If I was to start gaming, what console should I get?

"Hey You. You're Finally Awake...."

The entire Skyrim OST is amazing, highly recommend you check it out. "Secunda", "Kyne's Breath", and "Distant Horizons" are all incredible, and very orchestral/ambient in arrangement.

You can sink hundreds of hours into playing Skyrim and even when this soundtrack plays in the background for the 1,000th time, when the crescendos match up with some intense moment in the game, it just never gets old. Epic music.

Fun Fact: The game was released on 11/11/11. November 11th 2011. That was the target release date and needed to be released before Christmas.

Skyrim is my favorite game of all time, 13 years later I'm still playing it.

"You should have acted. They're already here. The Elder Scrolls told of their return. Their defeat was merely a delay to the time after Oblivion opened when the sons of Skyrim would spill their own blood. But no one wanted to believe. Believe they even existed. And when the truth finally dawns. It dawns in FIRE. But, there is one they fear. In their tongue, he is Dovahkin...DRAGONBORN!"

One interesting things that wasn't mentioned: the main themes of Skyrim (this song), Oblivion, and Morrowind are all the *same* song, re-arranged to suit the game. Comparing and contrasting the differences and why they might have chose them is quite fun. :)

Yes brave DOUG-AKIN, Alduin shakes at your might😆

The theme of this song is the main Elder Scrolls theme. I recommend you to listen to the other versions to compare them : Nerevar Rising (Morrowind) and Reign of the Septims (Oblivion).

Now i wanna play skyrim again... again

The entire soundtrack is amazing.

This song has given me chills sinse 2011. And i have listened to this thousands of times.

Thanks for the reaction! P.S.: The theme "B C# D C# A C# B" shows up all over the Skyrim soundtrack, as a unifying leitmotif. Here you can hear it around 4:53 in the video.

Baba Yetu by Christopher Tin was written for Civilization IV and I believe the first video game piece to earn a Grammy.

oh.. my.. god.... he said he does not know a lot of Video Game Music yet... here we go!!!! (enough material for the next 5 years of youtube ;) )

One of the trailers for the game uses this music as a background to Max von Sydow's narration. Was very epic when it released... still brings goosebumps when watching it.

While you can play Skyrim on a console, most modding is PC-based and has extended the game's life to where it is still played to this day. Skyrim is the BEST game investment you can probably make, because it is open-world and you can play as long as you desire.

Bethesda created an entire dragon language for this game with translations into english. You are hearing that language in this song.

The full Skyrim OST is well over 3 hours long, and it is of this quality throughout.

Nice, can't wait. Also hope he gets to Dark Souls soon. "Gwyn, Lord Of Cinder" and "Soul Of Cinder" would be killer to do in 1 video. Ones a solo piano piece and ones a full symphony. They are connected pieces that share melodies and such. They aren't 1 long song, but still worth listening together. "Great Grey Wolf Sif" is another good one.

Mass Effect's main menu theme and "Leaving Earth" are gorgeous instrumental pieces I think are worth a listen

"Fields of Ard Skellig" from The Witcher 3 by Polish composer Marcin Przybylowicz might be fun to react to.

Not only is this the title song, it plays at every turn when you're fighting a dragon. It is one song I never get tired of listening to.

Man, this one's a treat. Dragonborn is on a very short list of contenders for the greatest video game theme song of all time

For the 10th anniversary of the game’s release, they did a concert of the game’s OST, showing the full orchestra playing the songs. Available on Bethesda’s page on YT, if you loved hearing all the real instruments and like the music so far it’s very much worth a watch.

So many good soundtracks, so much good prog, so much good metal, so much good jazz... I don't even know what to recommend anymore, help!

Doug, I'd be crazy happy to watch you play Skyrim. Even if you stumble on your way at times, we would be there right beside you cheering you on!

Glad you've arrived at gaming soundtracks! There are SO so many amazing soundtracks out there. For me always standing out will be Borislav Slavov. His compositions for Divinity: Original Sin 2 and lately Baldurs Gate 3 are just chefs kiss. He is SUCH an amazing composer. For a starter, try "Rivellon" " Divinity 2 OST - Main Theme" or "Mead, Gold and Blood".

