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 Frostpunk by 11 bit studios.
THE STATS
Name: Frostpunk
Developer: 11 bit studios
Publisher: 11 bit studios
Release Date: April 24, 2018
Genres: City-building, survival
Composer: Piotr Musiał
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!)
(Length: 2:01) Masterfully ominous! It sounds like struggle in the face of overwhelming odds.
Frostpunk Theme
(Length: 3:06) A heartbreakingly beautiful and sad theme. It almost makes me feel like I'm watching an emotionally charged anime full of epic battles (Record of Lodoss War's Prologue track, perhaps) or even Schindler's List. It does a fantastic job of capturing many elements of the entire OST.
(Length: 3:06) A heartbreakingly beautiful and sad theme. It almost makes me feel like I'm watching an emotionally charged anime full of epic battles (Record of Lodoss War's Prologue track, perhaps) or even Schindler's List. It does a fantastic job of capturing many elements of the entire OST.
(Length: 4:04) The layer of chorus blends in with the straining strings, adding a layer of hope despite how intense the situation is.
(Length: 2:29) I cannot fathom why this is a bonus track -- it's so amazingly full of carefully measured sounds! The added rawness of electric guitar at 1:19 helps build through 1:46 and beyond.
(Length: 3:58) The ever-present sound of noise (wind) adds a layer of dissonance to the whole piece, giving you the sense that this is a place of unrest and uncertainty.
You can listen to the full soundtrack on YouTube:
WHY DO I RECOMMEND IT?
This entire soundtrack is gorgeous orchestration augmented with ambience. You should listen to the entire thing. It's epic. Especially if you love strings, and cello in particular.
THE COMPOSER: PIOTR MUSIAŁ
The name sounded familiar to me, and after some Googling I remembered why. Piotr has worked on a number of excellent video games, including The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine DLC, This War of Mine, and Bulletstorm (among many others). He has also done work in film and television, like Penny Dreadful: City of Angels, and many other miscellaneous projects.
If you couldn't hear it for yourself from the tracks (or entire OST) I shared above, Piotr was the first Polish composer nominated in 3 different categories in a single year for Frostpunk, he received the Game Audio Awards 2019 prize for Best Game Music (Frostpunk), and Graczpospolita.pl reader's choice for Best Soundtrack of 2018 (Frostpunk).
Why are you still reading this? Go listen to the soundtrack and hope we get to hear more amazing projects from Piotr!
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