Orchestral music or jazz that grabs your guts, electro or metal that hits hard where it should be, covers and more atypical things: throw your ears in the best soundtracks of video games released in recent months !
Now Playing #1 - The sounds of summer 2021?
As necessary to the emotion as the image itself, video game music will have struggled to emerge from its case. If it makes hearts beat, cry hot tears or sometimes knows how to push us to crime, it is not only utilitarian and deserves to be listened to out of play.
We therefore offer you a journey to the heart of the most significant or least known video game music. A journey of enthusiasts concocted with the heart and, of course, with the ears: Now Playing.
To launch this new column dedicated to video game music on JVFR, we have, as you can imagine, thrown a lot of ideas into the air. Most are obviously excellent, but will have to wait for future issues. Indeed, for this start at the heart of the new school year, we preferred to start with something that is at the same time simple, logical and practical, in particular to help you stay on vacation for a while: a selection of the best soundtracks released this summer.
Humankind - Arnaud Roy
Selecting just one track from the entire massive Humankind OST? What next ? To cheat a little, I refer you to the ITW of its composer, Arnaud Roy, where there are several tracks from Amplitude's latest 4X and their previous games in the Endless series. It must be said that beyond the “classic” orchestral album, already made up of 19 incredible tracks, the game also has 4 albums each made up of around 60 to 70 traditional pieces. As detailed in the interview, and like the game itself, Humankind's music mixes genres, influences, tools and peoples, for an absolutely brilliant result and an everlasting beauty. . - AR
Backbone - Danshin & Arooj Aftab
Fascinating, Backbone is less for its simplistic gameplay than for its very inspired artistic direction. A real playable film noir, EggNut's first game left me floored by the quality and variety of its compositions, which we owe to Nikita Danshin (co-founder of the studio, incidentally) and Arooj Aftab, Pakistani jazzwoman to the already well-built career.
Actively participating in rendering the filthy atmosphere of dystopian Vancouver which serves as the backdrop to Backbone, the soundtrack accompanies the variations of its themes by using sometimes black jazz, sometimes uninhibited industrial, passing by ambient or folk.
In short, an OST with all the most charming contrasts; to discover in game… or not. - pc
The Last Spell - Remi Gallego
The Last Spell is still in Early Access as of this writing. So I haven't touched it yet. But I stumbled across his music composed by Remi Gallego aka The Algorithm. And what a slap my friends, what a slap. The developer/composer offers here a clever mix of electro/metal with rhythms and riffs that make it impossible not to move your head or tap your feet while listening. I can't wait to rediscover it in game when 1.0 is released, especially since the whole album is of this ilk. - AR
Necromunda: Hired Gun - Olivier Zuccaro
Of course, the comparison between the OST of Necromunda: Hired Gun and those of DOOM and DOOM Eternal would be easy to make. Fast FPS, 8-string guitar riffs tuned in G and sprays of blood splattering the screen. But our Spaniard Olivier Zuccaro has a much more organic approach to music than his colleagues Mick Gordon and Andrew Hulshult.
It's a pity that the mixing isn't always up to par, because the soundtrack of Streumon's game doesn't lack potato. Too bad, too, that the game is obviously not great. But that's another story. - pc
The Ascent - Pawel Blaszczak
During my few sessions with friends on The Ascent, my comrades and I agreed on several points: that the title is really beautiful, rather fun, and damn that its music slaps. Especially during the fights, where the work of Pawel Blaszczak (composer who notably worked on the first The Witcher and Dying Light), further reinforces the badass and enjoyable side of the title with its cyberpunk atmosphere. For those who prefer more sedate music, don't panic, some calmer and atmospheric tracks are also there. - AR
Chicory - Lena Raine
Lena Raine, you probably know her for the remarkable setting of Celeste. An immediately recognizable style, which is nevertheless beaten on the soundtrack of Chicory – the longest ever composed by the American.
Much more orchestral than his previous works, it marries perfectly with Greg Lobanov's colorful Zelda-like theme thanks to irresistibly light tracks, which rub shoulders with real electro bangers (Probably Ancient Evil). An album of a richness impossible to sum up with a single title, but of which we nevertheless offer you a delightful gateway with The Big City. A title with a heady theme, which a certain Koji Kondo (the composer of most Super Mario music) would certainly not deny. - pc
Griftlands - Emmet Hall
I have a confession to make: I regret having missed the opportunity to offer the test of the excellent Griftlands on JVFR. So to make myself partially forgiven, let's talk today about his no less excellent OST. Composed by Emmett Hall, the composer of Klei Entertainment, it offers, like the game, themes for certain secondary characters, but above all themes of combat and negotiation for its 3 heroes. I decided to pick up the tracks from the fights of Smith who, in addition to being the best character (his story and his way of fighting are great), has the best music. - AR
Death's Door - David Fenn
“The other” Zelda-like of our summer is signed by Acid Nerve, and is served to us on the most exquisite musical pads. Composed by David Fenn (half of the duo, but also a composer on Moonlighter), the titles of Death's Door iterate around a main theme as mysterious as it is epic.
Martial without being too much, the songs that accompany the adventure of our crow-gravedigger above all give depth to the universe of the game by pushing the knobs of melancholy to 11. This title, Hall of Doors, is particularly poignant and revealing of the composer's ability to incorporate various instruments into his recipe. - pc
Sea of Thieves: A Pirate's Life - Robin Beanland
Yes, Sea of ​​Thieves didn't come out this summer. But his massive A Pirate's Life update, yes (and the rest of his OST is excellent, so here's the perfect excuse to call him back). In addition to offering some of the best missions in the game, this one comes with new music, often directly or indirectly inspired by the Pirates of the Caribbean films or other works (the Monkey Island passage gave me chills personally incredible). The mix of genres works wonderfully and the game fortunately never forgets its own identity. - AR
Last Stop - Lyndon Holland
His music may be the one thing to save from Variable State's game. Composed by Lyndon Holland, awarded a BAFTA for the soundtrack of Virginia (the studio's first game), it gives all its cinematographic breath to the narration of the title. Obviously very present, and teeming (71 titles, for about 5 hours of play), it can be savored like a real film soundtrack. And that's probably what makes it so stand out.
If there is obviously food and drink in this musical cargo of Last Stop, nothing is to be thrown away. Whether it's the little interludes or the more bombastic themes. And the selection of A Fool's Errand is no coincidence, in that it is triggered during one of the rare narrative flashes in the game. A little treasure of composition, which anchors itself in you a little more as you each instrument plays its part. - pc
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