4 out of 5

Label: Spacelab9

Produced by: ?

I love Dark Souls II the video game. But it is a very weird game, surely due to its troubled production… which I won’t cover here. However, that weirdness is certainly expressed in a kind of mixed-identity vibe it gives off – where it very much is a Dark Souls game, while also being this unique beast at the same time – and that is subsequently reflected in the score, which, despite being a much more well-rounded set than the preceding soundtrack, nonetheless suffers, if slightly, due to that taint of disorganization.

While an easy read is that things are uneven due to two composers being at the helm, DS1’s Motoi Sakuraba gets to set the template once more, making room for the appreciably odd undertones that made the first game’s music so memorable and otherworldly: horror movie strings butt against adventurous orchestrals; major build ups will take minor key twists; and the chanting vocal layer is used in a manner that’s halfway between celebratory and cautioning. And moving beyond what we could consider as the learning ground of the previous score – Motoi understanding how the music should interplay with the game, and especially one that centers its themes around boss fights, without much incidental music besides – DSII’s score flows more fully from theme to theme: no abrupt fadeouts, and more varied tones. However, the partial sacrifice with the latter is what I started with: even though these compositions come from the same game, and arguably tell a better “story” without having to pair them with visuals, I don’t necessarily walk away with as strong a sense of the moment each song is scoring.

Those statements may run counter, but I’ll choose one of the most identifiable themes from the score to demonstrate: Majula’s blissful, contemplative sprinkle of tones. As the main hub location, you hear this countless times in game, and I remember initially thinking that it was so, so distinct from DS1’s Firelink theme (its main hub), while not exactly telling me what I should feel in Majula.

All of Dark Souls takes place in a world that’s a sidestep from your typical adventure, or fantasy; the mysteriousness of it – the fluidity of its lore – is one of its charms. DS1’s music nailed that, even if it did so in essentially the same way across its different themes. DS2, though, clearly has a lot to say and offer, but it’s like its storyteller can’t quite explain themselves. In game, this is experienced as the way the patchwork lands don’t fit together; the way its story swirls in on itself somewhat – not the relatively linear line to a final boss that DS1 offered.

Setting aside being able to identify what the music of Dark Souls II maps to on-screen, I kept hearing such striking, often beautiful music… but couldn’t really tell you what it made me feel.

This is, overall, a minor criticism, because the work is, truly, affecting. And a little weird, just like the game.

The mix / vinyl master on Spacelab9 is (as with DS1’s) a little flat, but it’s richer and mastered better than before – and I’d add again that this may be a limitation of the source, and nothing to do with the label. That said, my copy’s C and D-sides were fairly noisy, unfortunately, and this doesn’t combine well with that flatness. But the packaging – while following the previous shtick of large images – is a lot more impactful and prestige looking, perhaps because the DS2 imagery isn’t as cliched as 1’s by now.

If you have any of the themes stuck in your head while playing, having a dedicated listen to the remainder is absolutely worth it, and there are many, many tracks on here that are notable even without that tie.

(I do wish my edition had the DLC tunes, especially given that one of the packaging images is of a DLC boss…)