When people talk about good BG3 music, the one that tends to get brought up over and over is "Raphael's Final Act." However, the song itself is a major spoiler and is thus very difficult to discuss out of context. Of note is that it is actually sang, in-universe, by one of the characters during a battle, and you can effectively mute the vocal track by casting a Silence spell on him.
Can I get a source on the Silence spell? Looking it up, I haven't found any footage of anyone doing this and it seems to me if this was the case, BG3 youtube would be full of it.
For me the song that I always think of, and I fully admit it's because of how this carbot animations video makes fun of it, but simultaneously makes it awesome ua-cam.com/video/7NhaB_ycw3k/v-deo.html is the combat music. What I love is how the song kind of encapsulates why people play bards, and how they imagine the bard playing out in a combat scenario.
BG3 is one of those once in a generation games that's set the bar for future games. Larion Studios made this game as a pure labor of love, it released complete, no microtransactions, the story is impeccable, the characters, companions and npcs alike, have enormous depth. The sheer replayability of this game is insane. In cutscenes alone, there's 174 hours. And if I recall, Larion said that there's roughly 2 million lines of dialogue. The original Baldur's Gate was made by Bioware, in '98. BG2, also by Bioware, released in 2000. Larion Studios were interested in making BG3 after they had finished Divinity: Original Sin in 2014, but didn't start until after 2017 when they finished Divinity: Original Sin 2. Larion has solely developed and published BG3, taking in all the community feedback during early access and even after launch. To date I think the copies sold has amounted to 22 million. It's honestly a game I can't praise enough.
People do talk about how great the OST is, but conversations about this game inevitably focus on a person's experiences w/ it, since there's so much freedom & variance that the same quest or a fight can be resolved in completely different ways. It feels very personal in that way, whereas music is hard to differentiate because they're mostly based on programming cues. It was a nominee for best soundtrack at TGA. Many people prefer it over what Soken delivered in FF16. & while I'm not one of those people, I can understand why. It's fresh, & it stands out, & there are some captivating tracks.
I have to agree, nobody ever seems to talk about the OST, but it adds so much to an already amazing atmosphere the game creates. I have the damn character creation screen stuck in my head at times.
I was a super big fan of both. Dion's theme especially had me from FF16. I was someone who would've been ecstatic for either BG3 or FF16 to win it, so I'm satisfied haha.
The love and passion you can feel in this theme, reflects the game quiet well. BG3 is one of those ''once in a lifetime games'' like Witcher 3 for example.
I got BG3 in September after hearing so many good things about it. I hadn't heard of BG1 or BG2. I didn't know if it'd be my type of game, or if it'd be to my taste. But I felt entranced almost - it was practically begging me to get it. So I took the chance. (I admit there was also a certain song that made me just as interested hehe) And after 100 hours into this game... Maybe over 200 hours now. I'm not even done. I'm not even FINISHED yet. But what's on my mind? "I can't wait to do another playthrough where I pick this instead of that, and do that instead of this!" It's...One of those games.
I have almost 200 hours in the game and like, 70% of that is the character creator from constantly restarting, so this bit of music is bored into my brain lol.
"It's not one of the games I'd play" is the most common remark I've seen about BG3 on gaming community alongside my own circles and it 99.9% of the time managed to 'convert' them to a huge fan once they click with the game I know it well since it happens to me too
To some of your questions. Baldurs gate is one city in the someone and dragons universe and the place the games happen. Bg1 and 2 are well known in the subgenre of crpgs but not so much outside. But with bg3 they went up to triple a. And the whole soundtrack is just amazing, ambience as well as voiced songs.
11:03 - It sounds like the kind of song that an epic ballad would be set to, which is what I think they're going for. Something that Bards would sing your story to.
The Main Theme is like an Overature for a msuical. It doesn't bring in all the musical motifs quite as directly as most overatures do for musicals, but it brings in elements and moods from throughout the game in a kind of preview of the story. A lot of aspects of the game are very theatrical and the music ties in perfectly.
