History Main / VariableMix

* The "We Sing" level in ''VideoGame/AlanWakeII'' features the rock-opera piece "Herald of Darkness" by the fictional band Old Gods of Asgard (portrayed by the real-life band Music/PoetsOfTheFall), which plays as the player progresses through the roughly half hour-long level. Different sections of the level play different verses of the song, and are tied together with a variety of randomly selected guitar solos and instrumental sections that can be looped and rearranged in any order for continuous music no matter how long the player takes, such that no two playthroughs of the level will have the exact same sound. [[https://www.facebook.com/markus.kaarlonen/posts/pfbid0wYnvkFfGkCWjbWTidjesCPRmPHvRU7XZGKp1StDZkSYgZ1zaep3U8ef1hnDEyyCal According to Poets frontman Markus Kaarlonen,]] the full piece contains roughly 130 discrete clips of music that can be rearranged into countless complete songs.

* ''VideoGame/LuigisMansion'' repeats the main theme of the game when you're in the Mansion, but it has variations for hallways, dark rooms, and outside. All have Luigi humming over the theme, except in lit rooms, where he whistles the theme. The tempo also decreases if Luigi's health worsens. The poor guy's humming even sounds more and more scared and shaky as his health lowers, too. The game has different versions of each mansion theme playing depending on if you are inside or outside. A MultiMookMelee level also has the music get faster the more ghosts there are that remain uncaptured. A more subtle example is in E. Gadd's bunker, where Luigi will whistle along a little bit with the background music every so often.

** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'' has a variation in that the main overworld theme is made up of separate segments, which play in a mostly random order, but it picks slow segments when Link is standing still, trumpet fanfares when he's moving, and dramatic music when there are enemies present. At Lon Lon Ranch, when Link is close to Malon, her singing is mixed into the area theme. The OminousPipeOrgan music in Ganon's Tower changes in melody and builds in audibility as you go up the tower. The developers commented that the variable mix system put quite some strain on the UsefulNotes/{{Nintendo 64}}'s CPU.

*** Also used awesomely in the final boss battle against [[spoiler: Ganondorf]]. When you go into a chance, which is when both you and him have [[BladeLock swords locked]] and are [[ButtonMashing trying to push the other down]], the music will change depending on which side is winning, sounding ominous when [[spoiler: Ganondorf]] is winning, and playing the game's main theme when you are winning.
*** Koji Kondo says that the reason he didn't use orchestrated music for ''Twilight Princess'' was because he apparently had trouble implementing variable mix with non-MIDI music with [[UsefulNotes/NintendoGameCube GameCube]] hardware. After ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy'' and ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword'', such troubles became a thing of the past.

* In ''VideoGame/ShadowOfTheColossus'', the music transitions smoothly to a more upbeat theme once you have discovered how to get onto the colossus.
* In ''VideoGame/NightsIntoDreams'', the variable mix used was determined by the happiness or lack thereof of the Nightopians in the current level.
* ''VideoGame/BraveFencerMusashi'' did this with the Alucaneet Palace theme only. The subdued BGM you initially hear is performed by a rather spare number of instruments, but for each musician you rescue in the field, an instrument is added to the orchestra until the palace theme sounds downright energetic.

* ''VideoGame/MushroomMen'' has various environmental pieces that make sound effects in time with the background music, such as sparking electrical contraptions and dripping faucets. The {{Jackalope}} boss also features music that gets more and more intense the more damage has been dealt to the boss.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Okami}}'', going into important and/or busier areas of some maps would add an extra layer of music. Also, most "overworld" musics have two versions, which one is playing depends on plot point and the time of day, most of the time. Example: Spend a full day from morning to dusk in Shinshu Field, and you'll notice that, while it's mostly orchestral and gentle at first, busy percussion and other instruments fade in as the day progresses. And when it nears sundown, that part fades out again.
* ''Akuji The Heartless'' for the [=PS1=] did this pretty well. Each stage featured a unique musical theme that not only got more hectic when the player entered combat, but also added new layers, changed tempo, or became more ambient when set pieces were triggered.
* ''VideoGame/{{Psychonauts}}'' has this at times. For a subtle instance, during The Milkman Conspiracy, whilst outside houses, there is a theremin in the background, replaced at a certain point in the track with a bassoon. However, inside houses, both drop out, dropping in again once outside.

* ''Videogame/Drakengard3'' adds percussion and a OneWomanWail whenever Zero enters Intoner Mode.
* In one of the oldest examples, the background music for the Atari 2600 game ''Pitfall II'' becomes less upbeat if you go too long before collecting a treasure. If you're touched by an enemy, a minor version of the same song plays as you return to the last checkpoint.

* The Ravnican board of ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'': Arena has background music that varies based on cards played. Whenever a card with a specific guild's watermark is played, the music changes to that guild's variation of the base board theme.
* [[VideoGame/GwentTheWitcherCardGame Gwent's]] battle music has layers added and removed as the game goes on. After particularly impactful plays, the base tracks switch to their more energetic variations.

* The music tracks for ''VideoGame/CrashTagTeamRacing'' are all divided into four sections: a "regular" section, a triumphant section, a tense section, and an ominous section. The music will switch between these sections depending on your position in the final lap of the race. The "regular" section plays normally in the first laps, the triumphant section will play if you're in 1st or 2nd place, the tense section if you're in between 3rd and 5th places, and the ominous section if you're behind 6th place, those last three play on the final lap.
* ''VideoGame/ProjectGothamRacing 4'' has a dynamic menu theme, specially composed by Music/TheProdigy, that changes as you move between screens.
* The first ''VideoGame/{{Burnout}}'' game does things things differently. The standard music plays while not on the booster, and an electronic "thump-thump-thump" rhythm is overlayed while on the booster, growing louder while the BGM goes quieter the faster the player goes. The sequel ''[[VideoGame/Burnout2PointOfImpact Point of Impact]]'' normally has a repetitive rock/electronica soundtrack with a secondary backing track that is muted unless the boost is triggered, creating a more dynamic, louder sound.
* The levels in ''VideoGame/TwistedMetal 1, 2'', and ''[[VideoGame/TwistedMetalBlack Black]]'' can have up to three dynamic music variations: the ambient music (eg "Cyburb Hunt" in Cyburbia), the battle music (eg "Cyburb Slide"), and the "final opponent" music (''Black'', and maybe ''Head On'').
* The racetracks in ''[[VideoGame/SegaSuperstars Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed]]'' have different background music depending on which section of the course you're on. For instance, Ocean View has "[[VideoGame/SonicCD Sonic - You Can Do Anything]]" during land sections and "[[VideoGame/SonicR Super Sonic Racing]]" for water sections.

