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 Genshin Impact by miHoYo.
Special Note: Since there is SO MUCH music in Genshin Impact, and
they keep adding more, this entry cherry picks from the 181 tracks that
have been released across 5 albums. Links provided below to listen to all
albums!
--snarkqueen
THE STATS
Name: Genshin ImpactDeveloper: miHoYo (English)
Publisher: miHoYo (Chinese)
Release Date: September 28, 2020
Genres: Action, role-playing
Composer: Yu-Peng Chen
MY FAVORITE TRACKS
(The full list of tracks are linked by playlist below... and I highly recommend some good headphones to best enjoy all of the subtle elements of the music!)(Length: 3:35) The strings are where it's at in this piece! Listen to them go! They keep the momentum going and pull you through the various emotional modes of the track.(Length: 1:40) Prettiest variation of the main theme in the game, in my opinion!(Length: 1:20) This is the part of a movie where we share the kleenex, right? ALL THE FEELS.(Length: 1:40) I was obligated to share this because of the title. But this is also a diverse and rocking character song! (For the character Ganyu, if my info is correct.)(Length: 1:31) The piano, strings, and minor modulation are beautifiul and haunting, and when the winds join in it almost sounds like a piece straight out of a Studio Ghibli work!
You can listen to the full albums on Genshin Impact's YouTube
channel:
Jade Moon Upon a Sea of Clouds (Liyue Chapter OST)
The Stellar Moments (Character OSTs)
Vortex of Legends (Dragonspine OST)
WHY DO I RECOMMEND IT?
I first learned of Genshin Impact last year when my husband decided to
start playing it on the PS4. He was very quickly hooked and I often
watched him play parts of the game... and he often took his headphones off
and simply passed them to me so I could hear the music (the man knows my
weaknesses well). It was great, and I promised him I would include the
game in my queue for Soundtrack Saturday. So here we are!
The developers make it no secret that they greatly admire The Legend of
Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and they definitely took elements they loved
from that game to make Genshin Impact as successful and enjoyable as it
is. One of those elements is fantastic music. The compositions by Yu-Peng
Chen are clearly of the epic fantasy variety, evoking emotion and setting
moods while aiding in immersion of the game. Give it a listen. I PROMISE
you won't be disappointed!
If you need further convincing, here's a video of the Shanghai Symphony
Orchestra recording parts of the Liyue soundtrack (if the fight music in
the beginning isn't your thing, you can skip to the 4:44 timestamp for
some pretty village background music):
THE COMPOSER: YU-PENG CHEN
This is my first time learning of Yu-Peng, and that doesn't surprise me. He's a well-known and versatile composer based in Shanghai, China, but I haven't heard of anything else that's listed in his portfolio. But that doesn't matter to me! What matters is that I'm hearing his work now, and it seems clear that miHoYo intends to keep adding new music as they further expand Genshin Impact. I'm excited to hear more from Yu-Peng! If you want to read more about this composer and his work on Genshin Impact, he gave a great interview recently in VGMO (Video Game Music Online) and you can read that here.
If you enjoy my Soundtrack selections, consider joining me on Patreon!
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