While the actual game of Worlds Adrift probably won’t be grapple-hooking me any time soon, there is something about its style that I find quite charming. The tapered limbs of the characters, the pastel hues bleeding into each other, and the semi-stylized floating islands give the title a dreamlike quality — a quality that is also found in its soundtrack.
Composed by Murugan Thiruchelvam, the Worlds Adrift OST is flighty and ambient in its nature. I quite enjoyed listening through its 15 tracks, transported at times to a dreamy soundscape that would pair quite nicely with the relaxed flow of exploration and building.
So let’s take a listen to one of the newer MMOs on the block and discover how Worlds Adrift attempts to enhance its atmosphere through otherworldly tunes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NP4kg0ywzjc
1. Reflection
Pensive and soothing, Reflection might well be the epitome of “spa music” in an MMO soundtrack. There’s a calming up and down motion of the notes while bells reverberate in the background and echoes dance all over a chamber. A truly quiet, lovely piece.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKYwDboVqXc&t=0s
2. Fight
When the action goes down in Worlds Adrift, what does it sound like? Kind of like a movie trailer, to be honest. Lots of fast drums and urgent horns, you know, the usual. THIS SUMMER… Morgan Freeman will NARRATE your entire life… and the BATTLE for introspection will begin!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OBKnKrEwq0
3. Sunrise
With birds chirping and water trickling in the background, Sunrise delivers exactly what you would expect of such a track. I can imagine waking up and stretching to this music, announcing a fresh new day of adventure. It’s another one of those subtle, sublime tracks that soothes me to no end, but I can’t say that it’ll be everyone’s cup of tea.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGO8zhuoE-I
4. Purple
So what does the color purple sound like? Pianos in a cave, mostly. I am not completely sold on this track, mostly because it sounds like the ending to a depressing drama or some sappy “walking through rain contemplating the relationship I just destroyed” moment in a movie. But if I’m honest, it’s really not the kind of track you’d hear in most MMOs, either, which makes it worth a listen.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=seJEi9ksg24
5. Stars
Maybe it’s me and my preference for synth trance, but I do love this trippy little track quite a lot. It’s not blaring every note, but rather muting and melding them as they flow together. Could there be a better track for exploring strange new worlds?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCho8wMmoJc
6. Storm
After so much quiet on this soundtrack, the blaring notes of Storm really caught me by surprise (even with the title!). It’s like expecting a light rainshower and getting a hurricane. While this track is anything but relaxing, it is engrossing as it plows through tension and rising action.
MMOs are meant to be heard as well as seen, and chances are that music ties your memories to these games more than you might realize. Every two weeks Jukebox Heroes listens through a game soundtrack and picks out the highlights to share and discuss. And if you like this column, then don’t miss the author’s MMO music podcast, Battle Bards!