* ''[[{{Videogame/Wipeout}} Wipeout HD]]'' applies a lowpass filter to the background music while your craft is using a shield, and applies a highpass filter whenever you catch air.

* In ''[[VideoGame/DefJamSeries Def Jam - Fight for New York]]'' used a variant that revolved around the [[LimitBreak Blazin' Moves]]. Most stages in the game have instrumentals of various hip hop songs as their BGM, which cuts out to one of a few slightly more intense, shorter loops whenever someone activates their ability to use a Blazin' move. If the successfully pull the move off, OminousLatinChanting or some other brief, suspenseful leitmotif plays in the background while the attack is being performed, and, if the Blazin' move is used when the opponent's health isn't in the danger zone and is able to continue fighting afterward, the normal music resumes and for about ten seconds afterward the lyrics of the song play before cutting back into a looping instrumental again. A lesser example occurs whenever you use a submission hold, with disk scratching and various generic sound effects thrown in.
* In ''VideoGame/StreetFighterXTekken'', the music increases in intensity for each round of a match. In addition, a flange effect coats the music when the player's current character's HP is below 25%.
* The 2013 ''VideoGame/KillerInstinct'' title has a variety of themes for each stage that fade in and out depending on what characters do during the fight (and that includes plain nothing). [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQmkSWPhlNE This video]] explains how it works. In addition, ending a match with an [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown Ultra Combo]] changes the music to a character-specific theme that plays a note for each hit of the combo.

* The ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' games, particularly the [[VideoGame/Halo2 second]] and [[VideoGame/Halo3 third]], use what the composer calls "quantum music". A piece may have an intro, followed by a looping middle section that may have different variations depending on the player's actions, and an outtro, again triggered by the gameplay. The music fades out after a certain time if no dynamic triggers are activated. "Glue" musics consisting of short loops (typically drone ambient) are used to transition between larger pieces.
* ''VideoGame/ReturnToCastleWolfenstein'': The music is initially mostly percussion, but if an alarm goes off or something, it will add in the full orchestra, ending once the alert is stopped. During {{timed mission}}s, the music intensifies periodically [[SongsInTheKeyOfPanic as the clock runs down]].

* The FPS games in the ''VideoGame/PoliceQuestSWAT'' series both have the same issue as ''Far Cry 2''. ''VideoGame/SWAT3''[='=]s music switches between a downbeat and a more frantic version of the same tune depending on whether you're in stealth or dynamic mode. Larger maps have separate stealth tracks for different areas, such as for the different floors of a mansion, but each map only has one dynamic track - and it just so happens that firing a shot automatically moves you into dynamic mode and switches the music, even if that shot is simply something like shooting a locked door with breaching shells (although if you're doing that you're probably ''intending'' to go in guns-blazing anyway). ''VideoGame/SWAT4'', meanwhile, would temporarily switch to the full-action part of the song whenever a flashbang detonated, regardless of if anyone (other than you) was actually around to be affected by it.

* ''VideoGame/NoOneLivesForever'' features both sneaking and flat-out shooting elements, and the music rises and falls appropriately if you blow your cover.
* ''VideoGame/FirstEncounterAssaultRecon'': The music starts to build in suspense just before a major event or battle happens, and segues out once the battle is over. For example, the courtyard in Interval 3 where the helicopter drops off several Replicas. And {{Scare Chord}}s are often set to the action, e.g. when the gun turrets activate.
* ''VideoGame/{{Descent}} 3'''s level musics seamlessly change as you progress through a level, and also change with the intensity of the action.

* ''VideoGame/SystemShock'' had a very advanced system for its time (and even today). Each level’s music is built procedurally from different musical building blocks, controlled by parameters in the game. The core set of each level’s musical building blocks are named with a gameplay state (“W”alking, “P”eril, “C”ombat) and a section (“A”,”B”,”C”,…). “WA” can play into “WB”, unless the game state changes to Peril, at which it may play into “PB”. Additionally, each enemy type has its own theme, which is then overlaid on top of the core level music based on the proximity of enemies of that type. This gives the game a hugely interactive and dynamic soundtrack.
* ''VideoGame/{{Destiny}}'' has one when fighting Crota in the Crota's End raid. There is the standard boss music when fighting him, but an interval of more heroic music plays when the Sword Bearer's Sword is picked up. Fitting, considering this is about the time when you put the beat down on Crota.

* ''VideoGame/PAYDAY3'' uses the same basic setup as ''PAYDAY 2'': loud gets the same Control/Anticipation/Assault loop as before, whilst stealth is mixed to gain intensity as the player gets closer to finishing the heist, using five tracks to do so.

* ''VideoGame/RainbowSixVegas'' adds or subtracts instrument layers with the combat intensity.

* Some of ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime'''s map zones have dynamic arrangements of their music. For example:
** The Chozo Ruins start out with a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AD1y38jHIMI choral ambient track]] accompanied by various synth sound effects. Once you acquire the Morph Ball, a drum machine, piano, and more melodic synth leads are [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNM8e6rKqg0 added to the music]]. Further variations of the Ruins theme can be heard during the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBwafhQmQyQ Energy Core]] puzzle and in the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EM2AtBJCCtA Furnace area]].
** When Samus enters the Depths of Phendrana Drifts, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbbUv1hz6mE the music]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGnFiGcsi0k gains techno synths and drums]].
** During battles with the SpacePirates in their research facilities, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyBrngl6-wQ a more frightening tune]] plays over the already ominous DroneOfDread [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itirsMJlEdM ambience]].
* ''VideoGame/MirrorsEdge'''s soundtrack is calm ambient when Faith is in the clear, becoming more tense ambient when the "[[CowboyCop Blues]]" are en route to the scene, then finally fast-paced techno when they attack or engage pursuit of Faith.
* ''VideoGame/BioShockInfinite'' adds lots of discordant, dramatic strings to the background music whenever you initiate combat or get closer to enemies. The music gets more and more dramatic and higher tempo the closer you are to an enemy, and it remains dramatic until the last nearby enemy is dead.
* The music in ''VideoGame/MetalHellsinger'', builds as your multiplier goes up, finally introducing the vocals when you hit the max multiplier.
* ''VideoGame/{{Prodeus}}'' music has three levels of intensity of its level music that increase in intensity once you're fighting more than 3 and more than 7 enemies respectively.

