2014 was a banner year for great video game soundtracks. Below are ten of the best, all of which are available to stream or download for free!

The Floor is Jelly
by Disasterpeace and Ian Snyder

Our first soundtrack is a collaboration between developer Ian Snyder (Feign) and game composer Disasterpeace (Fez OST).

The idyllic, whistful music combines acoustic instruments and ambient sounds of water with electronic synths and digital manipulations.

Stream for free on Bandcamp

Immerse
by Lifeformed

While this is technically a soundtrack to a documentary about making a game (Double Fine's Broken Age) rather than a game soundtrack per se, it would be impossible to omit Lifeformed's follow up to the excellent Fastfall: Dustforce OST.

Like the latter, it's a perfect blend of pulsing beats and spaced out blips, and is similarly licensed under Creative Commons for non-commercial use.  

Stream for free on Bandcamp
Creative Commons License: BY-NC-SA 3.0

Fract OSC
by Mogi Grumbles

Cold, shimmering synthesizers dominate this retro-futuristic soundtrack and serve as the perfect accompaniment to the neon-hued, first person music puzzler.

Fract OSC was winner of Best Audio Design at IndieCade 2014 and Honourable Mention for Excellence in Audio at the Independent Games Festival 2013.

Stream for free on Bandcamp

Transistor
by Darren Korb

Bastion composer Darren Korb returns for the soundtrack to Supergiant's second game, Transistor. His brilliant work on the former might have been slightly overshadowed by the charismatic, gravel-voiced narrator.

However, Transistor's jazzy, downtempo electronic tracks (interspersed with five sultry vocal turns by Ashley Barrett) take center stage in this dystopian, turn-based, action RPG.

Stream for free on Bandcamp

Shovel Knight
by Jake Kaufman

The soundtrack for Shovel Knight has the distinction of being a chiptune album playable on original NES / Famicom hardware.

As a bonus, these tracks have been licensed under Creative Commons and you can download remixes, including one by Megaman composer Manami Matsumae, on Strike the Earth! Shovel Knight Arranged.

Download / Stream for free on Bandcamp
Creative Commons License: BY-NC-SA 3.0

Pixel Boy
by Pyramid

Hailing from the French city of Lyon, electronic artist Pyramid contributes warm, dreamy, ambient soundscapes to Pixel Boy and the Ever Expaning Dungeon, a roguelike twin-stick shooter.

Stream for free on Bandcamp

Eidolon
by Michael Bell

Eidolon's lonely, first-person exploration of a post-human Northwestern wilderness is expertly scored by Michael Bell's plaintive acoustic guitar, and littered with bursts of noise and haunting strings.

Stream for free on Bandcamp

Hohokum
by Various Artists

Hohokum was undoubtedly one of the oddest games to be released this year, recalling the experiments of the Katamari series.

Its effervescent soundtrack is a who's who of electronic artists signed to record label Ghostly International, including Matthew Dear, Com Truise, and Jacaszek. 

Stream for free on Ghostly International
Stream for free on The Hype Machine

0x10c
by C418

0x10c was originally planned as the follow up to the immensely popular Minecraft, but has since been abandoned.

These two tracks are all that have been released by composer C418, but clearly indicate the dramatic, orchestral approach he intended.

Download / Stream for free on Bandcamp

Destiny
by Michael Salvatori, C. Paul Johnson,
Martin O'Donnell, and Paul McCartney

The soundtrack for Destiny was perhaps one of the most anticipated of 2014, featuring a score by Martin O'Donnell and Michael Salvatori (Halo series) and recorded by a 120-piece orchestra at Abbey Road Studios.

Also, none other than Paul McCartney provided contributions and feedback as well as the single Hope for the Future, which plays during the end credits.

Stream for free on YouTube

Listen to  a selection of 100 tracks from the Best Video Game Sountracks of 2014 as a Spotify playlist.

View all of the soundtracks above as a Bibliocommons list.