Join The Club
I'm not sure when exactly I got hooked on collecting videogame and anime soundtrack vinyl, but I can remember the exact record that finally convinced me to really open my wallet: the Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice boxset. This four disc collection has some of the most gorgeous interior art I've ever seen.
Welcome to Critical Hit (formerly known as Soundtrack Sunday), where we celebrate and lament all things videogame music, audio design, and the ways our favourite games make our ears tingle. Mollie is away this week, so I (Sean Martin) am co-opting the column to share my vinyl collection and chat about videogame vinyl.
Welp, after that I was doomed. I had Sekiro, so of course it made sense to collect the Dark Souls 3 (my fav) and Bloodborne soundtracks, oh and the Demon's Souls Remake OST, ahh and don't forget the Elden Ring official vinyl collection boxset. I graduated from Soulslikes onto other genres, too.
I collected soundtracks for my strategy darlings like Total War: Three Kingdoms and Frostpunk, plus my beloved indies like The Banner Saga, Outer Wilds, Rain World, Transistor, and Hollow Knight. Even my love of Warhammer 40k wasn't immune as I acquired Mechanicus, Vermintide, and Darktide (also the Hitman: Contracts OST, because it's my fav Hitman one, and god bless Jesper Kyd). And that's not mentioning the big collections I grabbed, like Baldur's Gate 3, Dishonored, and Persona 5.
Having so many games whose soundtracks I love has led me to accumulate a whole heap of random records from across various genres, but I also have some really cool bits. Why do I buy OST vinyl instead of just listening online? I really enjoy slotting in a record while doing chores and how it lets me relive a game. It turns the act of listening into its own little ritual—something slightly more mindful than just skipping through some vast mix or playlist. They are also enjoyable objects to own and display.
But it can definitely be an expensive hobby. I've grown my collection over about six years, and though I've grabbed records cheap where I can, and have learned when to say no, especially when something is just too expensive, it has been relatively costly. It's also a difficult hobby depending on your region, considering postage can exponentially increase even a relatively cheap record's cost.
I personally keep an eye on Black Screen Records, iam8bit, and Laced, but this is mainly so I can see what's coming out. I rarely buy from Black Screen, for example, because their postage is quite expensive for me, so when I know something is up for pre-orders, I'll look elsewhere and find another trusted site with what I want available at a lower cost.
You also, of course, need a record player and space to fit it. I really rate audio technica's quality and while I used to have an audio technica turntable, I eventually swapped it for their re-release of the comically-named Sound Burger—a portable record player originally released in the 1980s. I fell in love with how compact, but also fun-looking it is. It even connects to certain bluetooth headphones. Again, though, expensive.
I think one thing that also tripped me up with videogame vinyl soundtracks, is you should never buy an OST of a game you've played a lot just because you love it. I made this mistake with Elden Ring, a game I adore, but that I've put 850 hours into. It means that while it's a nice object to collect and own to memorialise my love of it, the actual soundtrack (besides the boss themes) isn't that enjoyable to listen to because I know it too well.
I'm sure Warhammer fans come across the same problem, but storage is also an issue if you're planning to collect loads of records. I personally use the bottom shelf of a big bookcase, but you can also buy fancier storage solutions like crates, or even those portable cases on wheels that DJs use. Still, as with any collection, it can be a pain if you have to move it and you want to keep it secure.
Outer Wilds has a beautiful soundtrack, but for the longest time after release it was difficult to get (unless you were willing to pay an extortionate price to a reseller) because it only had one pressing. Thankfully, it returned for a second later. You can see the exterior in the gallery above, but the interior is just as cool, with loads of little notations, including musical scores to play along with the character melodies.
My conclusion after years of collecting? Videogame vinyl isn't worth it for most people, not when it's so easy to just listen to your fav game soundtracks online and in a less cumbersome way than using a record player. Vinyl isn't necessarily a better sound quality than digital, after all. I personally like it and I also enjoy owning a record collection and the ritual of listening to them, but it has been somewhat costly over the years. I don't earn that much, but I don't have loads of expensive hobbies or pastimes beyond games, which has made it viable for me.
If it's something you're interested in regardless, a better bet might be picking your battles and collecting vinyl soundtracks for your few favorites for if you ever acquire a record player in future. One thing I have realised about videogame vinyl soundtracks is that many of them become more expensive and effectively unobtainable collector items because of the limited number of pressings they receive. Despite its massive price, the one record I really regret never being able to acquire is Supergiant's 10th
While some big games just keep re-pressing and releasing their soundtracks, it can be massively frustrating if you only just missed out on one of your favourite games for it never to appear again. If there are any videogame vinyl collectors in chat, what's your favorite record that you own? Or better yet, what soundtrack would you love to own on vinyl? Mine's currently Silksong, but sadly there's no word of a vinyl release yet.
