Computer game music has the magical ability to send you back to being a kid again, mashing at the keypad. Or, if you play modern-day immersive games, music enhances the experience so you feel every emotional punch of the characters you become.

Here, we go through the history of gaming from arcade classics to the current-day peak of technological mastery. This is just a selection of the vast amount of game music available to learn in the flowkey app

Old School 80s Classics

Tetris

Originally a Russian traditional song, before it became the soundtrack to hours struggling to fitting blocks into spaces, always wishing for the long thin one to give you a high score.

> “Tetris” - Russian Traditional

Mario

The original red-hatted Italian plumber that we love. There’s an ongoing battle about which of the first three games is the best. But you don’t have to choose, we’ve got the classic themes from all three in the app.

> “Super Mario Theme” 1, 2 and 3 - Koji Kondo

90s and 00s Nostalgia

Zelda

Save the Princess, beat the boss, or just run around the market smashing pots. Koji Kondo’s minimalist music puts you in the head of Link, the silent protagonist. From the classic “Zelda’s Lullaby” to the music from “The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time”  that defined the childhood of N64-playing millennials around the world.

Final Fantasy

The series has been going strong since 1987. It gave us the kind of characters you fall in love with and get excited to fight alongside... Nobuo Uematsu composed everything from 8-bit beeping to rousing orchestral finales, including fan favorites “Final Fantasy - Silence Before the Storm” and “Final Fantasy VIII - Ending”.

The Fantasy Years of Assassins and Dragons

Assassin’s Creed II

Who thought that a hooded assassin jumping off rooftops could pack such an emotional punch? Composer Jesper Kyd rose to the role of combining the historic and futuristic elements of the story. “Ezio’s Family” is considered by fans as the unofficial theme of the ongoing series.

> “Assassin's Creed: Ezio’s Family” - Jesper Kyd

Skyrim

The Skyrim themes are grand and heroic, to make you feel the part as you’re hunting a dragon across a vast magical open-world map. “Ancient Stones” is one of the standouts. Swelling and poignant, it sounds just as evocative in this piano solo arrangement.

> “Skyrim: Ancient Stones” - Jeremy Soule

Modern-Day Masterpieces

Mass Effect 2

This sequel revolutionized gaming with an enormous open universe to explore. An epic storyline and heartstring-tugging music to match.

> “Mass Effect 2: Suicide Mission/End Run” - Jack Wall

Fallout 4

Surviving in a post-apocalyptic wasteland is pretty rough. Inon Zur chose to focus on piano when composing the score for this episode of the Fallout saga, to match the personal story at its core.

> “Fallout 4 Main Theme” - Inon Zur

The Last of Us

Another post-apocalyptic story, but a heartbreaking, horrifying one. Players connect to this survival story on a deeper emotional level thanks to the score by Gustavo Santaolalla.

> “The Last of Us - Main Theme” - Gustavo Santaolalla