I adore Twisted Force… there’s just something about it that makes it so good as music for combat… it’s simultaneously “ooo I better sit up straight & focus on this fight” and “I can sit here forever just vibing with this music” (which is a perfect combo for a turn-based game like BG3)
Both the game AND the music of Baldur’s Gate 3 are amazing! One of the coolest aspects of BG3 is the amount of FREEDOM that you have as a player to carve out your own story as you play. EVERY dialogue option you choose, EVERY action you make has consequences, good or bad, and has an impact on the direction your playthrough will go. You can take the path of a totally lawful good character, or go full chaotic evil, or anything in between. That there can be dozens of different ways to defeat difficult fights is but one small part of what makes this game so fun & almost infinitely replayable. Each new playthrough is going to be its own unique experience.
It's kinda funny that I never heard anything about the music in Baldur's Gate 3 until now. I never followed the Game Awards at all, but I would have figured that it would have been a bigger topic if they managed to get nominated for best music. However, after hearing this one song, I totally understand how they earned that nomination. If the rest of the soundtrack is even half as good as this, I am absolutely excited to hear more of it. Kudos to Larian for (even more of) their amazing work.
Baldur's Gate 3 really did come out of nowhere. I knew nothing about the game, saw some clips and people talking about some of the absurd things they can do in the game, and I bought it the same weekend it released. And the game blew my mind. You can literally do all the crazy stuff people say you can. It easily became my GotY.
I’m currently on my 3rd playthrough, and I absolutely 1-shot Minthara in the goblin camp with a smokepowder barrel 😂 I’d agreed to help her raid the grove, but I was lying when I said that. As a result, she wasn’t hostile towards me when I went back to kill the goblin leaders & was able to strategically place the barrel near her & blow it up. When it happened though, I was surprised I was able to defeat her in a single turn & that the scariest part of it all was that the explosion nearly yeeted her corpse into the chasm haha I didn’t want to lose out on the loot! (my Tav is a druid & currently wearing Minthara’s armor, I love it, it looks so good!)
I'm kind of surprised you've never heard of Baldur's Gate. The original is from 1998 and was the second game Bioware ever released. Baldur's Gate is a city in the Forgotten Realms D&D setting of Faerun, and that whole setting was pretty big for a slew of RPG's. The 2 Baldur's Gate games, Icewind Dale, Neverwinter Nights. R.A. Salvatore's Drizzt Do'urden books are in that setting as well. BG1 and 2 are pretty dated by today's standards since they're RTWP (real-time with pause) running on the old 2nd edition AD&D rules, but were pretty solid and sprawling for their time. BG3 is from the makers of the Divinity games, who picked up the license after many, many years (BG2 was in 2000 so almost 20 years, considering they spent 6 years making BG3).
You simply MUST listen to Down by the River, the piece the whole soundtrack is based around. Some of the most beautiful voice work I've heard in my life.
The downside to everything in Baldur's Gate 3 being so good, is that some things the game does incredibly well might not even get mentioned, (like the music) because people have too many other things to praise. It was even nominated for best score/soundtrack, but it was nominated for (and won) so many other awards that people don't talk about it.
The guys made a really really good game. It crossed over to main stream even though these games are usually niche. Other songs worth checking out: Weeping Dawn, Sixteen Strikes, The Power, Raphael's Final Act, I Want To Live. The deluxe edition comes with the soundtrack.
Man this game is like a 10,000 page book, your comments in that regard were spot on lol. I've been chipping away at my first playthrough since launch and i'm barely beginning Act 2, the game is this huge, epic, sprawling adventure story and this theme definitely captures that well!
The entire soundtrack to BG3 is awesome. I enjoying messing around in the character create screen just to hear the music. Its just one of those video games that you immediately recognize it has a classic soundtrack like Mass Effect 2. I remember back when Mass Effect 2 came out I would stay at the main menu for 5+ minutes, because I loved the menu theme so much.
The music of Baldurs Gate 3 is, as the game, immaculate! Borislav Slavov and Larian did such an amazing job of building a completely immersive and atmospheric experience and you should definitely listen to more of Baldurs Gate 3's treasures! Also you really should try to play it even if it seems to be not your cup of tea.
There are a few music boxes you can collect in the game. If you use them, it'll play the theme. I always keep at least one music box just to play it every once in a while.
BG3 came out on PS5 in September and proceeded to sky rocket to my favorite game of all time. I am approaching 800 hours into it and can't stop playing it, so i hear the music a lot. And it still gets me how stunning it is. Can't wait for you to hear Raphael's Final Act. I think it really sets a new standard for boss battle themes.
