Here’s our selection of video game soundtracks released in September 2021.
This is a non-exhaustive list without any classification hierarchy. We invite you to discover new soundtracks that will brighten up your day! 🙂
A great start to the school year to you all, fall is here and so are the new video game soundtracks! 🍂☺️
Sable, An Ode to Poetry and Reverie
Composer: Japanese Breakfast
Genre: Indie Rock
Sable is a project developed by Shedworks and published by Raw Fury. In this adventure and exploration game, you’ll play Sable on her rite-of-passage journey through a desert littered with the carcasses of ships from another time. Occasionally, you’ll meet nomads along the way and throughout the story you’ll discover who Sable really is…
This uniquely aesthetic game’s soundtrack was composed by Indie Rock band, Japanese Breakfast. Michelle Zauner‘s haunting voice perfectly accompanies the player on their exploration through immense deserts where buried mysteries and ruins of vanished civilizations mingle.
This album is an ode to poetry and reverie. We can easily see this while watching Japanese Breakfast perform the song “Glide” live during Summer Game Fest 2021.
We were floored by this incredible performance and “Glider” became our favorite song.
To listen/buy the album
The Artful Escape, Centered on Music
Composers: Johnny Galvatron & Josh Abrahams
Genre: Mainly Folk
The Artful Escape is a game straight from the Beethoven & Dinosaur studios and published by Annapurna Pictures. Here, the player embodies Francis Vendetti, a risking folk star. The day before his first concert, he struggles with his uncle’s legacy (a dead music legend) and the cosmic wanderings of his own imagination.
As you can see, this narrative adventure game is centered on music and mainly folk music. Nevertheless, it’s also possible to hear some songs that are pretty Rock and Electro oriented.
The designer of The Artful Escape, Johnny Galvatron, is also the soundtrack’s composer. For the album, he’s supported by Josh Abrahams. Famous in the music world, Johnny Galvatron is also the lead singer of the eponymous rock group “The Galvatrons“. On the sidelines of their world tour, he took the time to make this musical video game with an undeniable soundtrack.
Folk is in the spotlight of this game and it’s with the greatest pleasure because let’s face it, it’s not every day that we have the opportunity to listen to folk in the video game world. A certain nostalgia emanates when listening to the songs, it’s soft, it’s pleasing to the ears, we love it!
The song, “The Banks of the River Are Linded with Gold” took us on a real journey and that’s why we highly recommend it!
To listen/buy the album
Lost in Random, “spooky“
Composer: The Blake Robinson Synthetic Orchestra
Genre: Orchestral
Lost in Random is a game developed by Zoink Games and published by Electronics Arts. The story of this game is quite intriguing and original and for good reason, it was directed by Ryan North who is also known for writing the comic books, Adventure Time and Squirrel Girl.
In Lost in Random, the player plays Even, a little girl in search of her sister who’s been kidnapped by an evil queen who’s in power thanks to the roll of an evil black dice. A whole panel of characters, each one wackier than the next, is waiting to be discovered in the Kingdom of Random.
As for the soundtrack, The Blake Robinson Synthetic Orchestra takes care of it. With its orchestral style tinged with sometimes “spooky” sounds, it fits perfectly with the “Tim Burton” atmosphere of the game.
The song that we remember most is “Roll that Dicey!” which is a jazz song that swings!
To listen/buy the album
Pathfinder: Wrath of the RIghteous, Perfectly Epic
Composer: Dmitry V. Silantyev
Genre: Orchestral
Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous is the latest RPG from Owlcats Games Studios. Here, it’s about fighting hordes of demons straight out of the Abyss. To defend Golarion, the player will have to choose which character they’ll play: angel, necromancer, warrior mage, etc…
In order to accompany the heroes in this task, which promises to be epic, the heroes will need encouragement from the drums of war. For this, the studio has really equipped itself, since we have four composers in charge of the soundtrack. The primary composer is Dmitry V. Silantyev with additional music by Mikhail Kotov, Dmitry “Dryante” Makarov, Pawel Perepelica and Sergey Eybog.
Importance is placed on choirs and brass throughout the game’s entire album. This musical choice has the effect of creating a perfectly epic atmosphere. The soundtrack is totally aligned with the gameplay, making a really enjoyable playing experience.
Through the live recordings and the making-of, we can observe how the development team has placed importance on the music.
We really enjoyed the track “Succumbing to Rage (Demon Mythic Path Theme)” with its Metal Orchestral side!
To listen/buy the album
Tales of Arise, An Explosion of Sounds
Composer: Motoi Sakuraba
Genre: Several musical currents ranging from orchestral to the use of digital instruments to rock…
The “Tales of …” series is back in action at the end of 2021 with a new entry: Tales of Arise. As usual, the game comes straight from the Bandai Namco stables. Tales of Arise tells the story of two planets, Dahna and Rena who once lived together peacefully, until Rena decides to invade its neighbor.
It’s the famous Motoi Sakuraba who’s behind the game’s soundtrack. This Japanese composer also known for having worked on the Dark Souls series, Golden Sun and more recently on SacriFire, is no stranger to the series. Far from it, because he’s behind the soundtrack of the majority of “Tales of …” games. An incredible track record indeed!
This entry’s music is richly done. The orchestra goes perfectly with the use of digital instruments. Motoi Sakuraba perfectly masters his art and offers us an explosion of sounds. Here are his words regarding the music for Tales of Arise:
“For the first time in the Tales of series, I was able to use many sounds performed live especially for the soundtrack, such as string ensembles, orchestras, mixed choirs, and even a band.
Motoi Sakuraba
In the past, I have recorded piano, organ, percussion, and other instruments that I mastered. But this time, I was able to record the compositions that I had always wanted to create.
Even though some tracks were created from digital instruments, I think the identity that comes out is different, with songs that are longer than in previous Tales of.
Tales of Berseria having been released some time ago, I was able to compose this soundtrack with a new eye and in a musical approach adapted to a reboot. I hope you’ll like her !”
To date, we haven’t found any official links to listen to the soundtrack. But as usual, it’s easily found on the internet by doing a bit of research.
Yoann, G4F