It is hard to pinpoint what exactly I find missing from video game music, but I can pretty sum it up with a single soundtrack. Though there are a shit ton of soundtracks I really enjoy, especially where RPGs are concerned, hands down the one that has stuck with me the most is the SNES version of
Drakkhen's soundtrack. I've yet to hear anything like it since (nor have I played anything like it since, the closest was Dragon View for the SNES but only in terms of overworld movement despite being a sequel, of sorts). The game world was separated into four areas based around the earth, air, fire, and water elements and there were tracks for day and night in each area, with the night tracks being much more drifting and ominous. There was also a track for the dungeons in each area and the houses.
Earth:Forest: House/RuinsWater:Day in the SwampNight in the SwampSwamp: HouseAir:Day in the IceNight in the IceIce: IglooFire:Day in the DesertNight in the DesertDesert: TentPrior to playing the Elder Scrolls series it was the first game I ever played that just cut you loose in and let you freely roam the world in a 1st person perspective (potentially straight into enemies way beyond your abilities). The way the music fit with each area and gave the roaming an almost hypnotic effect was impressive. Also, like the Demon's/Dark Souls series it has a pretty interesting deep-set lore that is dished out in mysterious vague bits and pieces. You always get the sense that something is going on under the surface but you're never immediately able to piece it together (though some of this may be translation issues, either way it works for the game). I believe it is considered abandonware (at least the computer version) so finding a copy of it won't be hard. I recommend acquiring (or emulating) the SNES version, it's the best (and the one with the soundtrack I linked above).
The whole time I played Skyrim I wanted to replace its music with the Drakkhen soundtrack, but unfortunately I was playing it on PS3 (which also means about 60 hours in the save file was so massive it lagged the game into unplayability anyways). We need more soundtracks like this, drifting but very present.