I think you’d love the work Murray Gold did on Doctor Who, if you’re not already familiar with it. By far some of the best music ever put to screen

Skyrim’s OST can simply be described as timeless

Oh please do more Skyrim soundtracks

Love the reactions on the OSTs - WItcher 3: The WIld Hunt OST is one of my faves if that one ever hits your radar. I still have to stop and listen to "The Fields of Ard Skellig" any time I get there in a game.

(translated) Lyrics for the curious: Dragonborn, Dragonborn, by his honor is sworn, To keep evil forever at bay! And the fiercest foes rout when they hear triumph's shout, Dragonborn, for your blessing we pray! Hearken now, sons of snow, to an age, long ago, And the tale, boldly told, of the one! Who was kin to both wyrm, and the races of man, With a power to rival the sun! And the voice, he did wield, on that glorious field, When great Tamriel shuddered with war! Mighty Thu'um, like a blade, cut through enemies all, As the Dragonborn issued his roar! (Chorus) Dragonborn, Dragonborn, by his honor is sworn, To keep evil forever at bay! And the fiercest foes rout when they hear triumph's shout, Dragonborn, for your blessing we pray! And the Scrolls have foretold, of black wings in the cold, That when brothers wage war come unfurled! Alduin, Bane of Kings, ancient shadow unbound, With a hunger to swallow the world! But a day, shall arise, when the dark dragon's lies, Will be silenced forever and then! Fair Skyrim will be free from foul Alduins maw, Dragonborn be the savior of men! (Chorus) Dragonborn, Dragonborn, by his honor is sworn, To keep evil forever at bay! And the fiercest foes rout when they hear triumph's shout, Dragonborn, for your blessing we pray!

Jeremy Soule is an amazing composer... This OST is top tier!

Phenomenal soundtrack. Playing this game as a child is a core memory.

The Elder Y’alls

For gaming soundtracks Gwyn Lord of Cinder is a must, definitely get to it eventually (Soul of Cinder together with it is also a good idea, since it's kind of like a sequel and conclusion to Gwyn Lord of Cinder)

I have spent thousands of hours in Skyrim. This song still gives me chills.

Could you imagine the feelings I had when I first heard this at 11 when it first came out. I was so stoked! Dragon born and Secunda still get me to this day.

I'd love to see you react to Opera: "Maria and Draco" by Nobuo Uematsu ftom the Distant Worlds album. 12 minutes of Nobuo's take on a Final Fantasy opera!

Apparently Soule knocked this out in a weekend too. The guy wrote a song that works in english, in their fictional "dovah", AND fit the melody of the main theme of the series. Absolutely badass

Just hearing the OST makes me want to play it again. And I've played through Skyrim SEVERAL times.

Jeremy Soule is also a master of atmospheric music. His calm pieces used for exploration in Oblivion (Skyrim too, to a lesser extent) are hauntingly beautiful. Thanks for doing more game music!

BEST is/ was "Skyrim - The Dragonborn Comes - Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra feat. Sabina Zweiacker! Next comes "malukah's version"!

Oh, this one I'm hyped for

From Past to Present is my favorite ambient track from Skyrim.

I've heard this song a thousand times and gives me chills and goosebumps every time.

Watch the trailer!!!

Kyne's Peace is another wonderful Skyrim track, and so is Secunda. There are many absolutely beautiful ones but those are what I recommend the most.

"What console should I get?" And thus the ever glimmering flame of the great console wars was relit once again.

The rest of the soundtrack has some truly timeless melodies. The way the music flows through the game in context is worth the experience.

Hi Doug, I don't game either, but I'm increasingly intrigued by them and see them as a possible step up from being strapped in front of daytime TV in a care home in a couple of decades time. KZfaq threw a Skyrim ambience at me one day, and I told my son it looked and sounded cool, what was it about? He has an X-box which connects to a TV set and he's been hooked on the game ever since. I does seem to be pretty bloody as he plays it, but I think you can engage in a lot of different ways, creating different characters and lifestyles. More recently I've enjoyed watching run throughs of other games on KZfaq (I'm a particular fan of someone calling themselves Lizz who has a lovely singing voice). Perhaps checking out some of those as your gateway drug might help. I've found Hogwarts Legacy, the Jedi games and Avatar to be within the limits of my delicate sensitivities. When I tried one myself briefly, taking down a few storm troopers did get to be quite therapeutic. The games teache you what to do as you go along and you can set the level of difficulty.

