Video Game Music Spotlight #11: Horror and Solitude - Article
by Taneli Palola , posted on 16 October 2019 / 4,871 Views
The fall period has begun and sunlight is becoming increasingly scarce, especially here in the north where I happen to live. With daylight hours quickly withering away as winter approaches, I thought we should take some time to listen to some seasonally-fitting creepy and dark themes from the world of video games. Of course, Halloween is also right around the corner, so it works quite nicely for that as well.
Over the years we've heard some truly amazing video game themes that have captured the feelings of sorrow, solitude, dread, and sheer terror perfectly. So, in keeping with the spirit of the season, here are some dark themes from the world of video games for you to listen to.
Never Forgive Me, Never Forget Me
(from Silent Hill 3)
Silent Hill as a franchise wasn't exactly upbeat even at the best of times, so when one of the games specifically wanted to make you sad, anxious, or terrified the hits truly began to rain down. The series contains some of the most twisted and depressing moments ever put into any video game, so what better way to start this month's spotlight than with a song from one of the best games in the series.
The music in Silent Hill games has always veered towards the ominous and disturbing side of things, something composer Akira Yamaoka has absolutely mastered in his work throughout the series. In the series' better entries the visuals, story, characters, and music all come together in a way rarely seen in any form of media, let alone just video games. There's a sense of oppressive dread permeating practically every moment in the first four Silent Hill games, and the music only makes this feeling stronger.
Ambience
(from Freespace 2)
The sense of crushing loneliness in the face of the unknown is something that's very difficult to capture in musical form, but this piece from Freespace 2 does exactly that. Space combat games often tend to favour a more frenetic style of music, as they're usually focused on the actual space battles, but Freespace 2 varies the pace quite a bit. In the midst of all the combat you'll also be sent to do reconnaissance in enemy space, fly experimental stealth fighters in hostile territory, and explore uncharted nebula regions.
At those points the soundtrack adopts a decidedly more tense and ominous tone, emphasizing the feeling of solitude and being surrounded by the unknown in the void of space. The track above is one of the many themes that play during these quieter moments, masterfully used to build tension while the player waits for the next surprise to be thrown at them.
You Can Hear the Cry of the Planet
(from Final Fantasy VII)
Whenever I think about Final Fantasy VII one of the first things that always comes to my mind is the game's atmosphere. Nearly every location in it is steeped in a sense of decay and hopelessness, longing for the glory days of the past. Even in the brightest and happiest looking places have an undercurrent of sadness and loss that's just waiting to be unleashed.
The same tone carries through in the music, composed by Nobuo Uematsu, and there are few tracks in the soundtrack that better exemplify this than 'You Can Hear the Cry of the Planet'. Most notably playing in the ancient ruins and cities of the Cetra, which were left abandoned for a millennia after the scourge of Jenova decimated the species, the song perfectly conveys the idea of the destruction of a once glorious civilization and the regret and sadness it instilled in the world itself.
What They Became
(from Resident Evil 2 Remake)
The original Resident Evil 2 had an excellent soundtrack that perfectly matched the game's dark tone and story, but in some ways I think that the remake's music is even better at building a sense of horror. It's a soundtrack that absolutely oozes atmosphere and tension, and it does an excellent job of recreating the feeling and atmosphere of the 1998 original while smartly updating it for modern times; something the game has received heaps of praise for doing in terms of graphics and gameplay.
Air Strike
(from Command & Conquer)
Command & Conquer might not be the first series you think of when talking about music that creates a feeling of uncertainty or dread, but there are actually quite a few darker songs to be found in the franchise's back catalogue, especially within the Tiberian titles.
The track 'Air Strike' plays during the first game's GDI ending, and might seem like a rather somber and downbeat theme for what effectively marks a victory for the supposed good side in the story. However, while the war itself has come to a close, the world's future has perhaps never been quite as uncertain as it is at that point in the narrative. It's in this context that an air of doubt and anxiety fittingly takes over, following the emergence of a huge power vacuum.
