Soundtrack Saturday: No Man's Sky

 

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 No Man's Sky by Hello Games.

THE STATS

Name: No Man's Sky
Developer: Hello Games
Publisher: Hello Games
Release Date: August 9, 2016
Genres: Action-adventure, Survival
Composer: 65daysofstatic

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!)

Heliosphere
(Length: 4:22) This one reminds me of a lot of chill/lo-fi tracks I would listen to while hanging out or building in Second Life several years back, with some gritty guitar for flavor. It's my favorite of the bunch.

Escape Velocity
(Length: 2:55) Emotional outro to a movie or anime, anyone? 

Supermoon
(Length: 4:22) Forget the first 1:25, this song blooms into something balanced and great to listen to once the piano enters. The build-up before that is a bit too long for me, and the repetitive (and kind of boring) drum sample is just noise. Despite that, this is my second-favorite track because the guitar after the 3-minute mark reminds me of a lot of 90's alternative I love.

End of the World Sun
(Length: 7:26) The opening of this gives me some interesting Angels & Airwaves or 30 Seconds to Mars vibes, which is then lost in the next section that is a little repetitive, but then it fleshes out into something that kind of reminds me of Muse? It's a journey of a song!

Tomorrow/Lull/Celestial Feedback
(Length: 10:54) This one is listed primarily because of the first section of the track. I love it, and it comes in as my second favorite.

You can listen to the full soundtrack on YouTube:

No Man's Sky OST

WHY DO I RECOMMEND IT?

When playing the game, there are samples of the tracks and sounds that build up in layers as you're interacting with the game world, making for a unique and immersive feel to the music. Even without that, the tracks speak for themselves and are wonderful to listen to as background music -- if you like futuristic, electronic, guitar stuff. It isn't for everyone, but I encourage you to give it a try!

THE COMPOSER: 65DAYSOFSTATIC

I had never heard of this band until doing the research for this soundtrack. They are an experimental band from England full of guitar, electronic elements, noise, and sampled drums. While I don't think their sound or music will ever find a home in my day-to-day playlists, I like what they did for No Man's Sky and the soundtrack really works. You can visit their website here.