Saturday, August 22, 2020

Soundtrack Saturday: Divinity - Original Sin 2


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 Divinity: Original Sin II by Larian Studios.



THE STATS

Name: Divinity: Original Sin II
Developer: Larian Studios
Publisher: Larian Studios (PC)
Release Date: September 14, 2017
Genres: Role-playing
Composer: Borislav Slavov


MY FAVORITE TRACKS

(The titles link to YouTube videos... and I highly recommend some good headphones to best enjoy all of the subtle elements of the music!)


Sebille's Theme
(Length: 3:27) Strangely, my favorite part of this track only lasts for 30 seconds and is incredibly subtle in the background. It starts at 0:29 with the clacking of drum sticks in time with the guitar melody. It's not the main theme or sound, but the percussive beat in time with the primary musical voice sets a steady, moving pace that carries through the rest of the piece for me. When it returns towards the end, you almost feel like it never stopped. Overall, there's fantastic percussion in this one and I'm not usually one to focus on that!


Rivellon & Rivellon Light
(Length: 2:17, both) Both versions of this song are gorgeous, and I know the Light version is very popular, but I thoroughly enjoy the epic richness of the full orchestra. There's something about the timpani and brass filling out the empty space that makes the piece so vibrant to me! But I'll be honest, I'm sold by the time the oboe chimes in at 0:55 and invites the first deep drum note at 1:04.


Path of the Godwoken (Cello)
(Length: 3:13) You had me at cello. 'Nuff said. (Fight me.)


Sing For Me (Bobby)
(Length: 2:54) You can keep the version of the song sung by Lohse. I much prefer this version sung by... the composer? It's got more feel to it, like the intonation came from the gut!


Sins and Gods (Revelation)
(Length: 2:27) I'm a sucker for strings, if that wasn't obvious with the cello bit before. You can't tell me this isn't amazingly gorgeous to listen to, between the harmonizing sections and swaying melody.




You can listen to the full soundtrack on YouTube:




WHY I RECOMMEND IT

My husband and I actually tried to start the first game a while back. I forget why we never got around to playing it -- but it may have been because my former PC decided to retire after almost 10 years of gaming. We've been busy playing other things since then.

Having heard this OST, I definitely need to see about playing the first game and then playing this one as well. I'll have to find a place to cram it into my schedule! I'm a fan of several of Larian's titles, and I think this series needs another chance from me.

As far as the music goes, it's very solid and epic fantasy music. You'll like it, if not love it.


THE COMPOSER: BORISLAV SLAVOV

Goes by the name... Bobby? Sure. I hadn't heard of this name until I started collecting my info and listening to the OST for this entry. While I don't have much to build off of from an IMDb entry, Twitter and Facebook, I will say that the music I've heard by him is superb. That's good enough reason, right? He has (re)tweeted a lot about Baldur's Gate III coming from Larian Studios, and it looks pretty convincing that he's the guy behind the music for the upcoming game. I expect great things all around!





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