* Koei started trying this out over time in their games. The main kingdom themes in [[VideoGame/DynastyWarriors Dynasty Warriors 8]] seamlessly change between normal, uplifting and sad versions depending on the cutscenes before every battle, while [[VideoGame/DynastyWarriorsGundam Dynasty Warriors Gundam Reborn]] features a triumphant main menu theme that mellows out in the gallery and options, as well as two variations of original music tracks for each of its maps.
* In ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriors'', the music adds various instruments (guitar, extra percussion, etc.) depending on if you're in an enemy keep, using magic, and the like. Most audio tracks have around 14 different channels!
* ''VideoGame/FireEmblemWarriors'', just like its [[Franchise/FireEmblem parent series]], switches the background music between calmer version played on the map screen, and more dynamic one played when you're actually fighting.
* Keeping with the series' tradition, in ''VideoGame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance'', music regularly gains and loses instruments and tempo depending on events within the game. Boss themes in particular often shift to different parts of the song to go along with the actions of the battle, usually ending in a full vocal performance. An example would be when either [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzw3pR6-bO8#t=32m57s Sam]] or [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzw3pR6-bO8#t=47m55s Raiden]] temporarily lose their blade during the desert boss fight between Raiden and Sam and later Raiden against [[spoiler:Senator Armstrong]], when that happens the song temporarily shifts to its instrumental variation and picks up the vocal lyrics once more when either Raiden or Sam reacquires their blade.

* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIV'': While in some dungeons, the Diadem/Eureka, and the PVP zones, the music shifts into a more active mix whenever the player or group is in combat. The ''Crystal Tower'' tracks in particular are an interesting case, as the themes are each composed of three pairs of tracks - a calm layer, an action layer, and a percussion/bass layer that the calm and active layers share.

%%* ''VideoGame/SlyCooper'' has this.
%%How? This is completely zero-context as written.
* ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'':
** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros2'': The music continues playing when the game is paused but cuts out the main instruments, leaving a sort of "drum and bass" mix.
** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld'': When the player mounts a Yoshi, a track of bongo drums is added to the music, no matter which of the several background music tracks is playing at the time. The same thing happens in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioSunshine'', ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy2'', ''VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBrosWii'' and ''VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBrosU''.
** Grabbing the Tanooki powerup in ''VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBros2'' mildly changes the background music.
** In ''VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBrosU'', carrying a Baby Yoshi causes them to sing along with the background music.
** ''VideoGame/SuperMario64'':
*** The water theme. When you are on the beach in Jolly Roger Bay, the music is solely composed of electric piano. If you go in the water, it gains violins; and the hidden cave adds drums to it.
*** The theme of Hazy Maze Cave and Wet Dry World. Normally, it plays a remix of the ''Super Mario Bros.'' Underground Theme. However, once you're at a certain area, the theme starts adding a few creepy instruments.
*** The level BigBoosHaunt does this with its own theme, with a ScareChord used as the default theme and percussion sounds added in the inner and lower areas.
** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy'':
*** Happens in the boss battles against Bowser whenever he becomes open to attacks. The song is normal until you get Bowser to land on the lava; when that happens and he runs around with his tail ablaze, the OminousLatinChanting comes in. When you hit him and he is spinning on his shell, a flute is added in with the song and singing chorus until you hit him again, then the song returns back to normal until you do it again.
*** Every time you activate a sling or launch star [[MusicalGameplay a harp will be added in tempo and harmony]]. If you activate a launch star, the harmony will be longer; if you use the sling stars, the harmony will be shorter. This occurs with every single song, even with the Rainbow Star (invincibility) and power-up songs (Fire Flower, Ice Flower, etc.)
*** Any coins that pop up from bushes, etc. will be in tempo and harmony with the song.
*** Occurs with the Star Ball levels. The less you move, the quieter the song gets and there is only one instrument playing, but, the faster you go, the faster the tempo gets and the more instruments that come in.
*** Done in the Battlerock and Dreadnought Galaxies when the level switches from a quiet, calm section to an action filled section with cannons and Bullet Bills, with the music getting more epic or just quiet accordingly. The Beach Bowl and Sea Slide Galaxies work similarly, with the loud brass and high flute switching out for steel drums and other luau-ish instrumentation when you dive underwater. Same case with Buoy Base: above water, it's Symphony Orchestra, below water it's synthesiser and organ.
*** The question-mark color-changing platform puzzles deal out a tone every time you step on a separate platform. Each tone is in tandem with whatever chord is currently being used in the melody of the stage.
** Water levels in ''VideoGame/SuperMario3DLand'' transition between "beach" and "underwater" themes depending on whether Mario is submerged. Additionally, the music will fade (as if it's following him) if Mario flies above the top of the screen, and sounds muffled (as if being played through water) if Mario is submerged. ''VideoGame/SuperMario3DWorld'' does the same thing with the beach music, but it also has a more interesting form of this in that the [[CircusOfFear circus-themed levels]] actually play different parts of the level music depending on which section of the level you are in.
** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioMaker'' and ''VideoGame/SuperMarioMaker2'' use prerecorded music harmonies whenever you're making a stage that it transitions in and out of depending on what you're doing; however, they use MIDI for the melody, and the games actually call out the item you're placing and alters the pitch to match the melody, leading to the game "singing" along to the music with the name of the item you're placing!
** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioOdyssey'' uses this feature quite a bit, mostly for when Mario is Capturing something.
*** Capturing a frog in Top Hat Tower will add a Güiro to the music, capturing Madame Broode's pet Chain Chomp will add rhythmic barking, capturing and moving along a power line will add a saw wave arpeggio [[spoiler:(or koto arpeggio in Bowser's Kingdom)]], extending or contracting as a Tropical Wiggler will play an accordion chord that matches the music, [[spoiler:capturing a Banzai Bill will add a harsh electronic melody]], and so on. Interestingly, if you use the in-game music player to change the background music, most (but not all) of these will change to match it!
*** [[spoiler:During the Broodals' giant robot battle, an ominous orchestral number will play in the background, but while the boss is vulnerable, it switches to a traditional Japanese arrangement of the piece. The music alterations are also used for other bosses, such as Torkdrift.]]
*** Whenever you enter an 8-bit pipe, the background music will change to a chiptune arrangement (unless you're at the New Donk City festival or using the in-game Music Player).
** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBrosWonder'' uses quite a bit of variable mix.
*** Most frequently, percussion is added to the background music when players are walking or running.
*** Playing in a character's Elephant form adds a brass section to the current level's background music.
*** During the Wonder Effect in the level "Piranha Plants on Parade", defeating a certain Piranha Plant (or preventing it from spawning by standing on or next to its pipe) will remove its part from the song.
* Besides the "Hurry Up!" theme, ''VideoGame/WarioLand4''[='s=] music changes to match Wario's actions, slowing down when he crawls, speeding up while rolling, and distorting during transformations.
* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfSpyro'' games do this, especially ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfSpyroDawnOfTheDragon''. The music will fade from a sweeping string melody or a haunting chorus that is the level's normal music to epic horns or fast drums when enemies appear, and then back again when all the enemies are dead, using a quick sort of fade for the transition. Anyone well-versed in music will hear the break quite clearly, but to most people it's almost completely seamless.