Creeping Shadow
(from Shadow of the Colossus)
Shadow of the Colossus as a whole has a very desolate atmosphere, from the abandoned ruins dotting the land to the ancient colossi wandering around its corners. The entire game has a sense of quiet majesty to it and part of that comes from the sense of solitude that surrounds the main character and, by extension, the player. It's always just you (and often your horse) against the title's massive lumbering beasts. The soundtrack is suitably understated for the most part as well, as the music only really plays during the colossus fights and key story moments, with most of the game being accompanied by the simple sounds of surrounding nature.
The themes that play during the colossus fights are usually the kind of bombastic, orchestral tracks one often associates with fights against such imposing creatures in video games, but there are a number of exceptions to this, including this one. It plays during a fight against a colossus that emerges from under a deep lake when you disturb its waters, and the ominous feeling of helplessness that the theme conveys fits perfectly into the situation.
Virage Embryo
(from The Legend of Dragoon)
Fear of the unknown is something video games even outside of the horror genre often make use of to build a sense of mystery and create a growing sense of dread regarding an unknown entity. Video games have made use of this particular trope ever since technology has allowed for such things, and since music became integral to the medium we've been given a myriad of tracks that aim to instil the fear of the unknown in the audience.
This piece from The Legend of Dragoon is looking to achieve exactly that effect. It plays when the player comes in contact with a creature called Virage Embryo, the last species to ever be created by God and the one meant to destroy the world. As a being it is almost beyond normal human comprehension, and the theme that accompanies it perfectly captures the Virage Embryo's alien nature.
Lychfield Cemetary
(from Fable)
I haven't actually played much of Fable or its sequels, but one key element that I have always appreciated is the series' great music and the atmosphere it helps to create. Fable generally has a reputation as a somewhat quirky and lighthearted fantasy series with an obvious leaning towards comedy, but naturally the games still take darker turns at times as well.
An excellent example of this is Lychfield Cemetary from the first game, a tonally much darker section than is the norm for the game. The rare nature of such moments makes them stand out even more, and when done right - as in this example - they become some of the most memorable sections in the entire franchise. The music is the icing on the cake here, adding to the atmosphere that the visuals and story have created.
Entering Zero-G
(from Dead Space)
To be perfectly honest, I never found the first Dead Space to be a particularly scary video game for the most part. There were moments of genuine horror here and there, but Dead Space tends to be about as subtle with its scares as using an air raid siren as your wake-up alarm. It has a tendency to announce the arrival of monsters with a loud orchestral sting, followed by them running towards you screaming from across a long hallway, robbing their appearance of almost all impact. Additionally, Dead Space repeats the same jump scares so many times that they become tedious.
However, there were still some moments and sections that managed to effectively tap into a sense of horror. The best examples are the zero-g walks outside of the mining ship USG Ishimura. When you can no longer hear the necromorphs coming from a mile away and they can actually sneak up on you, the game suddenly becomes genuinely terrifying for at least a brief moment. Much of this is down to the game's excellent sound design, and the admittedly highly effective (and for once subtle) music accompanying these moments.
Alma's Music Box
(from F.E.A.R 2: Project Origin)
Let's close this month's spotlight with a very simple yet exceptionally haunting piece of music from F.E.A.R 2: Project Origin. When it comes down to it, the F.E.A.R trilogy is basically the story of its main villain Alma Wade, the psychic girl who was forced to undergo horrendous experiments as a child which fuelled her resentment of and hatred towards people. This ultimately leads to the events of the games, where Alma begins using her powers to strike back at the world.
While the actions Alma takes are often gruesome in nature, there's an underlying sense of sadness and fear to everything she does as well, because at the end of the day she was just a little girl who was pushed to her breaking point by people who only cared about the profit she could bring them. This theme from F.E.A.R 2 features a similar sense of duality, with it obviously being very creepy and unsettling, yet at the same time there is a quiet sorrow to it as well.
Question of the Month:
What is Your Favourite Scary Moment/Section from a Non-Horror Video Game?
When I think of scary moments in video games, naturally horror games come up a lot, but some of the creepiest and most terrifying moments actually come from non-horror titles. Perhaps this is because, unlike in horror games where you're expecting scary stuff to happen, they tend to come out of nowhere and take you by surprise. The moment that left the most powerful impact on me in that sense is the white phosphorous scene from Spec-Ops: The Line. It features a slow build up, and when you finally realize the results of your actions it hits you hard.
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