Music is an integral part of every video game, and that holds true for Godfall as well. While playing through that game, players will experience a wide range of different emotional intensities from the music that complement the experience well, and that’s all thanks to Ben MacDougall. As composer for the original soundtrack, MacDougall is responsible for all the various pieces in the game, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have a few favorites. Game Rant recently had the opportunity to interview MacDougall in order to get some insight about his composition process and his thoughts on the game itself, but one question singled out two tracks in particular that are dear to him.
For those that aren’t familiar with MacDougall’s work, he’s been writing music for screen for years now. Though he’s a prolific composer, Godfall is his most high profile video game project to date, and his experience in prior endeavors is very obvious as players listen to the soundtrack. In order to get a better feel of what each track that he mentions is like, players should check out the official Godfall OST, available on Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon Music, and YouTube Music, as well as other Music Streaming sites.
The first piece that MacDougall calls out is “Land of the Valorians,” which shows up as track number 3 on the soundtrack. As he says in the quote below, this is one of the first songs that players will hear when playing through the game, and it sets the mood for the whole experience excellently. Players will grasp the epic feeling of Godfall‘s adventure just from listening to the opening measures. Towards the end of the piece, it starts to mellow out, hinting at some more emotionally charged moments to come in the future.
“Picking a favorite track is always a difficult thing – especially in a score like this that has so much content! There are a few tracks on the soundtrack I’d like to call out, although I’m hesitant to offer too much context for fear of giving things away. That said, the first call-out is pretty straightforward, as it’s one of the first tracks you hear in the game. It appears in the cinematic before you enter the world ‘for real’, and was actually one of the first pieces I wrote for Godfall. On the soundtrack album, it appears as track 3, ‘Land of the Valorians.'”
Naturally, MacDougall doesn’t want to spoil the story of Godfall or any of the emotional impacts before players get a chance to play through them, so this makes a good pick to talk about. It showcases the emotional range of the entire soundtrack in one piece while also being something that’s heard pretty early on. He elaborates further and explains that it was one of the first pieces that he wrote for Godfall, so it’s no surprise that it holds a special place in his heart. From this song came forth almost an hour and a half of unique and powerful music.
The second track that MacDougall brings attention to is “Song of Aperion,” track 28 on the Godfall OST. The listening experience here is completely different than that of “Land of the Valorians,” a testament to MacDougall’s diverse composition style, but it likely sounds very familiar to fans. This is because it uses themes and motifs from the very first track of the game, one that appeared in many of Godfall‘s trailers, “Aperion’s Champion.” It is further modified and rearranged to prominently feature a solo cello and solo female voice, and the result is a truly haunting piece that is equal parts beautiful and eerie.
“Another track, which was one of the final pieces I wrote, is an alternative version of the main Godfall theme, called “Song of Aperion”, and appears as track 28 on the soundtrack. It features Ashok Klouda on cello, and the singer, Laurence Servaes, who both brought so much life and magic to the score with their performances. Here, the theme you hear right at the beginning in track 1 is transformed into a haunting, beautiful evolution of itself.”
MacDougall also makes sure to recognize Ashok Klouda and Laurence Servaes as the cello and female voice soloists respectively. It isn’t often that performers get the same level of credit as composers in this industry, so it’s nice to see that kind of acknowledgement. His statement about them rings true, as the score itself for this piece is mostly simple. It’s the performances provided by both Klouda and Servaes that elevate it to the next level and help to create that atmosphere that permeates the piece. Given how late it is in the soundtrack and its heavy emotional weight, players can expect to hear this piece somewhere towards the end of the game, likely during an important climax of Godfall.
Understandably, MacDougall makes it clear at the very beginning just how difficult it is to pick a favorite piece out of an hour and a half long soundtrack that he’s spent so long making. These are by no means the best tracks objectively, and players are encouraged to explore more of the game’s music through the various platforms that it’s publicly available on. MacDougall believes that the purpose of music in video games is to add emotional weight, and he achieves that here.
At the same time, some musicians believe that music is the source of drama in entertainment. Try watching any dramatic scene from a movie or game with the volume turned off and, while it may still have cool action scenes or moments that seem sad, it will fall short of truly conveying the emotions of the scene. For this reason, players would benefit from listening to the soundtrack of Godfall more closely as they play through the game, as it will help them to feel the emotional highs and lows that the story brings forth.
Godfall is available now on PC and PS5.
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