*** Furthermore, each mine cart level and rocket barrel level has instrument changes for their respective themes dependent on the level.

* The games in the ''VideoGame/JakAndDaxter'' series add new layers to the background music when the player mounts a vehicle or takes out a weapon.
* ''VideoGame/{{Ristar}}'' has a [[BandLand music-themed level]] in which the objective was to deliver metronomes to birds found throughout the level. For each metronome returned, a portion of the level's background music was replaced with a choral melody. The final boss theme isn't a layered track like Planet Sonata, but it aims for this effect in spirit. It's timed so that the slow part lasts almost exactly as long as it takes to wear Kaiser's first phase down, the accelerando takes place during his first black hole attack, and the fast, frantic part goes into full swing when he TurnsRed.
* In ''VideoGame/TombRaiderAnniversary'', the background music in Croft Manor changes slightly depending on whether the player is in the house, the gym or outside.
* ''VideoGame/DeBlob'' features a rather interesting soundtrack that adds instruments as you colour buildings in different colours. At the start of each level you can choose which soundtrack to use, with a variety of available instruments. Additionally, more background music will play as you paint an area- a gray zone will be quiet but a fully painted area will sound quite alive.
* In ''VideoGame/KnyttStories'', as the player transitions between areas the music will fade between their two songs (playing both at lower volume when you're in the middle).
* In the original ''VideoGame/{{Klonoa}}'' game, this trope was used two different ways in the same place: the between-level transition screens. Each time you visited it, each level you'd completed would play a section of a tune; completing every level would complete the tune, [[spoiler:the Song of Rebirth]]. In addition, each level had six characters to rescue, who formed members of the band that played the tune; if you didn't collect all six characters in a level, their portion of the tune would have correspondingly fewer instruments. Also, the music playing on the level changes slightly depending on where you are (outer and inner areas) and what is going on (particularly easy to notice in [[spoiler:Temple of the Sun, due to constantly triggering magic-induced twilight in the outer areas]]).

* ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'':
** In the pre-''[[VideoGame/SonicAdventure Adventure]]'' games, the BGM currently playing would speed up if you got the super shoes (only ''[[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehogCD Sonic CD]]'' and the Saturn version of ''VideoGame/Sonic3DFlickiesIsland'' didn't do this — presumably technical limitations since they were playing direct from audio CD).
** ''VideoGame/SonicHeroes'' has Mystic Mansion with its segmented level theme; different segments play and loop depending on where in the level you are, transitioning at noticeable "checkpoints". You can hear them all in sequence in the SoundTest. The preceding level (Hang Castle) toys with this as well, albeit differently. Its two themes are interchanged virtually seamlessly as you go from normal castle to upside-down castle and back again.
** In ''VideoGame/SonicGenerations'', the music would gain a more fast-paced drum beat when boosting in Modern Sonic's Green Hill and Sky Sanctuary stages. In all other stages, boosting simply adds a filter to the music. This originated in ''VideoGame/SonicColors'', where, upon boosting, the prominent instruments in the BGM would be drowned out a bit, allowing the drum & bass to come center stage. Diving underwater with Sonic in Aquarium Park also creates subtle changes in the music.
** Reversed in ''VideoGame/SonicUnleashed'' where the drum & bass would be drowned out, sometimes completely, when boosting.
** During the Death Egg Robot boss in ''Sonic Generations'', the music starts out as a march. Once the second phase begins (when you first have to lure him to hit the bombs), it seamlessly turns into more of a rock song, then adding a faster drum beat for the final phase (One hit left) that plays all the way until the results screen.
** Also in ''Generations'', the Time Eater's theme transitions seamlessly between [[spoiler:an orchestrated rendition with OminousLatinChanting for Modern Sonic and a more electronic version for Classic Sonic, depending on which one the player currently controls.]]
** ''VideoGame/SonicFrontiers'' does this during the Titan boss fights. For each of them, the first half of their theme plays on a loop throughout the first half of the fight, then once they [[TurnsRed turn red]], the second half loops for the rest of the fight. Each theme's intro and outro plays during the pre- and post-fight cutscenes respectively, just to tie it all together.
* ''VideoGame/EpicMickey'' has three different versions for each different land's theme (for the purpose of this article, we'll use the Mean Street theme as the only model). These are [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4vqKhuWKfQ Paint]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9Elod05MCk Neutral]], and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOvth_cJfHk Thinner]]. What version plays depends on how many Guardians you attract and what kind they are. If you have no Guardians, the Neutral version plays. If you have one or two Tints, the Paint version is layered over the Neutral version. If you have all three Tints, the Paint version is the only version that plays. If you have one or two Turps, the Thinner version is layered over the Neutral version. If you have all three Turps, the Thinner version is the only version that plays.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Oddworld}}: Abe's Oddysee'' and ''Abe's Exoddus'', the score shifts from tense-hallway-sneaky to dramatic-drumbeats to kickass-and-chew-bubblegum as Abe possesses a slig. And whenever Abe is spotted by guards or wildlife (Scrabs, mostly), the usually calm background sounds shift into a fast-paced chase music.
* In ''VideoGame/MetroidZeroMission'', you're caught without your power suit and trying to stealth your way through the SpacePirates' mothership. The music in the area changes from a softer version when the pirates aren't chasing you to a more urgent, louder version when you are being chased.
* Every area in ''VideoGame/MuramasaTheDemonBlade'' has a more intense version of the stage music that fades in whenever the player gets in a fight.

