Absolutely.
It's a must, but with proper pacing.
You don't want "battle themes" in horror games. It telegraphs everything, and makes it appear monotonous, in my opinion. It gets old hearing the same ballad or rumbling bass line whenever a monster lurches out of the darkness.
Silent Hill is probably the best example for pacing. It would get so heavy at times, with the atmosphere, the anticipation of everything, along with the intense music. But they knew how to pace it. It was punctuated with moments of eerie silence, or hauntingly beautiful music.
Other times, simple is better. I just played through Amnesia, and I thought the music was very well done, though relatively simple and used sparingly.
It's a must, but with proper pacing.
You don't want "battle themes" in horror games. It telegraphs everything, and makes it appear monotonous, in my opinion. It gets old hearing the same ballad or rumbling bass line whenever a monster lurches out of the darkness.
Silent Hill is probably the best example for pacing. It would get so heavy at times, with the atmosphere, the anticipation of everything, along with the intense music. But they knew how to pace it. It was punctuated with moments of eerie silence, or hauntingly beautiful music.
Other times, simple is better. I just played through Amnesia, and I thought the music was very well done, though relatively simple and used sparingly.