"A story of love and friendship in the face of great adversity" is how I would sum up the soundtrack and the game. There will be battles, pain and great darkness but also light, friendship and perhaps even romance at the unlikeliest of times.
I was also on the same boat of "I'm not into these types of games". I remember watching my favorite streamer on Twitch play it and being a total gremlin in chat and complaining about them playing it and then I decided to bite the bullet and give it a try. Currently I'm 130 hours in and having an absolute blast! It is nerdy AF and I love it!
Interesting that you said it doesn't look like the sort of game you would play. I usually play farming sim type games and was adamant that I didn't want to play BG3. However, I watched a playthrough on UA-cam by a streamer who usually plays "cosy" games and became totally entranced by it. I bought it for my 60th birthday back in October and have played every day since. At one point I had 8 different games on the go and have over 450 hours under my belt. I love it. I love the music and I love the community, everyone has been very welcoming and helpful and no-one makes fun of my age or inexperience. My only criticism of it is that now all of my other games seem so bland! xxx
Happy to see this! As a long time Larian fan, I'm happy to see them and their game get the recognition they deserve. The music in BG3 is absolutely stellar, but I think the reason you don't hear a lot of people about it is because everything about the game feels like it's one organic and complete project. The music, art, animations, sound design, voice performances, all of them fit together so well that it is a little harder to separate them. Borislav Slavov has delivered on Divinity Original Sin 2, and now again with BG3. I'd love to see you react to more of his work since the soundtracks of both of these games have a bunch of gems among them. 'The Battle for Divinity' (DOS2) is one of my favorite tracks from that game, 'I Want to Live - Classical Version (BG3) is such a poweful piece that perfectly captures the essence of the companions and the way I playerd my Dark Urge, which is one of the options when creating a character. And of course there is 'Raphael's Final Act' (BG3), which is brilliant as I am sure a lot of other people surely have told you by now!
Nobody thinks BG3 is something they'd enjoy.. until they actually play it. I'm having a hard time convincing friends to play it (would love to do a multiplayer run) and I know if they would just give it a chance they would absolutely love it.
The baldur's gate games always had cinematic quality music, full of epicness and feeling of vastness and huge scope. The music indeed told the story in a way. Its what they did best. The games were cinematic masterpieces by themselves with narration and agency that all other games at the time couldn't even dream of. Go back to the soundtrack of the 2nd game (still the best game I have ever played on pc in general) back in 2000s and you will be amazed at what they achieved in that OST as well. Of course they went even harder on this sequel. It took them years and they went real HARD at it. Its a legendary franchise that we finally got a worthy sequel for. You can't begin to imagine how long people waited for a proper amazing sequel like the one we finally got. This franchise was all the rage back in the late 90s/early 00s. For all people that liked rpgs this was the best game they ever played. Like literally. Everything that followed the next decades just felt weaker and indifferent. That's how GOOD it was. Its possible that younger generations consider us nerds for playing baldur's gate games back then, it is what is , but yeah, it was true dope. Gameplay, music, everything was just too good. Endless weekends of playing without even sleeping. You never had this amount of freedom and epicness in rpgs before this franchise.
I hope you get to hear Down by the River soon. That track is amazing. Also The Power (orchestral version) is a great track. It has one of the loveliest, playful melodies in the game imo.
there is so much good music in this game!! A few I would recommend are, Twisted force, Sixteen strikes, Nightsong, Legacy of Bhaal, Raphael's Final act, Harpy Song, and ofc, Down by the river and weeping dawn.
The music is one of the first things I will mention about BG3, it's just so beautiful and fresh but it never forces itself too much into the foreground. It starts from the moment you open the game and it just goes OOOOAAAHHH at you, and then the beautiful 'Down by the River' plays as you create your character, never gets boring even if it takes you an hour (which it will). And then there's a bunch of standout themes in the middle of gameplay, be it just regular combat music or specific story relevant pieces. Definitely should check out more!!
First thing that really hit me about this game when I started playing was the music. It's just as amazing as the graphics, gameplay, story, etc., and I really notice if I like the music in a game.
