Review

Chip Music, Game Music, Indie Music, Reviews

Diagnosis? Rhythmortis: Crypt of the Necrodancer Original Soundtrack (Review)

May 25, 2015 | Ryan Paquet | 2 Comments Share this

The Original Soundtrack to Crypt of the NecroDancer is my first experience with music composed by Danny Baranowsky who has composed the music for Super Meat Boy, The Binding of Isaac and who has also worked on some excellent arrangements including Super Metroid: Relics of the Chozo.

The soundtrack contains 42 tracks and is a blend of chiptune rock and electronic melodies with a runtime of just under two hours. I listened to the soundtrack through at least three times and was blown away with the blood pumping beats and pleasant repetition and alternate versions of tracks. My first play through of the album was during a drive from Ottawa to New York State to camp over the Victoria Day long weekend in Canada. If you’re in the USA you can look forward to Memorial Day weekend next week. Read on to find out if you should pick up this soundtrack to kick off your weekend.

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Game Music, Reviews

Shadowy Electronica Beauty with Oblitus Soundtrack (Review)

March 7, 2015 | Brenna Wilkes | Comments Off on Shadowy Electronica Beauty with Oblitus Soundtrack (Review) Share this

Let it never be said that 2D is dead in terms of ambient games. The advent of independent games has opened up new avenues for young developers who grew up in the mid-late ’80s and early ’90s to throw-back to the games we grew up with. With games such as Shadow of the Beast creating surreal atmospheres back then, and more recent games such as Dark Souls doing so in 3D, it’s the logical step to attempt combining elements of such games into new spiritual successors, both in terms of scenery and sound. That’s how you end up with games such as Oblitus.

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Game Music, Reviews

Rayman Legends OST (Review)

March 10, 2014 | Michael Hoffmann | Comments Off on Rayman Legends OST (Review) Share this Rayman Legends OST (Review)

One of the things that’s been a growing issue for me with Triple A games is the method in which orchestral music is used. There’s been a tendency in recent years to have the music of these games mimic the scores of big budget hollywood movies. The approach certainly works for certain types of games, but the pervasiveness of this trend has gotten to the point of being cliche. I’m all for dark, dramatic, and symphonic music finding an audience through games. The problem for me has been that it has become an over-saturated genre.

Luckily, a few soundtracks have come out that spice up the tonal palate of their orchestral music. One such soundtrack from this past generation was the Rayman Origins OST. While it was orchestral and had some dramatic moments, it also had a signature sound. Written by composers Christophe Heral and Billy Martin, the soundtrack was lively, eclectic, and was the breath of fresh air that the orchestral soundtrack genre needed. It wasn’t long before the game’s sequel, Rayman Legends, came about and both composers returned for the second round. In this review I’ll be looking at the Rayman Legends OST and examining how they’ve improved things and how well the music works with the game. Read on to find out more. (more…)
Chip Music, Featured, Indie Music, Reviews

The Glory Days (Review)

February 24, 2014 | Michael Hoffmann | Comments Off on The Glory Days (Review) Share this The Glory Days (Review)

With the help of Kickstarter, another chiptune album has been brought into existence. Most people probably know Jimmy Hinson (a.k.a Big Giant Circles) and his music from games like Mass Effect 2 and Call of Duty Black Ops 2. It might surprise some people that in addition to the game music he writes, he also composes chiptunes. This latest album, The Glory Days, is a new collection of original pieces written by Hinson. The Glory Days was funded through a very successful Kickstarter campaign that far exceeded its original goal. Not only did the Kickstarter hit the goal of $5,000, but every single stretch goal was met as well. The Kickstarter receiving over $60,000 in pledges, allowing Big Giant Circles to hire several remixers and fellow game composers to help construct an extra remix album for release at a later date.

The Glory Days is a sequel to Hinson’s first album of original music, Impostor Nostalgia. This original album was a collection of music written by Hinson and featured several music remixers and composers. The concept behind Impostor Nostalgia was that while the music mimicked the sound and energy of chiptunes from older videogames, the music itself was original work that was never featured in any game, past or present. It was a cool experiment and generated some excellent new tunes. This time around, Hinson is flying solo with this sequel album, The Glory Days. Like the first album, this one aims to celebrate the sound of older game tunes while enhancing it with modern synth and electronic sounds that weren’t available years ago. Does Big Giant Circles pull this off on this second solo album? Read more to find out. (more…)
Game Music, Indie Music, Reviews

Indie Game Rhapsodies (Review)

February 21, 2014 | Michael Hoffmann | Comments Off on Indie Game Rhapsodies (Review) Share this Indie Game Rhapsodies (Review)

With the popularity of indie games and their soundtracks growing, there has also been a surge in arrangements and remixes of these works. In fact there have been a few new arrangers who focus on indie soundtracks specifically. One of these emerging artists is Brent Kennedy. His previous albums include arrangements for Danny Baranowsky’s music for Binding of Isaac and Super Meat Boy. Kennedy’s specialty is solo piano arrangements. His writing style can be best described as impressionist (think Debussy or Ravel) with a small dose of minimalist writing thrown in the mix. The covered tracks can vary from energetic and climactic to calm and relaxing. In this latest album, he once again demonstrates a similar musical range.

Unlike his previous work, this newest arrange album, titled Indie Game Rhapsodies, takes a sampling of different indie game soundtracks. The composers covered include Big Giant Circles, Alec Holowka, Jeff Ball, and Austin Wintory. The soundtracks being drawn from are an eclectic selection. Some are chiptune soundtracks, while others are originally orchestral. Kennedy takes each of these selections and transforms them into relaxing and mesmerizing solo piano pieces. The result is a collection of tracks that showcases some excellent game music, while presenting a more classical take on the material. (more…)
Chip Music, Featured, Indie Music, Reviews

Chipzel’s Dance Floor Domination: Spectra (Review)

February 17, 2014 | Patrick Gann | Comments Off on Chipzel’s Dance Floor Domination: Spectra (Review) Share this

There are plenty of chip music makers out there these days. I have respect for all of them — it’s difficult work, to be sure. But one person I especially admire is Chipzel. She broke onto the scene when she wrote the three-track OST for Super Hexagon. But she has plenty of original works out there too.

The latest among them is Spectra, released in September 2013. This full-length album was created entirely in LSDJ, so it’s pure Game Boy goodness. The nature of this album? I think the headline gives it away, but if you want a detailed report, as well as where you can pick up the album, keep reading!

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Featured, Game Music, Reviews

Austin Wintory is a Viking in The Banner Saga (Review)

February 7, 2014 | Patrick Gann | 3 Comments Share this

After a highly successful Kickstarter campaign and a very long wait, Stoic Studios has released their debut title The Banner Saga. The dev team was largely made up of ex-Bioware employees, but they knew exactly whom they needed to craft the music for their Norse-set RPG: Austin Wintory.

Yes, the man who blazed a trail, setting new standards for VGM with his incredible soundtrack to Journey (which we gave our top award to in 2012), agreed to write a full soundtrack for this ambitious project. Now the game is out on Steam, and Kickstarter backers such as myself got the game and its soundtrack a few weeks early.

Thus, I’ve had time to digest the contents of this soundtrack, which is available on Loudr and Bandcamp. My thoughts on Wintory’s latest release, after the jump! (more…)