Music recommendation: Beyond Good & Evil (science fiction)

The twelve year old multiplatform game Beyond Good & Evil became a cult classic by taking familiar elements from many genres and twisting them just enough to create something unique, charming, and quirky. Its soundtrack, composed by Christophe Héral, skillfully does the same thing, making it a brilliant resource for a campaign that can accept the quirks and turn them into strengths.

The calm tracks are largely piano-based and have a partially oriental feel. The mysterious tracks, based mainly on the caves and “dungeons” in the game, sound decidedly subterranean, even with echoes in some parts. The action tracks are more electronic than the rest of the soundtrack, and some of them mix in bestial noises meant to convey the alien nature of the “Dom+02:00” serving as the game’s antagonists—making these tracks especially important to fit into the specific campaign before using them. Finally, the distinct “Akuda House Propaganda” and “Fun and Mini-Games” tracks can be used to great effect provided you have complete player buy-in, as they represent Beyond Good & Evil at its very quirkiest.

Those with access to the actual audio tracks from the game, as opposed to the official soundtrack, can find some additional tracks as well as some tracks split into more files than on the soundtrack.

Suggested scenes

Calm

3. Home Sweet Home
4. Hyllian Suite

Mystery

7. Mineshaft Madness
11. Don’t Fear the Reaper
20. Heart of Darkness

Stealth

23. Behind Enemy Lines

Action

12. Fear the Reaper
19. Violent Jade Suite
24. Free Your Mind
29. In Hot Pursuit
30. Sins of the Father

Epic action

2. Dancing with DomZ

Emotional

25. Thoughtful Reflections

Race

13. Fun and Mini-Games

Bar

9. Fun and Mini-Games
14. Funky Bar 100