* ''VideoGame/GianaSistersTwistedDreams'' has two different variations of every level theme: a more withdrawn, orchestral-sounding one for when you're Cute Giana and a more rock-ish one for when you're Punk Giana.
* ''VideoGame/TheFairlyOddparentsShadowShowdown'':
** Each level has two variations of its music: a normal theme and a more upbeat remix for when you're sprinting, or when you come in contact with an enemy. Some levels even have separate areas with different themes that ''also'' have their own variable mix.
** In "Vicky Strikes Back", selecting the Gamma Ray wish will add percussion and a phaser effect to the stage music. This does not apply to the level's [[PinballZone pinball area]], though there is a variable mix of its theme, as well. However, it's not triggered by sprinting, but by rolling around really fast in your pinball. There's even different mixes depends on how fast you're rolling.
** In "Get a Clue", turning the mansion upside-down will cue a remixed version of the normal theme. It does not get its own sprint remix, however.
* ''VideoGame/OriAndTheBlindForest'' has subtle variations of the regional themes for certain segments of the map; for example, the Moon Grotto BGM becomes more subdued when you descend into Gumo's hideout; the Ginso Tree music gradually changes as you ascend the tree, and incorporates a ThemeMusicPowerUp during the EscapeSequence; the Sunken Glades/Hollow Grove theme adds more instruments when you head towards the Valley of the Wind, and Sorrow Pass's BGM gets a dynamic buildup starting after you learn the Charge Jump and climaxing when you obtain the Sunstone.
* ''VideoGame/TheAngryVideoGameNerdIIAssimilation'' filters the music when the Nerd is underwater. Unfortunately, the "Croc Conundrum" stage is exclusively underwater, [[WastedSong making it impossible to hear the unfiltered version of its music in-game]].
* The two town themes in ''VideoGame/ShovelKnight'' change instrumentation depending on where you are in the town. There's also the final level theme which begins with only one instrument and gains more as the player gets closer and closer to the final boss.
* ''VideoGame/LittleBigPlanet'':
** In all of the games, the Pod Music will change based on what menu you're in or where you are. On the Main Menu, the Create Moon, etc.
** In all games, there are also Interactive Music Tracks. These songs have anywhere from 2-6 different sliders that will increase or decrease the volume of different vocals, instruments, sound effects, and the like. [[http://archive.lolrus.mediamolecule.com/2014/uploads/wordpress/2008/10/lbp_interactive_music.jpg Here's what the menu for a typical Interactive Music item looks like.]]
* ''VideoGame/{{Lunistice}}'': World 5-2 uses this in a rather ingenious way to illustrate the player's progress through the level. In order to proceed to the last section of the level, Hana has to break three tear-shaped crystals ensnared by vines. When the level starts out, there is no music, just ambient forest noises, but as she breaks the three crystals, the music starts to return layer by layer.

* ''VideoGame/TazWanted'': When Taz is sneaking or the game is paused, a quieter version of the level theme plays. A hard rock version plays while Taz is spinning.
* Most levels in ''VideoGame/YoNoid2EnterTheVoid'' have music that changes depending on which area you're in. For example, Swing Factory has rock music that changes into jazz when you're in the interior parts of the level.
* In ''VideoGame/OriAndTheWillOfTheWisps'', the [=BGMs=] for each map region have subtle yet significant variations in instrumentation and arrangement between sub-regions.
* The stage themes in the UsefulNotes/{{MSX}} game, ''Uşas'' (also known as ''The Treasure of Uşas'' internationally), slightly change in pitch and tempo depending on your character's current mood.

* ''VideoGame/{{Worms}} Blast'' used this as the blocks got closer and closer to you.
* Cipher Prime games ''Auditorium'' and ''VideoGame/{{Fractal|MakeBloomsNotWar}}'' do this. In the former, each level starts in silence. Every "bucket" you fill with the correct type of flowing particle adds a layer to the music. In the latter, creating more blooms adds these layers. Each level starts with the stereotypical "howling wasteland" sound.
* Most of the music tracks in ''VideoGame/Portal2'' gain instruments when the player gets close to certain objects or interacts with certain puzzle elements. For example, the track "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFSwT7Xvpj0 Love as a Construct]]" gains a synthesized "vocal" track when the player gets close to a Companion Cube.
* ''VideoGame/AdventuresOfLolo'' (for the UsefulNotes/GameBoy) had an unusual example in which the BGM shifted between four different songs depending on which direction Lolo was facing. The music also changed to a much slower song while Lolo was on flowers. It's only on some levels, and [[RegionalBonus only in the European version]].

* ''VideoGame/PlantsVsZombies'' has two mixes of each song used for a level: a calmer version used when there are few zombies on the level, and a more urgently orchestrated one when things are starting to get out of hand.
* ''VideoGame/{{Meteos}} Wars'' had the music changing as the screen got filled up with blocks. Each planet in the original ''Meteos'' had 3 different soundtracks that would play as the screen filled, but the transition was noticeable as the soundtrack restarted each time. Each planet in ''Meteos Wars'' had up to 5 or 6, and the transitions were seamless.
* ''Marisa & Alice 2: Trap Tower!'' has two versions of each theme, for when the player is controlling either Marisa or Alice.
* Some of the point + click flash titles by [=Jo99=] (like "The Queen of Snakes" or "Humanoid 47") include music that grows louder and more concentrated as each puzzle is solved, reaching a crescendo right up to the ending cutscene, which is usually where the climax is.

** ''VideoGame/Persona5'': "Beneath the Mask", which plays at Café Leblanc, has a quieter mix that plays in lieu of the regular version whenever it rains in-game.
*** ''[[UpdatedRerelease Royal]]'' also does this when it comes to Mementos. The first two sections retain the old Mementos theme from the original game, but switches out to a new song starting with the third area that builds up in intensity as you go deeper. [[BreadEggsBreadedEggs Then the all-new area unlocked in the third semester combines both Mementos themes for a disjointed, yet satisfying remix.]]

