Well, after all of our complaining it seems the heat is finally on for videogame soundtracks. While there were a lot we went over that didn’t necessarily feel like they fit our scope, most of them were still pretty great and we’re stoked to bring you several particularly weird ones today.
“Weird, how?” you might ask, and honestly the best answer to that would be to just show you. We found ourselves overtaken by the sonic scale of several of the titles below – some atmospheric, some butt rock, some jazz, and many with bits and parts of all of the above.
One thing we’re trying to get better about with these OST articles is not judging the soundtrack by its cover, but it’s kind of an old habit we get from record stores: you want to experience the magic of ‘what you see is what you get’ gone right. So really, if you want to know our process, it’s head to Bandcamp, juggle the tags OST, videogame, and soundtrack, and see what falls out. Then post about it.
Enjoy!
Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy – Olivier Deriviere
We’re still new to the Plague Tale series, but we’ve heard nothing but great things about the action stealth game. We’ve heard the new one is a little different but if the music’s anything to go by we’re in for something extremely deep, cinematic, and layered.
Rocket Race – Mark Allnutt
Do you remember when John 5 had that hot streak of insane metal-meets-country-gothic records in the early 2010’s? This hits exactly like those, but like John 5 was scoring games for Rare titles at the turn of the century. The game’s apparently pretty good too, but we’d probably just play it with a beer in one hand and headbang the whole time.
The Cave Diver – Taylor Shechet
We’re not sure what we were expecting from a game called Cave Diver, but it wasn’t something as dreary and anxiety inducing as this. Taylor Shechet seems to have gone above and beyond (below?) the predicted scope of the relatively underground title, from tracks of pure ambient tension to sparse string motifs and oppressive rising vocal pads.
Mahou Arms – Dale North
This outrageously rich OST is one of the highest quality soundtracks we’re highlighting today, bringing sharp composition and dramatic performances into undeniable synergy. Don’t let the flowery words fool you though – the Mahou Arms music has a lot of fun too on tracks like “Vigorously, Faithfully” and “Systematic Threat.”
Elder KO – AlbeGian
This is one of those soundtracks that’s so obliquely tongue-in-cheek it becomes its own work of art. Ask yourself, “what kind of music comes to mind when you picture literal elders breakdancing and beating the geriatric shit out of each other?” Well, most likely not beautiful, float-y jazz, but that’s exactly what we get, and ultimately, it’s a brand of friend-slop we couldn’t get enough of if we tried.
Horse Magnifier – coolfontsonline
Videogames are a wide-open world (is that a pun we’re not sure) filled with different, occasionally even opposed points of view, but still, we’ve got to ask – who in god’s name is this for? From what perspective was this game even conceived? It’s literally a game about magnifying horses, but we digress. The coolly ambient soundtrack riffs on jazz and downtempo in a way that’s inescapably goofy yet inviting, and for many, that’ll be more than enough.
Dewdrop Dynasty – Peter Reid Jones, Bonzo, Crépe
It’s borderline suspect that at the same time this game started creating some buzz, Buck Bumble seems to have returned to vogue a couple decades later, but titular bee characters with guns are all the two have in common. Here, we actually have something closer to a sort of gun-jumping metroidvania, and it’s got an epic soundtrack to match with luxurious borderline JRPG vibes.
Rubinite – KUSHIH, NYUBOR, Francis Sun, Triodust, 10lulu, Waves of Doppler
This cozy yet brutal boss-rush has been getting a lot of positive attention, and from the gameplay we could see why, but we also bet the soundtrack has a lot to do with it too. It’s a truly expansive scape of emotion that stacks layers of cinematic strings and piano with bits of unexpected drum work, almost contributing to a sense of overwhelm yet always staying narratively focused.
Look Outside – Eric Shumaker
Laced Records have just helped publish yet another banger, with this one harkening more towards darker 80’s-goth rock synths. “Safe Place” almost takes us to the first time we heard “Mr. Crowley,” and we don’t think that’s entirely by accident but the organic way in which they accomplish this is actually part of the charm. It’s not all plodding and woe here though, with other tracks like the “The Wizard’s Journey 1” and “Terminus” upping the BPM considerably.
The Core – Venus Theory
While The Core is in early-access now, the soundtrack is fully out, and damnit that’s exactly what we like to see. Without feeling like it’s looking back at a particular section of the past, it does feel like it’s pulling from several decades gone by to create something unique. There’s cavernous space, bubbling synths, experimental production, and an inescapable through-line of mystery. We don’t even know what the game’s supposed to be about, but now we don’t need to – we’ll play it to find out what the songs mean ASAP.
How Many Dudes? – Fat Bard
Let’s not forget to have some fun here, yeah? These are videogames we’re talking about here, though How Many Dudes? asks a question of the modern age that needs to be answered. The vibe here is hard to describe, but it’s instantly lovable. It’s like when your uncle passes you a spliff of untouchable wonder and you’re transported to a place you know your parents wouldn’t want to see you, but you also know you’re clear to let loose as it honks, squawks, and squeals with the best of ’em.
Filthium Zero – Hendrik Shoebel
Though the title of the game does sound dirty, and its thematic explorations are certainly post-apocalyptic, the roguelite ambient downtempo OST slaps like hot mud on concrete. It’s almost club-friendly, if the clubs you go have zero lighting and/or are decidedly vampiric in nature. We’ll see you there, and we hope this is playing.
Cult Vacui – Ascari
It’s been some time since we were tempted to play a point-and-click game, but Cult Vacui is definitely giving us pause and it just might happen. The imagery and concepts are striking enough, but soundtrack is perfectly complimentary in that it’s inescapably hypnotic and foreboding, yet somehow irresistible at the same time. Well, isn’t that just cult-like. It’s almost like you can hear a normal soundtrack underneath that can’t escape the winding tension. Hmmmm. Maybe we just sold ourselves.
(Thanks for reading! If you’re looking for more music, check out our Bandcamp compilations here. If you like us, or possibly even love us, donations are always appreciated at the Buy Me A Coffee page here as well. Don’t let the bastards get you down!)