Doug, if you wanna go down the video game music rabbit hole, then I would HIGHLY recommend you have a listen to "Gusty Garden Galaxy" from the Super Mario Galaxy OST. I think you are going to really, really love that one.

I still get goosebumps every time this song kicks in…

The interesting thing is that the bridge/climax of the piece is actually a variation on a theme that Soule used in the two previous Elder Scrolls games: in Morrowind ("Nerevar Rising") it was a soft, sorrowful piece; in Oblivion ("Reign of the Septims") it was triumphant and heraldric and full of brass horns, and here in Skyrim it's all singing vikings.

Scars of Time (Chrono Cross intro) would be a great one to react to when you want to do more video game music. There are so many great video game songs out there!

The first use of this theme was back in 2002 with Morrowind. Much more mysterious and ethereal

Just a bit of game lore; The dragons battle by "shouting" at each other. It is how their magic works. Epic music for the theme of words being battle.

So ... I have played Skyrim many times over years and years and ... damn, this Soundtrack hits me every time.

If you wanna do another gaming video, I would recommend “Silver for Monsters…” and “Fields of Ard Skellig” from The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt soundtrack

I love how genuinely you ask your audience about gaming. Imagine if someone (an adult in their 30s) told you that they really never "listened" to music, and asked you where to start. That is the Everest.

I think i heard this song over a hundred times and it still gives me goosebumps. Great Work there

Skyrim remains my favorite video game of all time. The theme makes me want to cry, and it brings back all the memories of going through the quests and defeating Alduin. The music is amazing!!!!!!!

This one was one of the things that made me fall in love with Skyrim. The ammount of work they placed into it is great, not the least because they intertwined it to the prior lore as a little reward for returning players, this being the 5th intallment of the series. I believe the theme has been the basis for the OST since the 3rd. Although this one does include a lot of original melodies wrapped around the Elder Scrolls theme. One cool thing I find in this song is that the drums at the start and ending might be a reference to the Heart of Lorkhan, a McGuffin for the 3rd game and a recurring object/thing in the lore which is basically the heart of a god, torn appart and buried as punishment for creating the race of men (thus it sounds as if it was underground or otherwise covered). In a way, the drums are the instrument of men much like the voices are a thematic queue for humanity in The Matrix as opposed to metal sounds.

Man, this video got me psyched to play Skyrim again. Great analysis as always Doug!! Would love to see you check out the main themes from the other Elder Scrolls games that Soule composed for: Nerevar Rising (TES 3 Morrowind) and Reign of the Septims (TES 4 Oblivion) - they all use the same motif! If you're looking to change it up as well I would HIGHLY recommend listening to some of the Shadow of the Colossus soundtrack. The game is available on Playstation 4 if you would like to experience the music in the game itself! In my opinion, it's among the greatest game soundtracks of all time!

There is millions of mods to change aspect of the game, people can change all textures, adding plethora of weapons as well as tons of animations for the different classes but the soundtracks are something barely touched, a true masterpiece

secunda from this OST is beautiful

You should check out "A Beautiful Song" from NieR Automata, that game has one of my favorite soundtracks of all time.

I have really enjoyed the PS5. it's current Gen and has a massive library. Skyrim is still very worth playing. I'll leave the comments section to drop wisdom on which games are best!

This is such an awesome soundtrack, this piece is just beautiful and powerful all at once, really is one of the greatest imo. One of those pieces that just always gives me chills 🥰

Fus Ro Da Fallout and Elder Scrolls (Skyrim) are my favorite gaming franchises. The cool thing about these franchises is you can play them any way you wish. They are open world sandbox games.

Jeremy Soule has made some wonderful soundtracks

Skyrim has sold over 60 million copies if you count all the versions/editions of it as one. Making it one of the best selling video games of all time.