* The overworld music of ''VideoGame/{{Roots of Pacha}}'' has some instruments that only play if you're near the person who's playing them.

* In ''VideoGame/OriAndTheWillOfTheWisps'', the BGM's for each map region have subtle yet significant variations in instrumentation and arrangement between sub-regions.

** ''VideoGame/Persona5'' ''[[UpdatedRerelease Royal]]'' also does this when it comes to Mementos. The first two sections retain the old Mementos theme from the original game, but switches out to a new song starting with the third area that builds up in intensity as you go deeper. [[BreadEggsBreadedEggs Then the all-new area unlocked in the third semester combines both Mementos themes for a disjointed, yet satisfying remix.]]

* In ''VideoGame/{{Oddworld}}: Abe's Oddysee'' and ''Abe's Exoddus'', the score shifted from tense-hallway-sneaky to dramatic-drumbeats to kickass-and-chew-bubblegum as Abe possessed a slig. And whenever Abe is spotted by guards or wildlife(Scrabs, mostly), the usually calm background sounds shift into a fast-paced chase music.

*** The water theme. When you are on the beach in Jolly Roger Bay, the music is solely composed of electric piano. If you go in the water, it gains violins; and the hidden cave add drums to it.

** ''[[VideoGame/NeedForSpeedHotPursuit Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit]]''. Each course has two music tracks: a rock and a techno track). The music changes in pace and intensity depending on several factors: Each section of a track has several loops assigned to it and is affected by your grid position, speed and laps in the race (for example: being near the back at slower speeds used a quieter portion while being, say, at the front at 100 mph on the final lap meant the music would be the most intense). There is even a special bit that plays when you crashed (and sometimes that varies depending on location) as well as one when being chased (even that varies, the music is more intense the closer a cop is to you). This also applies to some tracks in ''Need for Speed II: Special Edition'' but doen't have the chase segments. Some tracks don't share this variable mix, such as "Halling Ass" and "Headless Horse" for Norway's Proving Grounds (since it is a simple oval track so a variable mix would've been unnecessary).

* ''VideoGame/NierAutomata''. Virtually every piece of background music has additional tracks - often including a vocal-track - that pops in under the right circumstance. For example, completing certain benevolent side-quests in Pascal's Village will cause a voice-track featuring joyfully-singing children to overlay the local theme, talking to Anemone in the Resistance-Camp will cause the Woodwinds (and, after a certain point, the voice-track) to join into the local theme. And of course, the ultimate example is [[spoiler: the final theme, Weight of the World, that plays as you try to fight your way to the GoldenEnding. Starting out as a retro 8-bit track, it turns fully embodied as you struggle on, adding goosebump-inducing vocals... and as you continue to fail and yet refuse to give up, uplifting messages from across the world will pop up to egg you on, while the song switches smoothly between english, japanese and french. When you finally get offered - and accept - the help of other players, a chanting chorus joins in, helping your spirit soar as together, you fight through the previously-impossible challenges towards the final reward...]] Truly a piece of music that cannot exist, in its truest form, anywhere BUT in a piece of interactive media. Lastly, every single area theme has a whopping 7 variants: a quiet, medium and dynamic version, 3 more variants of the same kind but with vocals, and one more chiptune-styled rendition for [[spoiler: 9S' hacking minigame.]]

* In ''VideoGame/{{APICO}}'', Mothense's theme gradually plays louder the closer you approach them and slowly quiets down when when you leave.

** Also used a bit in some other situations. The music in the Shell 1 Conference Hall in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2'' gains a creepy string track if Raiden takes off his disguise, and an electric piano line is added to the music when Raiden is leading Emma by the hand, and a drum track when he's trying to snipe her pursuers. In ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'', several of the boss tracks change depending on what the boss is doing--instrumentation changes when The Fear is hungry, when Ocelot is breaking from the fight to reload his gun, when The Pain is shooting Bullet Bees, when The Fury's suit gets ripped, and so on. For the Boss, the music acts as your timer, with instrumental kicking in at 5 minutes left, followed by the full song with vocals at 3 minutes racing you to the end.

* In ''VideoGame/SpaceQuestIVRogerWilcoAndTheTimeRippers'', the Galaxy Galleria theme is initially a simple Hammond organ-based elevator/lobby muzak track, but when you enter the Skate-O-Rama, it adds drums. It also mixes in the various shop music themes as you pass by.

* ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'':

** ''VideoGame/SonicFrontiers'' does this with the first Titan's boss theme, "Undefeatable". The first verse and chorus play on a loop during the first half of the boss fight, then once it TurnsRed, the second verse and chorus loop for the rest of the fight. The song's intro and outro play during the pre- and post-fight cutscenes respectively, just to tie it all together.

** ''VideoGame/PokemonScarletAndViolet'' do this extensively in the overworld. The music picks up a lot when you're riding your legendary mount around, and most of the wild battle themes are actually the background music for the area kicked into high gear.

* ''VideoGame/SupremeCommander'' featured this to break up its repeating, low intensity track.

* ''VideoGame/{{Demigod}}'' plays more frantic music if there is a large-scale battle going on nearby and you are on low health.
* ''VideoGame/DuneII'', being MIDI-based, is not a pure example of this trope, as it is all distinct background music tracks; however, each of the tracks in the game is less than 3 minutes long and fade out, and all of the tracks segue into one another, allowing them to fade in and out smoothly whenever the tone of combat changes.

* ''VideoGame/DawnOfWar'' is a textbook example; each in-game theme has an intense version to match the height of combat.

