Some gamers do whatever it takes to get to the top of their league, from pre-game rituals to staying hydrated. But how about listening to the perfect playlist, proven to improve gaming performance?
As part of our ongoing research looking into how modern media and popular culture – like games, music, and TV and film – have an effect on us, we ran a study to discover which songs are best to listen to, to enhance gameplay or generate the most wins.
Participants were given a preselected shortlist of 50 songs, all of which had been recently voted by gamers in a survey we conducted (prior to the main study) as their favorite music to listen to whilst gaming. The songs included are from a variety of genres, with some from popular video game soundtracks.
We asked 100 participants who were aged between 18 and 72 (selected from a wide range of socioeconomic backgrounds, locations, gender and age) to play a game of their choice, with no music and then with each of the preselected tracks. Participants were asked to keep game variables such as teams, players, gaming environment and time of day as consistent as they possibly could.
Here are the top 20 best songs to play video games to:
1. Linkin Park – “Numb” 2. A$AP Rocky, Skrillex – “Wild for the Night” 3. Flux Pavilion – “I Can’t Stop” 4. Lil Nas X – “MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)” 5. Glass Animals – “Heat Waves” 6. Paramore – “Hard Times” 7. J. Cole – “No Role Modelz” 8. Nirvana – “Heart-Shaped Box” 9. Fall Out Boy – “Thnks fr the Mmrs” 10. Little Simz – “Venom” 11. Marshmello and Bastille – “Happier” 12. Machine Gun Kelly – “my Ex’s Best Friend” 13. Billie Eilish – “bad guy” 14. Juice WRLD – “Lucid Dreams” 15. Nicki Minaj – “Starships” 16. SLAVES – “Cheer Up London” 17. Panic! At The Disco – “High Hopes” 18. Post Malone ft. 21 Savage – “Rockstar” 19. Twenty One Pilots – “Stressed Out” 20. Alan Walker – “Fade”
Participants reported that songs with very emotional messages and lyrics seemed to enhance gaming performance the most, with six out of ten (62%) gamers reporting that it helped to improve their performance.
Some respondents stated that concentrating on meaningful lyrics allowed them to not get frustrated by gameplay, which helped them to win at their respective games.
It was also noted that there was a correlation between the tempo of songs and the type of game that was being played. Those playing games such as first-person shooters and fast-paced role-playing games felt that quicker, bass-heavy songs were more beneficial to them, whereas those playing platformer or strategy games felt that slower or more relaxing songs were better to game to.