So to answer some of your questions: -The last main line Baldur's Gate game was released in the year 2000 so it's no wonder you might be like "wait what about one and two?" the first two were early BioWare rpgs that actually kinda set the standard for companions in rpgs (especially the second one). This one takes place about a hundred years after the last one and is largely removed from the plot of those so it's a good place to hop in (there are some characters that make a return and references here and there but this is it's own story) -Baldur was indeed a person. Well, *Balduran* (Baldur is a shortening of the name) was, who founded the city-state of Baldur's Gate hundreds and hundreds of years ago. He is long gone though. -There are many songs with production that good, though most use the same leitmotif as this theme ^^ the soundtrack is also very reactive to you especially in combat like if you take out a baddie that shifts the tide of battle from you losing to suddenly your winning.
Oh don't worry, people will talk about the music. This game uses leitmotifs in many themes and has some amazing tracks. Check out Down by the River, I'm sure the rest is already recommended to you
The main theme is like they trying to tell a story about multiple characters on their adventures, each depicts their various emotions and personalities. Perfect song for the game.
baldur's gate 1 and 2 were older games that were definitely considered good games, but they were niche. They're in my wheel house, but i never played em. Fallout 1 and 2 were kind of the same type of catagory of game. 1 and 2 were great games, and got picked up by another studio YEARS later by people who WANTED to do it. in fallout's case there was a 10 year gap, in baldurs gates case, it was 23 years lol yeah i wouldnt mind if you checked out the GOTY winner and the best sound track winners at all if theyre requested. sounds like a fun tradition.
Your initial reaction is exactly what made the whole ost memorable to me. It's lovely, it's creative, it's beautiful, it's artistic and most of all it's extremely unique. There have been a lot of amazing OSTs and videogames this year, but what sert BG3's ost apart for me was how unique it sounded ; I've never heard something quite like it ever. Would definitely recommend delving more into it, heck you might even play the game but warned that this can take away up to 150h of your life for a single playthrough (and it can be done in full coop if you're afraid lol)
Love the main theme for BG3, I think it perfectly encapsulates how epic the game can be combined with how calm and sad and emotional it can be at times as well, like you said it feels like there’s a whole story in there - honestly all the music in the OST is pretty unique and Borislav Slavov did an excellent job, it definitely isn’t just background atmosphere as I expected as well
Honestly a little shocked that you've never heard of Baldur's Gate. Guess you haven't been a big RPG guy? It's one of the more critically acclaimed games of the it's genre. They came out in the late 90's to early 2000's. Anyway, very glad that the developers of Divinity were allowed to take on this franchise and managed to make a game with such a RESOUNDING success. And as good as the OST of Baldur's Gate 3 is ... I think the one of Divinity: Original Sin 2 is even better. Gotta check if you listened to some of them before :D
It's so cool you gave the soundtrack a chance despite the hesitation! I've found the entire soundtrack to be amazing but a few of the favourites are; Nightsong, Twisted Force and Raphael's Final Act.
Never played BG1 or 2, but BG3 devoured my free time in a serious way for like three months. I don't think any other game ate into my sleep quite like this one lol. It is so very good and totally deserving of Game of the Year. The OST is fantastic and I look forward to your opinions on more of the tracks as they come in.
Most of it is pretty epic, actually. There is atmospheric zone music that is nice too, but when something happens and the music swells for the fight or cutscene or whatever, it's just SO good!
Borislov slavov really likes a strong central motif. So almost every single song on the ost uses that 7 note melody. It’s kinda like the John Williams way of writing where it is all about establishing something that is memorable and iconic and then after that its just variations of the central theme to fit different tones
Down By the River is called like that because at the beginning of the game you are somewhere close to a river, and you have to follow it to go to ... Baldur's Gate
I definitely encourage checking out more songs from this game. The music is an integral part of the storytelling and received the appropriate attentio. There's even a song that results from conversation choices so many people won't even see it. Yet it's one of my favorites and performed as a cut scene. Down by the River is great too. Baba Yetu is still my favourite video game song, but BG3 gives it a run for it's money on a number of occasions lol.
Interesting to see that you never heard about BG3 before Game Awards. It was the best rated video game of the year and most outlets gave it perfect score. It was talked about a lot.