* In ''VideoGame/PaRappaTheRapper'' and its spinoff ''VideoGame/UmJammerLammy'', parts of the backing track drop in and out depending on how well you're doing. When performing well, the track is as it's meant to be heard. When performing badly, the midrange might drop out, the bass remaining only barely; in a few stages the melody changes into a minor key. ''Parappa the Rapper 2'' takes this even further by giving the "Bad" and "Awful" tiers their own unique melodies and transitioning between them via the teacher telling you "Getting better!" or "Getting worse!". If you do ''really'' badly, you start hearing odd squeaks and honks, reminiscent of a comically malfunctioning machine.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Harmoknight}}'', almost every action the player makes, regardless of whether or not the game prompts them to, produces a tone that harmonizes with the background music. Additionally, a bongo track will be added to the background music if Tyko is being controlled, and a harp track will be added if Lyra is in control.
* Turning on all tracks of a Variable Mix song is the goal of the game in early Harmonix games ''Frequency'' and ''Amplitude''.
** Harmonix went on to start ''VideoGame/GuitarHero'' series, which has the players "playing" famous rock songs by following on-screen notes, will have the guitar track of the song replaced with an out of tune mess if the player misses a note or plays the wrong note. On the other side of the spectrum, if you do well enough to activate "Star Power", the guitar track becomes a bit more "pronounced", and the audience will start clapping to the beat of the song.
** After the publisher turned ''GH'' development over to Neversoft, Harmonix took it a step further in ''VideoGame/RockBand'': do well enough for long enough, and the crowd will ''sing along''.
** ''VideoGame/DJHero'' lets you directly control the mixing of the two tracks. Unless you are playing on easy, that is.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Patapon}}'', as the Patapons become more excited, more drum and instrument tracks drop into the pulsing background beat and they begin to sing more emphatically. When they reach [[LimitBreak Fever mode]], all the instruments come in, and the Patapons begin to chant in harmony. When the spirit is onscreen, even more additional vocals are present.
* In ''VideoGame/{{LocoRoco}}'', the [=LocoRocos=] sing along with the backing track. If they're split into their components, the components start to sing in harmony, even dividing up lead and backing vocals between themselves. The more [=LocoRocos=] the player has obtained, the thicker the choir - and as soon as they're grouped back together, the amalgam sings a single-voiced melody.
** And in ''[=LocoRoco=]'' 2, once more [=LocoRocos=] are obtained, the background music improves from just wind-instrument playing to having the friendly [=MuiMuis=] sing. Songs from the first game had similar changes, but they were more subtle and only applied to songs in which [=LocoRocos=] were backup singers.
** In the spinoff game ''Midnight Carnival'', the music is completely instrumental by default, but will gain more vocals from the unfriendly [=BuiBuis=] the more bounces you chain together.

* In ''VideoGame/SpaceChannel5'', rescuing every civilian in a segment and adding them to your entourage will add instruments or vocals during the transitional cutscene. If you do ''REALLY'' bad, not only will those instruments be missing, but the band will play off-key and off-tempo while Ulala stumbles about. If there's a segment that doesn't involve rescuing civilians (like the guitar duel in ''Part 2''), there will only be a "good" and "poor" variation.

* ''VideoGame/SpaceInvaders''
** The first game may well be the UrExample. The simple four-note looping background music increases in tempo as the gameplay gets faster.
** In ''Space Invaders Extreme 2'', during bonus rounds, music becomes more subdued. However, music becomes more intense during fever.

* ''VideoGame/RayCrisis'' selects the musical score depending on which stage you start with. Each music track has a different variation for each stage and boss, looping if necessary. On the soundtrack CD, the variations are combined into 10-14 minute long suites. The {{Final Boss}}es each have their own music.
* In ''VideoGame/GoBeryllium'', a BulletHell freeware game based around the subatomic world, the music adds unique beats: if you are firing, if you are firing in focused mode, if you have one of the special weapons active, if one of the bosses is onscreen, if you are hitting a boss, if an enemy is exploding, or if you die.
* Inverted in ''VideoGame/BeatHazard'' where the game changes depending on the music.

* A rare NES example: In ''Battle Formula / Super VideoGame/SpyHunter'', each stage has two variations of its music, the transition occuring halfway through the stage.

* In ''[[VideoGame/AnnoDomini 1503 A.D.]]'', every time the player shifts views to another inhabited island, the music will change.

* The BGM speeds up during the challenges in ''[[VideoGame/BackyardSports Backyard Skateboarding]]''.
* It's used in the final event in ''Anime/{{Hamtaro}}: Ham-Ham'' games, where you must tap the A button to a certain rhythm. The music speeds up if you're doing well and slows to a crawl if you're failing.

* ''VideoGame/SplinterCell'' series: Arouse suspicion, a ScareChord plays and the ambient music gets tense. Once on full alert, a techno track kicks in. In the third entry ''[[VideoGame/SplinterCellChaosTheory Chaos Theory]]'', there was a mission where you had to defuse time bombs. The beeping of the timers was [[MickeyMousing integrated into]] an increasingly frantic techno track as they counted down.
* In ''VideoGame/InvisibleInc'', the background music in each level becomes more intense as the mission's alarm level increases, which [[StalkedByTheBell usually happens over time]], but will accelerate if your cover is blown, leading to some pretty intense moments.

* ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'':
** Nemesis's {{leitmotif}} in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil3Nemesis'' had a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TddpWDSK1g suspense version]] when he's in the vicinity, and the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6cLuqZTbfI&feature=related battle version]] when he enters the room. There's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09hQUVgdLsQ a different battle theme variation]] for him after he turns OneWingedAngel, although it's still preceded by "Feel The Tense".
** ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil2'' [[WhatCouldHaveBeen was originally going to have]] more dynamic music, according to videos of ''RE 1.5'', where the music seamlessly changed depending on the action and the player character's health.
** Verdugo and Krauser's themes in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4'' do this before and during their boss fights. Also, creepy [[DroneOfDread droning]] atonal music starts to build up when Ganados or other danger are approaching.

* ''VideoGame/SyphonFilter'' series: The soundtrack for the first three Syphon Filter games was composed by Chuck Doud, who brought over the adaptive music and some instrumentation from his previous project, ''Blasto''. Most levels have an "infiltration" theme and a "danger" or "battle" theme, which are dynamically segued between. Later entries in the series retained the adaptive music concept, despite changing composers. The second trilogy also has "suspense" and "boss" variations for certain missions.
* The ''VideoGame/NavalOps'' series features variations of this. In ''Warship Gunner'', proximity to enemy ships triggered the BGM to change from a naval theme to a low volume, tense repeating beat that would expand if the fighting went longer. ''Warship Gunner II'' featured varying BGM that changed from the main, rather unremarkable track to a more appropriate combat track.

