Several critics also noted how the music was a key contribution to enhancing the overall experience of the game. For example, at the time of the original release Computer Gaming World's review remarked that "a musical score (...) accompanies the art to complete the experience". 20 years later, The Ringer noted that the best example in the game of the blending of cultures was its soundtrack, by combining elements of an orchestral score, with more traditional South American strings, and the jazz and swing music of the film noir era, becoming "commonly celebrated as one of the best video game soundtracks of all time. Great adventure games such as Grim Fandango feature worlds so cohesive and rich with detail that they're transportive for the player and McConnell’s soundtrack is the glue that binds the game's elements". Kotaku noted upon revisiting the game in 2011 how "I was struck by just how much McConnell's soundtrack (...) elevates the basic game". In 2015 Fact magazine noted that "few soundtracks have ever felt more integral to the success of a video game" and that "the game's blend of styles would never have held together so well if it weren't for McConnell's masterful ability to fuse Mexican folk music with Duke Ellington-era big band jazz and noir scores in the spirit of Adolph Deutsch".
