Heavy, suffocating choir hits that make your chest tight. Dark Souls II Scholar of the First Sin brings the dread right from the menu and never lets up. Majula is this gorgeous safe harbor of sadness, all gentle strings against the wind, and it hits different after you've been dying for three hours straight.
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Then you get Ornstein-level panic with The Pursuer breathing down your neck. The boss themes run from eerie to full orchestral assault. The Lost Sinner fight is tense and understated. Velstadt, the Royal Aegis goes absolutely massive with that pipe organ presence.
It all sounds like a cathedral collapsing in slow motion. If you ever wanted background music for staring at a Game Over screen, this is it.