Best Paramount Entertainment for score quality

#1

The synth-heavy score is one of the most consistently celebrated strengths, combining otherworldly atmosphere with moving familiar motifs. One critic finds parts too reminiscent of Stranger Things.

#2

Chris Westlake’s score helps the fantasy feel larger than life and evokes the games’ atmosphere.

#3

The ambient score helps give Joe and Cruz’s reunion its emotional catharsis. In that moment, the music supports the scene without overpowering the characters.

#4

The score is a strong craft element, including praise for Nami Melumad’s symphonic work, even if not every episode’s musical support lands equally well.

#5

Christopher Young’s score is repeatedly praised as restrained, fearsome, and effective. It supports the road-at-night atmosphere without overwhelming the strongest scenes.

#6

Terence Blanchard’s jazz-inflected score is frequently praised as tense, atmospheric, and a major mood-setter. One critic finds the emotional scoring overused, but the overall response is strongly positive.

#7

The sweeping score generally strengthens the emotional and pastoral mood, and some reviewers found it beautifully effective. One critic thought it sounded too similar to 1923.

#8

The score is described as string-heavy and paired with sweeping slow-motion landscapes. It reinforces the franchise mood that longtime viewers expect.

#9

The score can heighten the scale and tenderness with restraint, but a few hear it as syrupy or emotionally insistent.