Entry 383 - Shovel Knight Treasure Trove - Part 2 - Plague of Shadows

 

Full admission I have not played this chapter of Shovel Knight yet. I own it but it has not been played, I have not heard this music in context - this will be about the music itself and how it holds together for a musical album.

This record is basically like listening to two separate soundtracks. On one side you have a direct continuation of the style found within the base game, and the other... well it's completely different.

Side A of the record continues the uncompressed chip tune score. While it is well executed it does not have the same urgency and energy that the base game does. It's perhaps a bit more refined but overall I highly prefer the base games chip tunes.

Then there is side B. This starts out as a continuation of side A, but towards the end of the first or second track undergoes a huge transformation. The record switches from chip tunes to a violin and piano duet. Real instruments.

The first time I heard this it was a shock to say the least, now after a few more listens it's my favorite part of this soundtrack. It's as if the refinement that was hinted at on side A is fully realized though this piece.

The rest of side B goes through a buffet of genres: funk, EDM, trap, vocal driven pop. It's quite the ride, and I absolutely love it. This alone is worth owning the record for, its rare that so many genres are jammed together in such quick succession... and work as well as it does here.

Throughout the course of getting ready to write this summary I listened to side A 3-4 times but I've had side B on constant repeat. It's a tale of two sides, and side B is the huge winner here.