Soundtrack Saturday: Let It Die

In this weekly feature, I recommend game soundtracks. I share a few of my favorite tracks, talk about why everyone should listen to the soundtrack, and a little bit about the composer. This week's choice is Let It Die by Grasshopper Manufacture.

THE STATS

Name: Let It Die
Developer: Grasshopper Manufacture
Publisher: GungHo Online Entertainment
Release Date: December 3, 2016
Genres: Hack and slash
Composer(s): Mixed Artists

A DIFFERENT TAKE

Normally I share some favorite tracks and explain why I like their sound. Normally there's just one composer or a handful of artists and I can talk a little bit about how the music ties in with the elements of the game.

Not this time.

Dear readers, I am what they call an Essential Worker in this strange time we're living in. I work in a bank (and for that reason I can't say much more about it because of social media policies and that I do, in fact, want to continue getting a paycheck), and right now my job is exhausting. My town has the main branch of our bank sandwiched among the historic Main Street buildings and therefore it doesn't have a drive-thru. I work in the remote drive-thru a few blocks away, in a small building on the corner of a four-way stop, that has just myself and one coworker each working a drive-up window on either side. 

Because of the current plans in place to maintain social distancing, particularly in a business setting, the vast majority of the main branch's customers now have to come to our little drive-thru location. The last six weeks have been a marathon of committing new Policies & Procedures to memory and keeping stressed-out customers happy, all while trying to sanitize everything while dealing with one of the dirtiest things society has: currency.

The Let It Die soundtrack is special in that it was curated by Akira Yamaoka -- known for the Silent Hill series. It features 100 Japanese bands from a variety of genres (but mostly some pretty intense rock), and would be impossible to comb through and pick just a handful of favorites. For that reason -- I'm not going to. I'm going to queue up the full playlist and just enjoy it, because right now I need to. I need music to unwind to, and this massive soundtrack is perfect. You may not enjoy a hack and slash survival game with some strange quirks (I've watched my husband play it, and wow is it something else), but I feel this soundtrack offers something for everyone. (Google Translate optional.)

Let It Die OST on YouTube

Oh, and as for the coronavirus? Let it die. This is for all the essential workers around the world. Take the time to unwind to this soundtrack -- you deserve it!