Shatter is an Arkanoid/Breakout style game with gravity manipulation, which is to say pretty basic. It tells the story of a lone paddle on it's crusade to free it's homeworld from invaders, which is to say pretty basic. The music on the other hand, is an entirely different story. By the time I got to the third level or so, I realized that I was progressing mainly to hear what the next level's music would sound like. I was never disappointed. The fast-paced, brick shattering, high-score fest that was the gameplay was merely the enjoyable bridge between the tracks.
Had the soundtrack been different or mostly absent, it would have likely been a mundane experience that I wouldn't think anything of. The music provided a good deal of immersion and kept me grooving on through (literally, I felt almost lost in how great the music was while playing). The bass, percussion and a good deal of the melodies I can only describe as "amazing" and "bouncy". The latter adjective being amazingly appropriate, given that it's a game about bouncing a spherical weapon of destruction around.
Here's three tracks from the game:
Not enough can be said about Hotline Miami. Great game. Simple, yet deep when you make the effort of peeling the layers off. The music plays a large role in helping you along the way, as you'll notice that it's strange, slow and "hazy" during times of relative safety (to relay the protagonist's deranged state) in contrast to the adrenaline fueled bouts of extreme violence and danger that encompass your average "mission" (where the music is fast, electronic and pumps you up like a good '80s film).
One of the most notable tracks that they use is what plays after you kill all the enemies in a level (thus completing it). You walk through the building, now full of blood and the mangled corpses of Russian mafia members, back to your car while an empty sounding, ambient track plays. You have to backtrack through the entire level (or at least a good deal of it) to get to the car, meaning the game forces you to just look around at the violence that you cause (and even directly asks "do you enjoy hurting others?" at a few points).
Because some of the best music plays while doing so, and a good deal of the "fun" in the game definitely is had while doing so, you really have to wonder. The following three tracks is basically what a level sounds like. Your apartment where you get the briefing on the answering machine, the level itself and the music that plays upon the level's completion:
Sorry about all the words, I'm a bit of a music buff.
I would have put up some classics or more ambient tracks, but these ones are just too good.
Give 'em a look!