This theme is an adventure. Setting out on a journey, encountering struggle and conflict, stopping for a peaceful rest, unraveling ancient mysteries, discovering that one gorgeous vista you'll remember for the rest of your life, walking into a lively tavern full of merry makers and grabbing a drink to join in... All of that, and more, can be heard in the theme. It's a truly perfect fit for a game as free and flexible as BG3.
Jesse's the premier youtube video game music analyst, such wonderful insight and connection with the music when it hits. A true pioneer spreading the gospel of video game music on youtube, keep being you Jesse!
you can have characters in game playing music and you can join them as well, most ingame songs are multitrack so you can have multiple instruments playing the same song. The multitrack is also used in a few battle with diegetic music/songs ( for instance a harpies trying to charm your character, when using a luring song it will add a track on the battle music and if you disable her it will remove it). There is actual great attention in the music but it's never overbearing so except in a few cases you don't realize it because it flows naturally
This game is the ultimate write your own adventure book. There's tons of choices you can make that can drastically change the story and how it progresses. It's a game that encourages you to think outside the box to change the outcome of certain encounters, like which direction you approach a coming fight from changes if an NPC will live or die. And that NPC may have zero purpose for most of the game, but then you'll encounter them later and they'll remember you saving them or helping them. I've only gotten maybe 1/3 through the game so far, but the music has been overall great to me. I'm a real music fan, if the music sets the scene perfectly, 100% chills. I never played much D&D(this is set in that world), but I am absolutely loving this game.
Hearing this music makes me nostaglic and the game only came out this year. Honestly I recommend the game if you are at all interested. A lot of people say that it’s not for them and then end up really liking it. Also you can play as a bard so there’s that. (13:12 Also yes Baldur is a person actually. You will not meet the guy in game but there’s lore)
Baldur's Gate is a city in the campaign setting of Forgotten Realms for D&D. The first one came out on pc in 1998, and is probably one of the top rated RPGs of all times. The second one was very close behind. I played both to death, because at the time there wasn't any D&D game that came even close to this. Since then it has spawned alot of shoot offs like Neverwinter Nights, which also takes place in the same world. This is actually one of the first games that put Bioware on the map lol. Also typically Forgotten Realms is known for being high fantasy, similar to like Token as a fantasy setting. But Baldur's Gate was one of the first that I can remember that took the setting and made an extremely dark story. So despite the high strung music, it is a very dark fantasy type of game series (think of the witcher). The music has also always been very much in the same vein as BG3, which they followed suit with. I always found the music to be very orchestral in nature, and alot of it was designed to pace the turn based combat. But BG3 is unique in that they focused so much more on the interaction of the characters, that the music also was built to fit those scenes as well. If you want a good song to react to that is a literal side story, check out Alfira's song. Which is something alot of players missed their first playthroughs during early access. Larian studio actually went to Wizards of the Coast who owned the rights to D&D, and asked to make the sequel. This game has been highly anticipated pretty much since 2000's, and nobody thought it was going to happen. There was alot of doubts that the studio could pull off the legendary standard that the BG series made, but they did it!!
as someone with a passing interest in D&D and no knowledge of previous Baldur's Gate games, BG3 was a fantastic introduction for me. Amazing game absolutely recommend it.
As others have said, "Raphael's Final Act" is pretty much the most popular of BG3's soundtracks, rightfully so. However "Legacy of Bhaal" is another top contender, same goes for "Twisted Force"
Id say the main theme perfectly represents the story of bg3 for my experience in the game, the different moods, or like a journey through the melody. it really does tell a story that makes sense once you experience the game.
The music hasn't been picked up on just yet by all my favourite channels :) I'm enjoying my musical journey through the game right now, it's as much a masterpiece as the story.
Baldur's Gate III is one of those few games where voting it to win Game of the Year would be a no-brainer, kudos to Larian for making probably the least linear game ever made. On another note, I want to recommend the song Stygia from Metal: Hellsinger, a rhythm shooter like BPM: Bullets Per Minute but metal. If you haven't listened to Metal: Hellsinger's OST you absolutely should - Each level has its own metal track and for each one there's a lead vocalist from a particular band like Jinjer and System of a Down, and in Stygia's case: Arch Enemy.
