Nova-111 Original Soundtrack (Review)

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What is Nova-111? The designers Funktronic Labs describes it as a turn based sci-fi adventure game that plays in real time featuring science and aliens! I spent some time playing the game but have spent more time listening to the soundtrack composed by Jack Menhorn.  The game reminded me of a combination of The Adventures of Lolo and Sokoban but more visualy like the work of French Artist Moebius.

Jack Menhorn is not new to video game composing and has written the music for several titles including: Robots Need Love Too, Relic Rush, and Hack Slash Loot. For Nova-111 Jack Menhorn has composed 15 tracks totalling just under 56 minutes of music.  Read on to hear my thoughts on the music of Nova-111.

The first track of Nova-111‘s soundtrack “Patel Frequency” is one of the standout tracks on the album. The song has a simple percussion beat and electronic chiming, with an echoing background that gives the listener a nice sense of vastness.  I played the game briefly and heard this music play on the overworld screen.

The second track “Lees Motion Principal” has a quieter opening and features light distant tones which soon adds an elastic beat combined with sporadic chimes that have a chilling or icy sound.  Listening to this track brought thoughts of exploring  new world in an echoey environment.

The third track is the only song on the album that feels out of place. Not that it’s a bad thing “Nowde Tails” has a tumbling jazzy piano medley with snare drums.  It’s a nice chill groove.

“Nosin Lock” brings the listener sounds of crystalline and slow strong bass similar to a heartbeat.  As the track progresses, you’ll also hear a snare drum that reminded me of a laughing Cheshire Cat.

The fifth Track “Ruins of Aandi” is another stand out track on the album which features high sustained piano combined with digital echoing maracas and wooden block for percussion offering a nice progressive beat.

“Henphrie Assembly” the sixth track realy reminded me of a remix of music from Super Mario Galaxy before you enter levels.

“V-kng-52” another favorite track of mine speeds up the beat and has a background crystalline melody that almost sounds like a singing chorus.

“Hussinger’s Theorem” took me back to images of the Tyler Durden and the music the Dust Brothers composed for Fight Club.  The beat for the song sounds like a rock being repeatedly bounced off a cave wall, and the melody slowly creeps its way into the song as it progresses.

“Nova-111” is the title menu track for the game.  It’s an upbeat tune that really reminds me of Ryuichi Sakamoto’s theme he composed for the Gainax Anime Film Wings of Honneamise – it’s great.

The remaining tracks on the album offer sounds of what I would describe as a scattering desolation in “Pan Veren Belt”, chilled percussion, chimes and lovely high piano in “Magneto Colora”, a unique blown or damaged speaker sounding beat in “Vessali-N”, chilled echoing electronic sounds in “Compound K-L 1n”.

“Stellar Timeporting” which is the second last track on the album is my favorite.  It is a calm serene track that brought me thoughts of the color white, images of sacred memories, and feelings of hope.

The final track titled simply “End” sounds like an end credits roll, but bring together a lot of the elements showcased in the soundtrack and is a great way to finish off the album.

I can highly recommend the soundtrack Jack Menhorn has produced for the game.  As for the game itself I did not play it enough to get the full experience it is intended to be.  I managed to clear roughly the first 5 levels, and then got frustrated after dying a few times.  I need to beef up my turn based gaming skills before I come back to it.  But when I do, I’ll be happy that this soundtrack will be waiting. If you visit the composer’s website ^[2] you can read more about the 3 year process he underwent in creating the music for Nova-111.

The Nova-111 OST is available on several platforms, including Amazon ^[3], Google ^[4], Loudr ^[5], and iTunes ^[6].

Have you played Nova-111? What did you think of the music in the game?