Today, I was listening to an oldie but a goodie. Sun Station from the Outer Wilds soundtrack. I think it's one of the more emotive songs in an already pretty stacked soundtrack. That had me thinking of some of the other particularly emotionally affecting songs I can recall hearing in the various games that I've played. Thought I would share some of those that came to mind.

The Sun Station (Outer Wilds)

Truly a haunting song. Sun Station plays, naturally, whenever you make it to the Sun Station. One of the running questions in Outer Wilds that a new player will naturally ask is "What's causing the supernova and how can I stop it?" One of the most obvious things to look at, then, would be the station that orbits the sun. Further exploration will reveal the Nomai plan to use the sun's supernova to power their Ash Twin Project. And so with our destination locked we make our way onto the station. Of course such a thing is easier said than done. If you wanna do it the old-fashioned way, physically landing on the sun station requires some expert flying and mastery of the enormous tidal forces you've gotta go toe-to-toe with. Or I suppose you could just find the teleporter like a normal person.

The shock is immediate upon entering the station (or removing the hatch that reveals it from the teleporter room). The low drone of the synths. The bright light of the sun not a hundred meters away. You step into what feels like a holy, if tragic, place. Tragic because soon you learn that the sun station is inoperable. Despite the Nomai's best attempts the station could not initiate a supernova, nor is it doing so now. The supernova you've been caught in isn't unnatural, nor can it be stopped. The sun continues to march towards its death, only minutes away now. It's soon going to consume the station you're on. You're left with a truly awe-inspiring view and the knowledge that this is not something that can be fixed.

La Revacholiere (Disco Elysium)

Burn, Baby, Burn found dead in a ditch. I know, I know. I am quite the fan of Sad FM. But it can't be overstated how much the conversation with the Insulindian Phasmid is the emotional climax of the game. And La Revacholiere is a big part of that.

The phasmid is incredible. How, in one conversation, can we go so low to so full of hope? The phasmid has a strange way of speaking, a strange way of thinking. It feels almost alien at first with its animal thoughts, but becomes tender and loving. We've done our job and found the killer against all odds. And the phasmid delivers some beautiful and heart-warming prose. Not without a takeaway and a warning of the dangers ahead, of course.

That must be incredibly hard. The arthropods are in silent and meaningless awe of you. Know that we are watching -- when you're tired, when the vision spins out of control. The insects will be looking on. Rooting for you. And when you fall we will come to raise you up, bud from you, banner-like, blossom from you and carry you apart in a sky funeral. In honour of your passing.

The pale, too, came with you. No one remembers it before you. The cnidarians do not, the radially symmetrics do not. There is an almost unanimous agreement between the birds and the plants that you are going to destroy us all.

Desperation/Escape From Habitation Decks (Alien Isolation)

If ever there were an example of a soundtrack that added to the overall feel of the world, it would be Alien Isolation. Every part of the game is a love letter to the Alien movies. One in particular always stuck in my head though. The soundtrack, criminally, is not available for me to stream, so I am beholden to the gracious folks that upload all the music to YouTube. I've seen this particular track I'm talking about referred to both as Desperation and also Escape From Habitation Decks. I'm just going to call if Desperation for brevity's sake.

Desperation and some similar tracks play in some of the most tense sequences in an immensely tense game. This one in particular plays quite near the end of the game. You're now on your way out, actively working to get back to the Torrens. You've been hounded for hours by those bastard aliens that will not let up. Amanda has opened the way forward and most now make her way back through several winding hallways with the alien right on her ass. It is beyond stressful and the strings in the song do incredible work in making this your final challenge (generally after this point you're on a rail). I am desperate (ha) to find more tracks like this one. So good and getting your blood pressure up. The combination of the strings and the sci fi synth is a perfect match. Every strum on the violin(?) (I do not know music...) feels like a paper cut, urging you along. Prodding you to move. With every shadow you pass (potentially) hiding death.

Ein Traum (Pentiment)

I was shocked when I learned that main pop girl Lingua Ignota was in Pentiment. I didn't notice that she did the intro as well, but did immediately notice the outro. Ein Traum is an excellent capstone to a great story. You've played through several decades of Tassing's history and have gotten to know it and its people intimately. So it's incredibly satisfying seeing Magdalene's final mural showcasing the town's history. (Justice for Vácslav!) A great "pulling back" moment where we can take in what we've been through now that we see the whole picture. And Kristin's voice is uniquely perfect for this song. For anyone that doesn't know her music, I can see her performance completely blending in with the time period. This is an excellent use of music establishing place and also wrapping up the emotions we've been feeling as the game comes to its end. Somber, but soulful and grand. You feel the end to an epic unraveling in front of you.