Two Critics, One Score, Countless Themes Worth Revisiting
Based in Hurghada, Egypt, we listen closely to orchestral game scores and trace the careers of the composers who wrote them.
Read Our StoryWhat Guides Our Listening
Three principles behind every soundtrack write-up we publish
We sit with an entire soundtrack, not just the main theme, before writing a single word about its structure or intent.
Every piece is framed around the person who wrote it — their career, influences, and how a score fits their wider body of work.
We don't pad articles with sponsored placements or streaming links dressed up as recommendations. Just honest listening notes.
Many of our deep dives start with a tip from a reader who spotted a motif or leitmotif we hadn't caught ourselves.
The Archive So Far
Notes From Readers
The piece on Nobuo Uematsu's early PSX-era scoring choices sent me down a two-week rabbit hole of live orchestral recordings I'd never heard properly credited before.
I forwarded the Yasunori Mitsuda retrospective to three friends within an hour of reading it. The breakdown of his leitmotif reuse across two decades was something I hadn't seen written out like that anywhere else.
Their review of the Nier orchestral arrangement actually made me go back and relisten to the vocal tracks with headphones instead of laptop speakers. Small thing but it changed how I hear the whole record.
How Each Piece Comes Together
The editorial routine behind every soundtrack write-up and composer profile
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1
Pick the Score
We choose a soundtrack or composer based on reader requests, upcoming re-releases, or gaps we notice in existing coverage of orchestral game music.
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2
Listen in Full
The full score gets multiple listens across different settings, from studio monitors to earbuds, before any notes get written down.
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3
Trace the Career
We research the composer's prior work, interviews, and liner notes to understand how a given score fits their broader legacy.
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4
Draft and Fact-Check
Every credit, instrument listing, and date gets checked against liner notes or official sources before the piece goes live.