Penny Arcade’s On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness 4 – Music Sampler!

Over the weekend, Hyperduck submitted final versions of all the Precipice of Darkness 4 songs and we’re dying to share some with you.

Desert Theme
Industrial City
Battle Theme (New Mix)
Link to Precipice of Darkness 4 OST set

We’re very pleased with how the soundtrack has turned out and think it’s our best one to date. Can’t wait until the game comes out and everyone can listen to the whole OST (was so hard picking just 2 new songs for today’s reveal).

In other music news, we’re updating our game engine for Precipice of Darkness 4 for improved audio. Enhancements include things like smoother looping of tracks and area music not restarting each time you finish a battle. We also decided that our sound effects were getting old (most are from Breath of Death VII) so we’ll be using a new set of sound effects for the game (including more battle sound effects than we’ve used in the past).

8 Responses

  2. Thanks for the update Chris! I think I understand what you’re going for a little better now and I’m looking forward to hearing the full OST alongside the game. I was definitely expecting another chiptune style score, and was surprised at the new perspective, but it is growing on me. I may be biased towards the traditional values you refer to, but if you and Dan and the Zeboyd guys are happy with it, I’m sure the fans (including me!) will be too.

    I’m glad to hear the DLC music isn’t just going to fade into obscurity. I was pretty disappointed that I couldn’t find it anywhere, even more so when it seemed no one else was even looking for it. The Crystal Sewers in particular sounded like it would fit right alongside Chrono Trigger or Final Fantasy.

    In any case, I’m following you on SoundCloud now. Keep it up!

  3. Hey! One of the composers here, just wanted to chime in and hopefully help MatinatorX understand where we’re coming from for the PA4 OST: Yes it’s a brand new style, and I can totally understand where you’re coming from in that you think with the 16 bit visuals should coincide with a 16 bit soundtrack, traditionally.. yes this is usually what is expected. However, I think approaching this from a new perspective will help it make a lot more sense.

    The influences Robert & Bill gave us with the likes of Grandia, Lunar Eternal Blue, ChronoTrigger, etc made all of what you hear (and will hear) a very original soundtrack, rather than just locked down into one particular sound palette setting. While it may not sit and display a very obvious set of traditional values from the 16 bit era (it does at points) hopefully it can sway you when you experience it with the game itself 🙂

    Also, I’m really glad you enjoyed the Crystal Sewers theme 🙂 I reckon what we may do is release the Shanty Town and Crystal Sewers theme along with the entire PA4 OST, so stay tuned down the line for that.

  4. Lovely songs yet again, really looking forward to what Hyoerduck does for the series. Desert is mostly standing out as the superior, giving me the old chills since FFVI overworld theme and Ni No Kuni Dragon theme. Am I the only one thinking of a slow steampunk version of One Winged Angel with the industrial theme though?

    Looking forward to more updates on the combat front

  5. Interesting, I had assumed only the rock-style city BGM of the DLC pack was by Hyperduck given its’ similarities to his style. Thanks for the quick reply! I’m perfectly happy to be proven wrong in this case.

    Now, about that Crystal Sewer BGM… any chance of that being released in the future? It’s too darn good not to!

  6. One of the three songs you mentioned as loving from Precipice of Darkness 3 (Crystal Sewer) was actually done by Hyperduck (who did this soundtrack), not Alex Mauer, so don’t write off the soundtrack of Precipice of Darkness 4 quite yet.

    There’s a LOT more variety in the various songs in Precipice of Darkness 4 but that’s kind of hard to convey when you’re only showing off a couple songs at a time. Plus some of the best songs in the soundtrack I don’t want to share since for spoiler reasons.

  7. I have to be honest… I much prefer the 16-bit style soundtrack from Precipice of Darkness 3. Those songs were incredibly catchy, especially the battle themes and the music in The Periphery. I’m still hoping for a release of the OST from The Beginning of the End DLC. The music in The Crystal Sewers gave me chills.

    That’s not to say there’s anything wrong with the work Hyperduck is doing. I just feel Alex Mauer really hit the nail on the head when it came to creating a soundtrack that fit the style and personality of the game so well. I’m still very much looking forward to Precipice of Darkness 4!

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