Composer Gareth Coker, with whom we spoke in 2018, has teamed with iam8bit for a vinyl release of Ori and the Will of the Wisps. (If you’re simply in search of an answer to the question: “Is this video game soundtrack worth collecting?” the answer is an emphatic yes. But, let me spend the next 300-400 words to explain why.)
First, this OST has been available digitally since March 2020 in support of the actual game’s release. Here we are, 6-ish months later, and you’d be hard-pressed to find a complaint about Coker’s compositions. Supporting new characters in a fresh, yet familiar Metroidvania landscape, the Minecraft expansions and ARK Survival Evolved composer hired a monster team to bring his aural vision to life, including guest vocalists Aeralie Brighton & Kelsey Mira; woodwind specialist Kristin Naigus (credited with 20+ instruments on this score); a 72-piece Philharmonia Orchestra; and the 20-piece Pinewood Voices.
Second, these records are cut with care. When I received the album, I was ecstatic to feel the weight of it in my hands. Too many LPs today — especially soundtracks — are paper weights to be framed, with studios focusing less on playback integrity and more on how many splatter variants can be sold. This high quality 80-gram, double-LP set opposes today’s standards, exposing a level of warmth impossible to find streaming from YouTube or Spotify.
Third, it’s a collection of greatest hits within itself. Coker released 60 songs digitally, and while each possess quality musicianship in their own right, the 25 cut to vinyl scratches the gamer’s nostalgia itch, whisking away listeners into the memory of epic boss fights and whimsical exploration experienced throughout the game. Also, if you yearn for those remaining 35 tracks, they’re provided as part of the included 60-song download code.
Lastly, these compositions stand on their own. (During my various play throughs of both Ori games, my wife REQUESTED me to not use headphones.) Like its predecessor, this OST is great music to close your eyes and get lost in; to inspire creativity; to want to see live; and to foster young musicians to learn how to play. For gamers and non-gamers alike, Coker uses Ori and the Will of the Wisps to bring a fresh approach to a 90s cinematic fantasy vibe rarely composed today.
Standouts include: Main Theme, Howl, Sanctuary in the Glades, Shriek and Ori
FULL 2x-LP TRACK LISTING:
- Main Theme
- We Named Her Ku
- Ku’s First Flight
- Separated by the Storm
- Howl
- A Shine Upon Inkwater Marsh
- Dashing and Bashing
- Sanctuary in the Glades
- The Ancient Wellspring
- Escaping A Foul Presence
- Reunification
- Shriek
- Fading of the Light
- Wonderment of Winter
- Escape with the Memory of the Forest
- Shadows of Mouldwood
- Mora the Spider
- Luma Pools
- Kwolok's Malaise
- The Windswept Wastes
- Escaping the Sandworm
- The Weeping Ridge
- The Spirit Willow
- Shriek and Ori (excerpt)
- Ori Embracing the Light
Learn more here.