This song will never not give me goosebumps

The Elder Scrolls games have an awesome OST, me personally like the Oblivion one the most, ''Harvest Dawn'' is sooo iconic... the moment it starts playing when you first get out of the sewers; or ''Bloody Blades'' when you are in the last leg of the Dark Brotherhood questline (after Lucien Lachance death), or ''Wings of Kynareth'', that game OST is legendary, highly recommended.

Xbox, there is really only one game, Skyrim, it is winner of hundreds of awards, even after all these years i still play it to thos day, it is even better if you mod it.

I'm not a gamer (probably because I'm 72 years old) but I love this music.

I mean this in the nicest way possible but this guy is such a music nerd. Love to see someone enjoying something they are super passionate about

Jeremy Soule music is amazing, I think TES IV : Oblivion's OST is my favorite, he also works on Elder Scroll's 3 Morrowind as well. I think his music is very peaceful , glad you are checking his music out. I think this sound alot like his previous stuff in Morrowind, and I recognize this song as the "Main Menu" theme for this game.

Why don't you just pick up a used Xbox360 and play Elder Scrolls V Skyrim on that ?. Should be dirt cheap and really simple to operate even for someone with no previous experience. And Elder Scrolls V Skyrim should also be a nice entry. Its concidered by many to be one of the best of its genre

Everything by Jeremy Soule is brilliant. Heroes of Might and Magic soundtracks (especially III and V) and Age of Conan soundtrack are also brilliant, if you want good video game orchestral-like music. For example : kzfaq.info/get/bejne/m9iPhpZly93PkWw.html, kzfaq.info/get/bejne/rdigZMt22buUqac.html and kzfaq.info/get/bejne/frKmZsygldu0Znk.html&.

The 10th anniversary concert on youtube is amazing and my go to as background music when working on my d&d campaign... Imho its the best rendition I've heard so far.

This is the best videogame music ever...and the game is also up there..!!

I would say go for a Switch. It's the cheaper, more accessible of the major consoles but still excellent quality games. Try Zelda or Mario, or one of a thousand great puzzle games. It caters heavily towards the "family friendly" nothing gory audience as well.

You should react to the WoW WOTLK cinematic trailer

I stumbled onto your reaction to one winged Angel and I couldn’t wait to see your reaction to this!!!

I remember to this day the reaction of everyone I knew and watched when the reveal trailer was released/shown... I had friends who watched the trailer almost everyday leading to the release date XD

ah ha ha ha I can't believe you covered this! After putting 1500+ hours into Skyrim this is better than being whacked into the stratosphere by a giant. I used to be an adventurer but then I took an arrow to my knee. Anybody else hear some echoes of Basil Poledouris?

I love how you explain why the music we love sounds so good. Please consider reacting to Great Red Spirit from Dynasty Warriors 5 (Request #2)

I remember the first time the game loaded for the first time! Tje goosebumps where bigger the berries!

This video is great! I love the idea of reacting to film scores, video game soundtracks etc.

Your facial expressions make me feel like I'm playing the game for the first time once again. Thank you so much, Doug, for doing this, it's like I'm sharing my favorite things with a friend.

That's the first time I've ever heard a translation! It is a wonderful game and have played Skyrim for over 11 years. The music is perfect throughout, the scenery is gorgeous and simply walking around just exploring brings something new every moment. If you do not like some of the guilds or the moral choices, there are, wait for this, 60,000 free mods on the Nexus. I have a character going at all times, but especially for autumn when I want to 'go home' just to travel those beautiful roads.

Great reaction. I absolutely adore the music of Skyrim. It's fantastic

..when that first trailer hit... and the first Fus Roh Dah... XD. Chills.

Aw man you should 100% checkout Sovngarde. Its the same lyrics but the way it is played is different. Im not sure if its canon but apparently the main theme of the game that is heard is actually a “cover” of an ancient piece of music they found. They say Sovngarde was the way it was meant to be sung/played. Absolutely amazing video man, im glad you loved it.

This was not even on the list of the things that i didn't expected to see here but yet here we are

Thank you for doing this, Doug. Wind Guide You is a beautiful piece of music.

The Skyrim Anniversary Concert by the London Symphony Orchestra was great.