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Please watch this man perform videogame soundtracks on his Mongolian string instrument

Listen up, you morin curs

You know how it is. You think you're into videogame soundtracks, then you go and hear someone perform ten of them on a Mongolian string instrument. I recently spent 20 minutes listening to a man do just that, and I think you should too.

Genius Jaavka is the man. The morin khuur is his instrument. Songs from Horizon Zero Dawn (coming to PC this summer), Mortal Kombat, Dota 2 and Fortnite are just some of the ones he treats us to. He's really very good.

Without further ado:

That first Playerunknown's Battlegrounds track is a highlight. It kicks in properly around 10:00. There's a lot of good finger-slapping, adding some tasty twang to familiar percussion. Plus that's the one where he makes the best faces.

Except wait, no, he saves those for Mortal Kombat. That comes straight after, around 12:06. It's much more immediately recognisable, and I like how the aggression gets tempered by the sweeping sound of strings. It's way better than naked techno-bleeping.

I also like how he then pivots into a soothing riff on some Dota music I absolutely cannot identify (13:49). I've played over 4000 hours of Dota and honestly, that could be from anything, but I still enjoyed it plenty.

I also feel compelled to mention his micro-covers of Fortnite dances, which begin at 20:39. It's like sticking your head into an old album advert, but in a good way. A jazzy way.

I want more. If you know of anyone else who does this sort of thing, please share with the group.

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Counter-Strike: Global Offensive

PS3, Xbox 360, PC, Mac

Dota 2

PC, Mac

See 8 more

Fortnite

Android, iOS, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC, Mac, Nintendo Switch

Fortnite Battle Royale

Video Game

Frostpunk

Android, iOS, PS4, Xbox One, PC

Horizon Zero Dawn

PS4, PC

Left 4 Dead

Xbox 360, PC

Mortal Kombat (1992)

Video Game

NieR: Automata

PS4, Xbox One, PC

PUBG: Battlegrounds

PS4, Xbox One, PC

Related topics
About the Author
Matt Cox avatar

Matt Cox

Former Staff Writer

Once the leader of Rock Paper Shotgun's Youth Contingent, Matt is an expert in multiplayer games, deckbuilders and battle royales. He occasionally pops back into the Treehouse to write some news for us from time to time, but he mostly spends his days teaching small children how to speak different languages in warmer climates.

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