My relationship with music over the years has had this segmented identity. I go through phases of listening to specific genres almost exclusively. A little EDM here, a little Metal there.
Rather upsettingly as the child of a baroque musician I never had much to say about the classics, but there was a period I was listening to Carnival of the Animals a lot.
I also had a big goth phase, but we don’t talk about that.
In my youth leading right up to my early 20s videogame soundtracks were the almost exclusive content of my repertoire. So much so that I learned how to play To Zanarkand on the piano.
I went to bed dreamining of Final Fantasy boss music. I spent extortionate amounts of money on then hard to come by Japanese export albums, many of which I still have with me today.
I’ve been thinking a lot about the game music that’s stuck with me the most over the years. Soundscapes and melodies that ascend beyond even my enjoyment of the game’s they are tethered to.
While there are some heavy hitters in my library, I find myself drawn to the work of those on the fringe, the sounds that make seemingly humble projects feel enormous.
This week’s Substatic is a celebration of five of my favourite indie game soundtracks.
Enjoy.
FURI - Various Artists
Much of my adoration for the work as a whole comes down to how good its soundtrack is. A thumping, angry anthology of electronic music from a range of artists including Carpenter Brut, Danger and The Toxic Avenger.
What surprised me the most about this collection of tracks was how cohesive and coherent the whole thing felt. Disparate artists collected together to tell a story, both in the quiet moments of dread and the violent bursts of combat they build up to.
My favourite track is Enraged, playing during the second encounter, a tune with some of the dirtiest synth work I’ve ever heard. Incredible.
CHICORY - Lena Raine
Lena Raine has a substantial body of great work, ranging from Celeste, to Guild Wars and even Minecraft. For me, personally, her best work is the soundtrack to Chicory, a brilliant colourful Zelda-like that I absolutely adored.
Part of what made Chicory so compelling an experience was how well its music matched the spirit of adventure that the game evoked.
A soundtrack full of baroque instruments and playful woodwind with touches of great thumping drum and bass for its more tense moments, it gives great gravitas to both the quiet and the loud. Music that, I would argue to the death, would not look out of place in a Zelda title, if not for the fact that it is so perfectly tailored to what Chicory is doing differently.
My favourite track is Supper Woods, which the title itself evokes a delightful time, but is a track that perfectly encapsulates the best of what Raine is doing throughout this soundtrack.
Also because my mother is a harpischordist, I always like it when the instrument is incorporated in game music.
RISK OF RAIN - Chris Christodoulou
The only way I can describe Risk of Rain’s soundtrack is that it’s like if Akira Yamaoka had composed Tubular Bells. I’ve not even played Risk of Rain, and yet I believe this to be one of the greatest videogame soundtracks of all time.
Yes including Final Fantasy 7 and the GTAs. Yes including that bit of guitar from The Last of Us.
Chris Christodoulou’s work has a wiry specificity to it that really highlights his skill as a composer, he’s doing a lot with the tools to his hand. He knows when to make it feel tinny and claustrophobic, and when to let it become explosively expansive.
The result is a thumping soundtrack perfect for the type of game you’ll likely be playing again and again for dozens if not hundreds of hours. Catchy tunes that have meat on their bones, and a sense of scale that matches the frenetic action they are accompanying.
My favourite track is Monsoon, which has a great melodic loop that eventually builds up to this amazing crescendo. I also like Tropic of Capricorn because it has an increasingly ridiculous, panic inducing percussive rhythm to it.
HOTLINE MIAMI - Various Artists
You know these tunes.
An all timer compilation, bringing together deranged drug fuelled anthems of the doomed from Pertubator, M|O|O|N, El Huervo, Scattle and others. 80s acid haze violence set to some truly disgusting beats.
It really is the perfect soundscape to Hotline Miami’s brutal gauntlets, and there are so many good tracks here that it’s genuinely breaking my brain a little trying to pick out a personal standout.
Because of how I’m on a big El Huervo kick right now thanks to Else Heart.Break(), I’m going to have to go with Daisuke, a low fi hip hop track with a brilliantly iconic piano hook that makes me feel…well, a lot of things whenever I listen to it.
Maybe the best tune of all time? Fuck off Debussy.
CLOUD GARDENS - Amos Roddy, M. Robertson
(n.b. I couldn’t find any information on the M. Robertson who is also credited on this soundtrack. I’m not deliberately ignoring them, I just don’t know what their role was)
Amos Roddy is quickly becoming my go to composer for weighty but calming tunes, having worked on the Kingdom games and Gareth Damien Martin’s duology of Citizen Sleeper and In Other Waters.
Roddy is perfectly adept at understanding the assignment of what each soundtrack is meant to convey, but in turn he has a direct and irrefutable style of his own that carries across all his works.
Cloud Gardens, the light and breezy puzzler from Noio games, is a firm favourite of mine. It’s a title that relishes in the relaxing nature of horticulture without letting go of the despair fuelled meloncholy of the end of the world. [editors note, I might nick that line for a video essay in the future].
Roddy’s soundtrack to Cloud Garden captures both these sensations perfectly, and my favourite track to demonstrate this is Vapor. I love when musicians incorporate diegetic sounds into their work, it feels like the key to unlocking immersion in the overall experiences.
What’s your favourite videogame soundtrack? Are there any hidden gems you wish more people would know about? Let me know in the comments.
Amos Roddy mentioned! 👍