Editorials
Seven Relaxing Tracks From Horror Games Perfect For Working and Studying To
Relaxing music and horror games aren’t typically two things you see grouped together. Most of the time, the soundtracks of horror involve loud cacophonies and looming drones meant to heighten the senses of viewers and build suspense. However, in the brief moments of respite between getting chased, hunted down, and attacked, the eerie ambiance can actually be very soothing and pleasant to listen to.
Video game soundtracks overall can often be a great resource for creating relaxing atmospheres conducive for working/studying, and horror soundtracks offer a versatile range of upbeat and lowkey tracks to fit the mood of each listener. This list hones-in on specific tracks of horror games that stand out the most, with some additional mentioning of other tracks in each respective game.
Breeze In Monochrome Night (Silent Hill 3)
This track in Silent Hill 3 is often overlooked, as it is only played during one brief cutscene in the middle of the game during (one of the few times) Heather is safe. It begins slow, with a steady pace and slightly sinister tone, leading up to a more upbeat climax as the piano takes center stage. It’s relaxing to listen to and gets upbeat just enough that it isn’t a boring listen.
The soundtracks of each Silent Hill entry rarely disappoint, and this entire list could easily be made up of songs throughout the series. There is a great compilation of these songs by YouTube user Cryveil here. And if you’re really on a hunt for Silent Hill tracks to listen to, check out composer Akira Yamaoka’s Spotify artist page, which features the official soundtracks of almost every Silent Hill game!
Rest Stop Music (Overland)
Between moments of getting attacked by strange parasitic creatures during a post-apocalyptic road-trip, the music that plays during rest stops in Overland is definitely worth mentioning. The soft humming accompanied with the strums of an acoustic guitar creates a calming atmosphere.
While there, unfortunately, isn’t a purchasable soundtrack currently available, this track has luckily been uploaded on YouTube by user Impail3r.
Piano Etude II (Rule of Rose)
While the haunting piano of Rule of Rose hits the target throughout the entire game, it shines the brightest in the final etude that plays during the epilogue of the game. This track solely features a piano, making it easy to get lost in, which makes sense given that this track is played during Jennifer’s journey through her childhood memories.
Memories (The Last Door)
The pixelated point-and-click horror game The Last Door boasts a gorgeous soundtrack of orchestrated melodies, mostly comprised of piano and string compositions with classical vibes.
The track, Memories, has a level of drama that is still great for background noise—and even better is the fact that both The Last Door and The Last Door 2’s soundtracks are both available on Spotify!
Bond (Telltale’s The Walking Dead: Season 2)
While her character was very divisive with players of Telltale’s The Walking Dead, Sarah’s theme is one of the best in the entire soundtrack. The track is mostly just the soft strums of an acoustic guitar, reflecting the youthful innocence of Sarah (in antithesis to Clementine’s maturity).
It can be first heard in one of the few scenes in the series that isn’t purely about survival, as Clementine and Sarah take pictures with a Polaroid camera, resulting in the pleasant to listen to tone.
Main Menu Theme (Resident Evil: Revelations 2)
If you’re a Resident Evil fan reading this, we know what you’re probably thinking: the save room themes are the obvious answers in this category! And while it is very true that they are easy picks in this context (with Resident Evil 2 and 3 having the best save room themes), the main menu theme of Revelations 2 is also very underrated.
The track is slightly eerie and features lots of sounds, but the violin is beautiful and enchanting to listen to. It seamlessly loops and isn’t very repetitive—perfect for listening for long periods of time while focusing. Best of all, for a different vibe, check out the title theme of the first Resident Evil: Revelations, which this track is based on.
Graveyard Area 1 (Maximo: Ghosts To Glory)
Even though Maximo slashes and bashes skeleton warriors of the underworld to this theme, it is still chill enough to listen to casually. It features sounds classic to the horror genre, with dramatic horns and menacing strings, but never gets too obnoxious for easy listening.
Unlike previous games in this list, this may be the only track in the Maximo series that can be listened to for casual background noise, as the rest of the tracks are much more chaotic to match the action of the games.
I was never against Sony’s initial idea to produce solo movies based on Spider-Man’s most memorable supervillains. After all, a hero is only as good as his Rogues’ Gallery is intimidating, so it stands to reason that there were plenty of dark stories to tell here.
While rushed productions like Morbius and Kraven the Hunter didn’t quite turn out as I had hoped, it’s a relief to see James Gunn and the DC Extended Universe learn the right lessons from Marvel’s flops by investing in supervillain stories that aren’t afraid to step into the horror genre.
The new trailer for James Watkins’ upcoming Clayface movie is a great example of this, as the new footage confirms our suspicions that the movie is set to be a full-on piece of body horror focusing more on telling a standalone scary story than setting up a brand.
With that in mind, I’ve decided to take a closer look at the trailer in order to find out what we can expect from this highly anticipated comic-book adaptation from hell.
So without further ado, here are four things we learned from the new Clayface trailer!
4. Matt Hagen is a Club Vesuvius Regular
A seedy nightclub owned by “former” mobster Johnny Sabatino, the comic books have established Club Vesuvius as a hotspot for criminal activity and metahuman action since 2009. Throughout the years, the club has seen everything from an attempted arson by Firefly to magical acts performed by Zatanna herself.
The trailer for Clayface appears to suggest that Vesuvius will feature prominently in this story as well, as the footage shows us several shots of Hagen (Tom Rhys Harries) casually attending the club as well as a couple of more concerning moments where Gotham City Police roll up to the establishment to deal with some kind of emergency.
3. The Movie Will Not Adapt Any Single Specific Comic
As I mentioned before in my Clayface primer for horror fans who aren’t all that familiar with the character, the initial teaser for the film had me convinced that the project would be more of an adaptation of Batman: The Animated Series’ two-part episode Feat of Clay rather than any specific comic-book.
This latest trailer has only confirmed my suspicions, with Hagen’s predicament here feeling much more in line with Marv Wolfman and Michael Reaves’ sympathetic vision of the character than the more traditional criminal that we usually see in the comics. That being said, I’m curious to see how the filmmakers intend to connect this tragic version of Clayface to the more unpleasant monster we saw in Creature Commandos now that it’s been confirmed that these are indeed the same person.
2. James Watkins is Combining Practical and Digital Effects
I’ll always prefer a well-executed practical effect over CGI simply because the former is closer to the stage magic that inspired early moviemaking. That being said, there’s an undeniable artistry to well-crafted visual effects, and I’d argue that a character like Clayface requires the best of both worlds in order to be convincingly brought to life on the big screen.
I’m clearly not the only one who thinks so, as the trailer has shown us that Watkins is combining digital imagery with prosthetics and plenty of flesh-colored goop to depict Hagen’s unique brand of monstrous body horror. James Gunn had already promised us that the film would feature plenty of old-school practical effects wizardry, so it’s exciting to see that this approach in action.
1. Hagen Will Eventually Transform into Clayface’s Iconic True Form
In the comics, whenever Clayface isn’t pretending to be someone else, the character spends most of his time in his “natural” form resembling a gigantic golem-like monster. This look has certainly evolved over the years, but, at this point, most artists have settled on a vaguely humanoid shape accompanied by a gaping maw (though the villain’s terrifying re-imagining in DC’s Absolute Universe is a bit more complicated than that).
While fans were initially skeptical regarding whether or not the upcoming adaptation would even feature this admittedly outlandish design, the trailer has basically confirmed that Hagen’s condition will get progressively worse until he finally resembles the hulking monstrosity from the comics!
Be sure to comment below if you think we overlooked any interesting details in the trailer, and keep in mind that Clayface will be hitting theaters on October 23.
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