlist. Lazy Days is a more overlooked track, which is a shame. Playing only during the prologue chapter as Roxas in Twilight Town, Lazy Days feels like warm summer nostalgia and the fleeting days of youth all wrapped up in a single melody. It hits all the harder when you know the context, but even without it, the somber horns and swaying strings will weave their way into your brain and trigger calming feelings even under the most stressful deadlines.

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2 Persona 5

Beneath the Mask

Without a killer soundtrack, even a game as beautiful to look at, mechanically deep, and narratively gripping as Persona 5 couldn’t keep players engaged for the 80+ hours it takes to finish. Persona is just as much about the vibes and relaxation between the stressful Palaces as it is about turn-based combat. Those tracks are perfect if you need to get pumped up, but Beneath the Mask, especially the rain variant, is the perfect jazzy tune to make you feel like you’re sitting in a cozy little cafe on a chilly fall evening. You can opt for the lyrical or non-lyrical version as best suits you, but either way this OST will lull you into a calm sense of serenity. Just make sure you don’t get too comfortable and fall asleep.

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3 Halo 3: ODST

Deference for Darkness

Listen, I know Halo doesn’t exactly scream calm and relaxing, but ODST is a very different game from the mainline entries. Yeah, you’re still doing plenty of alien blasting, but a majority of the game is spent alone in the rainy city. It is the most atmospheric game in the series, and that’s in no small part due to the music. Deference for Darkness trades in the bombastic horns and chanting choirs for soft saxophones and soothing violins. It’s a subdued track, which is just what you want, but with a hint of mystery and wonder to keep your mind in a positive state. Even if you don’t play ODST, or any shooters for that matter, give this track a shot and see how it strikes you.

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4 ICO

Heal

I’m one of the eight people out there who think ICO is the best Ueda game, but even if you prefer Shadow of the Colossus or never played ICO, I can at least try and convert you to appreciate its gorgeous soundtrack. This simple but wonderful title is about a cursed boy sent to a mysterious castle where he meets a girl in a cage. The two, despite not speaking the same language, attempt to escape together. There’s more to it, but that’s the basic idea. With almost no dialogue, the soundtrack needs to do a lot of heavy lifting. Tracks like Heal are perfectly emblematic of the vibes this game is going for, namely wonder and curiosity. Personally, it feels like the soundtrack I add to my memories of being a kid exploring the mountains near my house.

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5 Transistor

Old Friends

Supergiant Games is one of the most acclaimed small studios out there. Most people joined the fan club when Hades came out, thanks to the immaculate artwork and gameplay. However, I don’t think their most recent major release is actually representative of the studio’s best work, at least when it comes to soundtracks, as that honor goes to Transistor. This is a more active soundtrack than the others in this list with a mix of vocal and instrumental tracks you can pick and choose from, but they all convey the mood of a drowsy city night. The main melody is super calm and chill, but there’s a strong beat and buzzing bass that pulses life into the air. I find this mix keeps me at the perfect level of attentiveness without getting too keyed up or start slipping into drowsiness.

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