The Dark Eye : Chains of Satinav

 

The Dark Eye : Chains of Satinav Soundtrack Review 

Composers : Daniel Pharos, Dominik Morgenroth

https://vgmdb.net/album/33640\

May Contain Spoilers!

I have recently finished The Dark Eye: Chains of Satinav, the point-and-click adventure game. Such a blast. It is one of the most poignant ones of the genre out there. It goes to show that you don't really need a comedy flair in your point-and-clicks (Frogwares has been making that point for quite a while - though the genre hasn't made its big break in the recent years). Bar a couple puzzles, I thought the puzzles were reasonable, perhaps with the odd "Huh??" or "I really could use some sleep" type mixes of items that are not intuitive. Geron and Nuri's chemistry is charming and the game manages to make me shed a couple tears in the end. 

The soundtrack is excellent and does much of the emotional work at various scenes throughout the game. The game is fairly short but the music is punchy. Daniel Pharos and Dominik Morgenroth created this European-gothic and a little LOTR like sound that is very atmospheric and yet melodic. 

Enqui and End Credits are my favorite tracks. They have the same melody in fact, the arrangement and tempo are different. Enqui immediately reminds me of The Last of Us esque desperation brought by the sombre guitar but it definitely sets it apart immediately with xylophone, flute and strings. The uniqueness and European touch is complete when the accordion comes in. The latter half of Enqui is so bittersweet: it presents a hopeless situation and yet it hints at you that if you change the pace of the music, you will get triumph. Thus arose End Credits, and it gives precisely that. Suddenly we are met with brass and staccato strings that add action and the vibes rightfully match Geron The Bird Catcher's strength.

The other track that captivated me was Dreamscape Palace. The atmosphere of the fairy world is captured so well and the xylophone of the latter half is creepy, almost out of a horror movie/game. It could have fit Silent Hill franchise *gasps*! Andergast in Winter is also another great guitar track with hints of flute and strings; it makes me think of folk music except it's the fairy folk! Secrets of the Harp also captures the sinister use of someone innocent well. 

The rest of the tracks with rating of 3 fit the game's scenery well and are worth listening to if you come back to this soundtrack as a whole.