Hajime Sugie - A Rose in the Twilight (2017)
Composer: Hajime Sugie
Console: PC, Indie/Doujin-like
Game Release Date: 2017-04-11
Bootleg Release Date: 2017-04-11
Runtime: 56:04, 15 Tracks
So, I was going to do a PSX horror game today, but I forgot I wanted to and ended up writing a post for something else instead. Well, I haven't done a paid soundtrack in a while so here we go. This is the soundtrack to the indie horror puzzle game A Rose in the Twilight. The game was developed by Nippon Ichi Software (or NIS) and soundtrack composed by NIS member, Hajime Sugie.
A Rose in the Twilight is a wonderfully macabre puzzle platformer in which you take control of Rose in a long-forgotten castle as she attempts to resurrect. She awakens a golem and the two set out to figure out the mysteries of the castle and what happened here. I'll leave that for the plot because this is a game that would be best be enjoyed without spoilers.
The game has Rose and the golem progress through the castle discovering old memories of the place and visions of what happened. Rose has the ability to take the life force from things such as flowers and can transfer them to inanimate or dead objects like statues or bugs. To enter some parts of the castle Rose needs to perform a ritual. Despite the PEGI 12 rating this game is extremely violent. I won't write much but there's a scene with Rose getting into an iron maiden. Geez. Its macabre style may not be for everyone.
I've never played this game, but I have seen a LP of it. Maybe down the line I will give it a shot but for now I am satisfied by just the videos. I will write this however; I would rank this game among the most depressive games I have seen/played alongside Nier and Iconoclasts.
Hajime Sugie is a composer that works for NIS. This soundtrack isn't his most popular work. He is more well known for his compositions on htoL#NiQ, another NIS game with a very similar art style to Rose. The music is very slow-moving ambient with cinematic classical influences. The soundtrack features other, faster tracks as well. The final boss song, Battle to Ascertain is this huge and epic cinematic classical ballad. It reminds me of the works of Kashiwa Daisuke, minus the post-rock and glitchyness. The closing track, Ruin of Rose is a somber ballad with Satomi Kumodz calmly singing while Hajime plays piano over it and ambient soundscapes. Despite the game’s gothic and macabre style, the music contrasts presenting a charming and bright sound.
Below are links to two places you can get the soundtrack: Steam and Fanatical (fka Bundle Stars). There's no place I can see where you can get the soundtrack without a steam account. The soundtrack was released as DLC for the game, but you can purchase it without owning the game. On steam the soundtrack downloads to your Steamapps/Music folder. The quality is only mp3 192kbps which is good enough for me. If you want it in higher quality or FLAC, you'll need to track down the rare CD version. I have no idea where to get that.
Comments
Post a Comment