* In the original GBA version of ''VideoGame/YggdraUnion'', changing your in-battle tactics to Aggressive or Passive would change the tempo of the music and alter its mix slowly. The PSP rerelease has a similar mechanic, but restricts it to the player characters and only loops the first half of each {{leitmotif}}. Too bad that there's no option to actually trigger the glitch that occasionally makes Yggdra's theme play sans bass in the GBA version.

* ''Dynasty Tactics'' had music that played during battles, switching between a calm music when armies were marching around or engaging in minor battles and getting much fiercer when tactics were used. There were only two exceptions. One particular music didn't have a calm version. Along with that, when one side was about to be eliminated, the music would stay on the frantic fierce battle music.

* ''VideoGame/MarioPlusRabbidsKingdomBattle'':
** The [[HailfirePeaks Sherbet Desert]] music has two arrangements, for the sandy areas and the icy areas, and changes dynamically depending on where the player goes.
** Each area features a background element shaped like a musical instrument that moves in time with the music. When you get close to one, whatever instrument it represents will become louder.

* ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV'' has this with mission-specific music, which builds up track by track the further along in the mission you get. Background music also plays when the player gets a 3 star wanted level in free roam, which progressively intensifies as the chase drags on and the player gets more stars.

* In ''[[VideoGame/NintendoBadgeArcade Nintendo's Badge Arcade]]'', the badge catcher music varies depending on how many plays you have left and whether or not the claw has anything in it.

* The NES version of ''Series/AmericanGladiators'' had this in the Joust, Wall, and Human Cannonball events, starting with the percussion and/or bass, then adding the other instruments when you engaged a gladiator.
* ''The Basement Collection'' features this on the main menu and title screen, where the latter's theme is a more muffled and distant version of the former.
* ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'': The 'Summoner's Rift' theme changes as more time is elapsed in the game - towards the mid and late game it adds more drums and stronger backing.

** The TrueFinalBoss of ''Repentance'' has a theme with five variations, one playing for each stage of the fight. Altogether it is the longest song in the soundtrack.

* The FPS games in the ''VideoGame/PoliceQuest: SWAT'' series both have the same issue as ''Far Cry 2''. ''VideoGame/SWAT3''[='=]s music switches between a downbeat and a more frantic version of the same tune depending on whether you're in stealth or dynamic mode. Larger maps have separate stealth tracks for different areas, such as for the different floors of a mansion, but each map only has one dynamic track - and it just so happens that firing a shot automatically moves you into dynamic mode and switches the music, even if that shot is simply something like shooting a locked door with breaching shells (although if you're doing that you're probably ''intending'' to go in guns-blazing anyway). ''VideoGame/SWAT4'', meanwhile, would temporarily switch to the full-action part of the song whenever a flashbang detonated, regardless of if anyone (other than you) was actually around to be affected by it.

* Keeping with the series' tradition, in ''VideoGame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance'', music regularly gains and loses instruments and tempo depending on events within the game. Boss themes in particular often shift to different parts of the song to go along with the actions of the battle, usually ending in a full vocal performance. An example would be when either [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzw3pR6-bO8#t=32m57s Sam]] or [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzw3pR6-bO8#t=47m55s Raiden]] temporarily lose their blade during the desert boss fight between Raiden and Sam and later Raiden against [[spoiler:Senator Armstrong]], when that happens the song temporarily shifts to its instrumental variation and picks up the vocal lyrics once more when either Raiden or Sam reacquires their blade.

* Keeping with the series' tradition, in ''VideoGame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance'', music regularly gains and loses instruments and tempo depending on events within the game. Boss themes in particular often shift to different parts of the song to go along with the actions of the battle, usually ending in a full vocal performance. An example would be when either [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzw3pR6-bO8#t=47m55s Raiden]] or [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzw3pR6-bO8#t=32m57s Sam]] temporarily lose their blade during the desert boss fight between Raiden and Sam and later Raiden against [[spoiler:Senator Armstrong]], when that happens the song temporarily shifts to its instrumental variation and picks up the vocal lyrics once more when either Raiden or Sam reacquires their blade.

* Keeping with the series' tradition, in ''VideoGame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance'', music regularly gains and loses instruments and tempo depending on events within the game. Boss themes in particular often shift to different parts of the song to go along with the actions of the battle, usually ending in a full vocal performance. An example would be when either Raiden or [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzw3pR6-bO8#t=32m57s Sam]] temporarily lose their blade during the desert boss fight between Raiden and Same and later Raiden against [[spoiler:Senator Armstrong]], when that happens the song temporarily shifts to its instrumental variation and picks up the vocal lyrics once more when either Raiden or Sam reacquires their blade.

* Keeping with the series' tradition, in ''VideoGame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance'', music regularly gains and loses instruments and tempo depending on events within the game. Boss themes in particular often shift to different parts of the song to go along with the actions of the battle, usually ending in a full vocal performance. An example would be when either Raiden or Sam temporarily lose their blade during the desert boss fight between Raiden and Same and later Raiden against [[spoiler:Senator Armstrong]], when that happens the song temporarily shifts to its instrumental variation and picks up the vocal lyrics once more when either Raiden or Sam reacquires their blade.

* Keeping with the series' tradition, in ''VideoGame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance'', music regularly gains and loses instruments and tempo depending on events within the game. Boss themes in particular often shift to different parts of the song to go along with the actions of the battle, usually ending in a full vocal performance.

* ''VideoGame/Payday2'':
** Each track has four separate sections: a quiet and more downbeat portion for stealth, a more tense portion once stealth is broken or between assault waves, a portion that rises in intensity as an assault wave approaches, and a louder and more intense portion for assault waves.

* ''VideoGame/Doom2016'' and [[VideoGame/DoomEternal its sequel]] both feature metal scores that vary in intensity based on the player's actions. For example, ambient music plays while exploring a level, but the same song ramps up into a pounding industrial metal track in a combat arena, then the combat track fades to the original ambience when the last enemy is killed.

** Shadow Raid is mixed to gain intensity based on the player's actions, as it must be completed in stealth (and thus has no assault waves). Murky Station and Yacht Heist do the same thing, both being stealth-only heists as well. Yacht Heist is notable in that it has ''11'' different tracks, almost triple that of every other song in the game.
** The Alesso Heist has the music from the ''concert'' work the same way as the soundtrack does in other heists. Which, if you're particularly slow, means the star DJ will be playing a single song for an hour.