Inspired by an internet discussion, I decided to write a short run-through of the Dungeon Synth genre and how I enjoy it in RPGs - in prep, in creating and in playing. Rather than an article about the theory I mostly have a few recommendations to artists and share some of my playlists for those interested.
Very cool. I’m getting more into Dungeon Synth as a general background music lately, although I’m not sure what this says about my enjoyment of working hours.
I do still need to filter songs more than in other genres based on their production values/goals, as some go really hard in the Black Metal lo-fi (“has to be recorded through broken headphones in the next room”) or '90s General MIDI direction, where it sounds like it’s been played through a Soundblaster or MT-32…
Which is okay, but not always what I want at the very moment.
One artist, Gilgareth is doing a lot of stuff recently that’s influenced by the early days of the German Dark Eye RPG, and I like those references a lot.
Yeah, nice! I’ve really gotten interested in Dungeon Synth this year, both as background music for my OSR games, but even moreso as background music for writing. I’m working on an OSR-inspired fantasy novel and I’ve got a dungeon synth playlist on perpetual repeat.
My favorites have been through the Cryo Crypt label. Mountain Realm is the artist I find I most enjoy, though there are a few different artists on there that are also good and some great remixes and collabs as well with creators such as Tales Under the Oak.
