The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra have now announced the full line up of music for their upcoming concert, Playstation in Concert, being held at the Royal Albert Hall on May 30th, tickets for which can be purchased here. The music is being drawn from a rich cross-section of gaming titles old and new, big and small. A full list is below:
Crash Bandicoot
One of my personal favourites back in the day and now remasters for PS4. This franchise has had some great sound tracks over the years. There’s no mention of a specific game but I would assume that it would like be a track from the recent remaster N Sane Trilogy, possibly the theme tune.
Warhawk – Composers: Christopher Lennertz, Timothy Michael Wynn
A Multiplayer third-person shooter from the PSone to the PS3 era. I’ll confess that this is the first I’ve heard of this title but it is remembered with fondness by those who have. I’ve had a good listen of the theme tune and it is a beautiful piece.
Resident Evil
Again there’s no game number and with seven main titles and many more offshoots to choose from, it’s anyone’s guess but my hope is that it turns out to be the original theme which was used in a number of the games and movies.
MediEvil – Composers: Andrew Barnabas, Paul Arnold
This game has just been confirmed to be getting a remaster but I think it’s safe to assume that the song being used will be from the original as the remaster will be very early on in production. If you need a reminder then the theme tune is below:
Arc the Lad
This is another title that I hadn’t heard of and is a series of role-playing games which were released between 1995 and 2004. Again there are a lot of songs to choose from. The second game also spawned an anime adaption.
ICO – Michiru Oshima, Koichi Yamazaki, Mitsukuni Murayama
An action-adventure game released in 2001/2 made by the same studio as Shadow of the Colossus and the last guardian. It has a very beautiful theme tune:
Dark Cloud – Composer: Tomohito Nishiura
Another one of my old favourites. An action roleplaying game this title was one of the first to mix action RPG gameplay with city building to great effect. It also has a great soundtrack.
Flow – Composer: Austin Wintory
An indie title released originally as a flash game in 2006 and since released on PSP, PS4 and PS Vita. The game involves guiding a microorganism around a 2d environment and was highly praised for its music and sound.
LittlebigPlanet
A puzzle platform game series that has gone through many developers in its past but has managed to keep its large fan base. The most recent game was released for the PS4 in 2014.
Echochrome – Composer: Hideki Sakamoto
A puzzle game influence by the work of the famous artist M. C. Escher where the player guides a mannequin figure through a rotatable would.
Shadow of the Colossus – Composer: Kow Otani
Originally released in 2005 for the Playstation 2. The title has recently been given a high-definition remake treatment which released February this year. This game is regarded as the spiritual successor to ICO, made by the same development team.
Moss
Recent release for the PSVR which was well received for its gameplay, visuals and soundtrack. It’s one of the few PSVR games to use a third person view to guide the mouse, Quill, through a puzzle and action combat orientated world.
Killzone 2 – Joris de Man
First person shooter game released in 2009 for the Playstation 3. It is the second in a trilogy of games all developed by the same team, Guerrilla Games who also went on to create Horizon Zero Dawn.
Wonderbook
This appears to be a peripheral rather than an actual game and was released with the game Book of Spells in 2012.
Journey – Composer: Austin Wintory
Another indie favourite released in 2012 for the PS3, where players guide a robed figure towards a distant mountain. Players were able to see and interact with other players but only by using chimes.
The Last of Us – Composer: Gustavo Santaolalla
An action adventure survival horror game released in 2013. The player is tasked with escorting a girl across a post-apocalyptic world. It was followed by a sequel in 2016.
Bloodborne
Composers: Ryan Amon, Tsukasa Saitoh, Yuka Kitamur, Nobuyoshi Suzuki, Cris Velasco, Michael Wandmacher
The hard as nails action RPG game made by the same team as the Darksouls series. Set in a visually stunning gothic world, along with its fellow series, Dark Souls, it a hauntingly beautiful soundtrack to accompany the player’s continuous deaths and mounting frustration.
Horizon Zero Dawn
Composers: Joris de Man, The Flight, Niels van der Leest, Jonathan Williams
An action Role Playing game released last year to rave reviews. The game is set in a post-apocalyptic world where machines have taken over the world. The game was praised for its visuals and music, and is the reason why, to this day, I still feel the urge to shove a spear through my neighbour’s motorbike whenever I see it. *Shudder*
Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture – Composer: Jessica Curry
A first person adventure art game which was released in 2016. The game is set in a deserted village where the player interacts with lights and objects in order to reveal the story.
Blood and Truth
A PSVR game that was created after the success of The London Heist experience in the PSVR title Playstation VR Worlds.
The Order 1886 – Composer: Jason Graves
A third person action-adventure game released in 2015. The game is set in a steampunk inspired alterative London where the player battles vampires and werewolves to keep the world safe.
God of War – Composers: Bear McCreary
A series of action-adventure games based around first Greek and most recently Norse mythology. It is confirmed that song to be played will be from the most recent game, God of War (2018) only just released last month.
The Last Guardian – Composer: Takeshi Furukawa
An action adventure game where the player travels with a giant half bird half cat creature in an effort to escape a ruined city and find his way home. The game has some beautiful visuals and sound tracks.
Uncharted
A series of third person action adventure shooter games first released in 2007 with the latest instalment Uncharted: The Lost Legacy released in 2017. Games 1 to 4 followed the adventure of treasure hunter Nathan Drake while the final instalment followed Chloe Frazer in her search for an ancient artefact in India.
This concert is a rare chance to hear some of the best video games music played live by one of the world’s leading orchestras. The art and cultural significance of video games has long been overlooked and this is a chance for gamers and non-gamers alike to appreciate the contribution video games have made to the world of music over the last three decades. The concert will be accompanied by a spectacular light shows and the first use of the breaking edge EnCue app system, at the Royal Albert Hall, to deliver media to concertgoer’s smartphones in real time.
This concert will, without a doubt, be a fantastic night out both for gamers and non-gamers, so if you have played any of the games listed above and loved the music and atmosphere then you may want to grab some tickets here. Feel free to also drag along any non-gamer friends/ family as they may well find themselves enjoying the event just as much as you.
