Artist: "Souleye"
Album: "PPPPPP"
Genre: Video Game
Label: None

Reviewer: Dr. Boogie
Posted: 3/3/2010

Review: That’s six P’s, count ‘em. Six. Why? Because we’re talking about the soundtrack to an indie game called VVVVVV. Why the letter V six times? I don’t know, but it does have some great chiptunes attached to it.

Magnus Palsson, aka Souleye, manages to make each of the songs unique enough that you would swear they weren’t part of a single project like VVVVVV. They all have a very distinct old school game feel to them, which fits in perfectly with the game’s old school style. At the same time, however, one has to imagine that the sort of detail and layering that goes into the soundtrack would’ve been virtually impossible to duplicate when all games looked the way VVVVVV looks.

The most striking thing about the music is the way each song unfolds. A lot of old game music, including modern games pretending to be old, tend to stick with short loops, or at best a short loop and a slightly longer bridge thrown in to give the illusion of length. Each song in PPPPPP develops slowly but surely over several minutes with each new addition taking you further away from the opening beats without losing rhythm. In a way, the songs almost seem like mini-medleys, albeit with seamless transitions.

Toward the end of the CD, Souleye gets a little experimental and throws in an earlier track played in reverse. It holds up reasonably well, but certain musical instruments just don’t sound all that great in reverse. Something that makes a single tone that doesn’t fluctuate at all sounds much better in reverse than, say, a simulated drum beat. As a bonus, the CD also includes “Waiting for VVVVVV”, a sort of tribute song sung by the artist himself to VVVVVV’s creator Terry Cavanaugh. It’s a funny little song, and it works well to close out the CD.

VVVVVV is a great game thanks in no small part to its great music. Souleye is only asking for a mere $4 to get a copy. A pittance! And if you’re still on the fence, why not give the demo a try and see if you don’t find yourself tapping a foot to the funky 80s beats.

Overall rating:
(Scored on a 0.5 - 5 pickles rating: 0.5 being the worst and 5 being the best)