We all have experienced the misfortune of playing a video game and having that one particular song play on a loop in our heads. Haunting you in every waking moment until you find another song to take its place. I am lucky not to remember my first earworm. However, the next best thing was when Cartoon Network had good games on their site. There was one song that had worked its way into my brain. The song “The Bomb” by Pigeon John featured in the Level Up game and boy did it slap.
My poor iPod touch was hammered. I played this song on repeat for hours on end. Was it worth it? Yes, to 14 years old me it was definitely worth it. It’s little moments like these that make games worth playing but how many earworms can there be? So I set to work and asked around the place if anyone had any earworms of their own. It turns out that there are an awful amount of songs that are very catchy. Here is the list in no particular order, enjoy!
Time to Suffer…and Enjoy!
Portal
I was told that any song from the Portal series was catchy. So, I started my quest by listening to the songs that popped up in recommendations and let me tell you, there was a lot. It was taking a while so I made a rule. Within the first 30 seconds, it would have to make me want to jam along with it. Long story short, it still took a significant amount of time for me to narrow it down to the most catchy, earwormy song.
The Stanley Parable
I had never actually heard any music from this game, let alone ever seen gameplay of it. To be honest, I’m surprised that I’d managed to go so long without even seeing it as a random YouTube video. This game definitely has amazing music. I can see myself jamming out to it. The colleague that suggested it said that although it’s simple, it’s definitely catchy.
Final Fantasy VII
It seems that the Final Fantasy game series is one that is hard to avoid. This series pops-up all over the place. Even in my game recommendations when I’ve never even played it or anything similar. So when someone suggested any of the Chocobo theme’s are earwormy, I was surprised by how many variations of the music there was. Obviously this game series is one that is deeply loved and cherished. I picked one of the Chocobo themes that immediately got stuck in my head, so here you go!
Castlevania
This one is quite the throwback to 1987! This song is from Castlevania II and it’s quite a bop. I have only played bits and pieces of the Castlevania series and thought it was a pretty damn good series. I’m not usually a fan of the style but this game has definitely persuaded me to be more open to it. A colleague suggested that Simon’s Quest: Blood Tears is a catchy song and they weren’t wrong.
Super Mario Bros.
Man, this game is absolutely wild. Every song in this game is an earworm. My dad had an emulator on our original Xbox that allowed us to play Super Mario Bros. At a young age, I quickly started to love the game. Until recently when I asked if anyone knew catchy tunes from video games, I had completely forgotten about this treasure. It is magical. It made me want to set the console up and play it again. The temporary nausea I felt due to the low image quality was definitely worth it.
Cuphead
When this game hit the scene, it was inevitable that it would become a massive hit. The art in Cuphead is completely unique. This paired with the music made it all the more enjoyable. It reminds me of swing-style music which is a genre that I’ve enjoyed for quite some time. So for me, any excuse to listen to music like this is worth it. When the song was recommended for this list, I was more than happy to oblige and add it in. It’s a damn fine song.
A Hat in Time
This game I’ve only seen snippets of but from the looks of things, it seems like quite the hoot. I’d watched a video of the YouTuber Shenpai playing it and since then I have wanted to get it. To be honest, at the time I wasn’t paying attention to the music. When a song from the DLC was suggested I looked it up. I didn’t even know there was a DLC for this game. It’s such an interesting story in this game and the music helps to further this feeling.
Super Mario Odyssey
Everyone in the gaming world has heard of this game, it’s hard to miss. The most memorable piece of media that came from the hype, was Mario’s nipples. I won’t include them because that’s a treasure you can look up for yourself. This game is incredible and reminds people of the Mario Galaxy game for the Nintendo Wii. One of the weirder aspects of the game is that you use a sentient hat to take control of other beings. Who’s up to jiggling around like a piece of meat? A work colleague suggested that the “Jump, Up, Star!” song was catchy and they weren’t wrong. It is catchy. Really catchy.
Doki Doki Literature Club!
I literally knew nothing about this game before being suggested to listen to the main theme. I just thought it was a regular dating sim type game. B O Y was I wrong. It turns out that this is actually a metafictional psychological horror game that breaks the fourth wall. But this has nothing to do with the music. The theme is definitely catchy, even if the game is…unsettling.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
It shouldn’t be much of a surprise that this game features on this list. The song that greets you at the loading screen instils that feeling of power and curiosity for adventure. It wouldn’t be the same game if that song wasn’t there. I’ve found that I’m more motivated to study while I listen to this song. I’ve also noticed that I’ll occasionally hum the song when doing tasks around the house. So, for me, this definitely makes it an earworm. It’s hard to ignore this song.
Kirby’s Dream Land
Everybody can’t help but love this cute little ball of destruction and consumer of worlds. This little pink creature is adorable. The game itself is also thoroughly cute. Every time I have played a Kirby game I haven’t been able to finish it..mainly because I can never figure out the controls and end up dying to incredibly dumb things. So needless to say, I’m completely useless at this game. However, at least I have the music to listen to when I repeatedly fail. Most songs in this game series are quite catchy, none more so than this one.
Kid Icarus (NES)
Flashback to 1986 with this one. Kid Icarus is an incredible game with an equally good story. I’ve watched the gameplay for the many games that have come out and they all seem thoroughly enjoyable. I mean, who wouldn’t want to play as someone with wings and a sword? There were a lot of good tunes to choose from but I managed to narrow it down to one. This song is a pretty solid choice.
Far Cry 5
This game may be a controversial addition to this list. It comments on how easy it is for cults to become dangerous and for things to get out of control. The music that is heard throughout the game makes some moments eerier than others. In other instances, it makes them all the more intense. Nevertheless, there are some songs in this game that worm their way into our mushy brains. This song breaks my rule of a 30-second catch, but it is worth it. The beat is too intense to resist.
Metroid (NES)
This is the second-to-last blast from the past, 1986 is where this hit comes from. Metroid is a fairly popular game and there has been a bit of a resurgence in recent years. I’ve only played as Samus in Super Smash Bros but she seems pretty damn badass. I’ll definitely be looking into finding ways to play the Metroid series, especially if the music is as catchy as this.
Dr. Mario
This game is definitely one of the more interesting ones to play. I hadn’t played it on the console it came out on so I used the emulator on the Nintendo Switch to give it a go. It was annoying, so very annoying. But I can’t fault it because it had catchy music. Will there be a time where a Mario song just completely flops? Let me know because this ain’t it.
The Earworms end
So what did you think of these song choices? Do you agree with what’s been put up? If you have your own earworm songs feel free to comment them below. There can never be too many catchy songs in one place.