The music in our favorite games does so much to immerse us in the stories we journey through. Whether it be heart-pounding, heart-wrenching, or just heartwarming, these songs are such an integral part of the gaming experience that stick with us even once we’ve left those worlds. The soundtrack for Baldur’s Gate 3, composed by Borislav Slavov, known for his work on Divinity: Original Sin II and Crysis 3, is absolutely impressive and perfectly captures the scope of this enormous, ambitious game.
11. Bard Dance
The Bard Dance song can be triggered through any character that can play an instrument. The fun thing is that the song can sound different depending on the instrument your chosen character or characters use.
This upbeat, joyful song provides a nice respite amongst all the chaos and emotions you find in the world of Baldur’s Gate. This song is especially wonderful when other characters join in on the performance, lending their own complementary instruments into the mix. The joining of melodies and instruments creates a sense of connection, making you feel like you’re a part of this story and its sprawling medieval fantasy world.
10. Raphael's Final Act
This intimidating but surprising song plays if you engage in battle against the demon Raphael, and it features vocals from Raphael’s own voice actor, Andrew Wincott.
Having Raphael singing in his own boss music does a great job of reflecting his self-absorbed and dramatic nature. It’s a fun and unexpected choice that’s reminiscent of iconic Disney villains. This demonic boss music evokes traditionally religious sounds, particularly through the use of an organ, making it feel grandiose and imposing. These accompanying instruments and vocals truly showcase the demonic dangers you and your party face.
9. The Colors of Underdark
The Underdark is a vast area beneath the surface of Faerûn, filled with unique dangers, creatures, and natural elements. There’s lots to do in this area, from fighting minotaurs to encountering myconids and duergar, and all of it is punctuated by this musical piece.
The Colors of Underdark has an incredible mix of instruments, voices, and echoes that work together to capture the ambience of the eerie, and sometimes beautiful, location. . It absolutely makes you feel the danger and uncertainty that surrounds this mysterious area, where you never know what may be right around the corner, waiting to fight you.
8. Nightsong
This song plays in Act 2 during the Nightsong quest line that takes place in the Underdark. I won’t spoil it, but this song and quest relates closely to Shadowheart’s storyline, and it’s definitely one to check out.
Nightsong is a mesmerizing song with simplistic but impactful vocals. It has this ethereal feel, which makes a lot of sense when you have the context of the moment you encounter it in. There’s also this sense of a weight that has been lifted, and this too fits really well with the scene in which it plays.
7. The Weeping Dawn
Alfira, a tiefling bard, can be found in the Druid Grove practicing her music. If you encounter and encourage her, you can see a cutscene of her performance of The Weeping Dawn, a tribute to her old teacher, Lihala.
This song feels particularly special because players are able to help Alfira through the creative process, making you feel like you're part of the song's final creation. It truly shows Alfira's talent, and it quickly makes her an endearing character.
The song itself is a beautiful and emotional piece that acts as a tribute to a deceased friend. It is a wonderful representation of grief and about honoring those you love. Alfira and her song can be easy to miss, but they are so worth seeking out and experiencing.
6. I Want To Live (Classical Version)
This song, and its different iterations, can be found throughout Baldur’s Gate 3. You can hear it play in the character creation screen or in more impactful moments, especially ones that feature your companions and their storylines.
This version of I Want To Live is gentle and sweet but with a hopeful undercurrent throughout that really reflects the title. Its uplifting feeling is largely due to its somewhat faster pacing and bright sound. Unlike the Instrumental Version, which is more muted, you can clearly hear and appreciate the various instruments in the song, and it seems to utilize them in a different way, leaning towards higher notes rather than the lower register.
5. Gather Your Allies!
Gather Your Allies accompanies the quest of the same name, which is completed in Act 3. You must set out to, as the name suggests, round up all of the allies you’ve made throughout the game and bring them together to prepare for the final battle.
This is a great song with a classic medieval fantasy feel that’s very reminiscent of old Baldur’s Gate games, as well as Dragon Age: Origins, another D&D-esque RPG. The way the song cycles through the highs and lows brings both excitement for the final battle to come and also a sense of the great danger that you and your allies are facing. The combination of vocals and instruments, especially the horns and drums, creates these palpable feelings I’ve mentioned, as well as one of comradery and righteousness as you get ready to march into battle.
4. Dream Walk (Instrumental Version)
The instrumental version of Dream Walk often accompanies romantic scenes between you and your companions, acting as a simple but lovely backdrop for such moments.
This song is just as dreamy as it says it is, and it is, of course, tinged with a romantic current. This relaxing music provides some nice relief from the chaos you face in Faerûn, as well as from the other tracks that are often much more intense and oriented towards battle or heavy emotional moments. Its sweet and soft melody is comforting and absolutely memorable.
3. Main Theme Part 1
This first part of the Main Theme greets you each time you launch the game and continues on the main menu screen as you watch unknown figures, torches in hand, walk down the steps of the Temple of Bhaal.
Hearing Main Theme Part 1 for the first time, and getting hit with those strong, deep voices, was mind blowing. It's an imposing song that acts as an incredible introduction to the world of Baldur's Gate. It boasts impressive vocals and orchestral music that moves between intensity and simplicity, which I feel really highlights the different facets of this game, from a wild, winding adventure to the quiet moments between characters, whether they be platonic or romantic.
2. Shadows, Curse, and Death
You can find Shadows, Curse, and Death playing in Act 2 as you make your way towards Moonrise Towers through the Shadowlands, an area infested with the Shadow Curse.
Shadows, Curse, and Death is creepy, enticing, and exciting all at once. This song is tinged with danger and death, and its imposing nature makes it clear how important this journey through the Shadowlands is and highlights the risk you’re taking in doing so. It’s also an incredible backdrop that matches the intensity of the fights in this area, making them all the more exciting.
1. Down By The River
Down By The River can first be encountered as you create your character, and it has quite a few more appearances throughout the game, making it a familiar piece that’s easy to fall in love with.
It should come as no surprise that Down By The River has proven to be quite a popular song, spawning covers all over, and for good reason. It’s magical and mesmerizing, luring you in much like the Harpy Song, and that makes it difficult to stop listening to. Its place in the character creation screen, which many players, myself included, spend a lot of time in, does so much to get you prepared and immersed into the world of Baldur’s Gate 3 before you even fully step into it.
The song’s beautiful vocals and dreamy feel make it easy to ignore the somewhat sinister tone of its lyrics, which just adds more depth to an otherwise lovely song. These lyrics, which try to coax you to join the singer forever “down by the river,” are supposedly from the perspective of Daisy, an Early Access character that is the manipulative manifestation of your tadpole and the initial version of the character now known as The Guardian.
Overall, the complex, creative, and clever musical pieces all throughout do an amazing job capturing the fantastical, sprawling world and story of Baldur’s Gate 3 , ensuring that we’re truly invested in this experience. Slavov makes many great connections between songs (notes of Down by the River can be heard in The Road to Baldur's Gate and The Power, for example), which are always fun to keep an ear out for. He’s created a stunning soundtrack, and you’d seriously be hard pressed to find a bad song in Baldur’s Gate 3.