Greetings, I stumbled on to your page. I am a BG3 and music lover. This game totally deserves all the awards, attention, and praise it has gotten. Even if you don't like turn based combat games, you might still like this game. Worth trying. However, regardless of liking the game play or the story, or the characters, dude, THE MUSIC IS AMAZING. My top two Down by the River and Harpy Song. Looking forward to watching some of your other vids.
as someone who pretty much started playing video games with BG2, the legacy of bhaal track from BG3 hit me over the head like a sledgehammer both with its similarities to the older games' main themes and the specific context of who my character was with when it decides to play
I loved this. Once you have played you can hear all 3 acts in this track. The war drums of act 2 you picked up on with just the score. Epic. Also I played the og baldurs gate in college in early 2000's. Then forgot about it for 20 years until this game.
8:07 You mention how its a Theatrical Adventure and it's fairly accurate. This theme is played on the menu screen and is used to help your mindset settle into an adventure that is about to start.
Rapheals final act is god tier. I also love some of the combat songs but they vary. the games music is overall very fitting for the games themes and style.
There are so many good tracks! Raphael's Final Act, I Want to Live, Nightsong, The Power, Twisted Force, Nine Blades, Down by the River. Bobby did a helluva job and definitely would have won OST of the Year if FFXVI hadn't come out. It's right on par, just different.
The music in this game is outstanding, definitely the most catchy and emotional game OST this year for me. The emotional weight to some soundtracks differ from player to player because of the ways you took your adventure but one of my absolute favorites is Last Light Inn track - a glimmer of hope in an ocean of darkness. The whole OST is amazing honestly.
I didn't think I'd like BG3 either. I've never been a fan of turn-based combat. It's now my favorite game ever-it doesn't shy away from the dark. Every character is well-written. I've never played a game with so much player agency. It's an incredible game with amazing characters, writing, and the music is amazing. The game is VERY story driven. You might consider giving it a try even if you don't think you'll like it, it's worth the try. It's one of the most well-crafted games in recent history. Larian poured their hearts and souls into it, and it shows. Great video =)
Hi Jesse you're cool
random but cool
Can't wait for you to hear 'Raphael's Final Act', 'I Want to Live' and 'The Power' from this game! You'll definetely like it
All certified bangers. Those will be great tracks to see reactions for.
"Bhaal's Legacy" is also another banger and it saddens me when I don't see people asking for reactions of that one
Not enough people recommend "Song of Balduran"
Not enough people recommend "Song of Balduran"
Don't forget the Last Light Inn
When people talk about good BG3 music, the one that tends to get brought up over and over is "Raphael's Final Act." However, the song itself is a major spoiler and is thus very difficult to discuss out of context. Of note is that it is actually sang, in-universe, by one of the characters during a battle, and you can effectively mute the vocal track by casting a Silence spell on him.
Can I get a source on the Silence spell? Looking it up, I haven't found any footage of anyone doing this and it seems to me if this was the case, BG3 youtube would be full of it.
@@savlecz1187 I cast Hold Monster on him and the song stopped. It's definitely a thing.
For me the song that I always think of, and I fully admit it's because of how this carbot animations video makes fun of it, but simultaneously makes it awesome ua-cam.com/video/7NhaB_ycw3k/v-deo.html is the combat music. What I love is how the song kind of encapsulates why people play bards, and how they imagine the bard playing out in a combat scenario.
@@savlecz1187 cant find it on UA-cam so it must not exist
@@CodeeXD That's not what I said. Way to misrepresent my words.
"sounds like an evil march, like an army" man figured out the plot from the theme. praise the absolute!
BG3 is one of those once in a generation games that's set the bar for future games. Larion Studios made this game as a pure labor of love, it released complete, no microtransactions, the story is impeccable, the characters, companions and npcs alike, have enormous depth. The sheer replayability of this game is insane. In cutscenes alone, there's 174 hours. And if I recall, Larion said that there's roughly 2 million lines of dialogue.
The original Baldur's Gate was made by Bioware, in '98. BG2, also by Bioware, released in 2000. Larion Studios were interested in making BG3 after they had finished Divinity: Original Sin in 2014, but didn't start until after 2017 when they finished Divinity: Original Sin 2. Larion has solely developed and published BG3, taking in all the community feedback during early access and even after launch. To date I think the copies sold has amounted to 22 million.
It's honestly a game I can't praise enough.
This is one of those games where the first time I started it up, I just watched and listened to the title screen for a solid ten minutes.
People do talk about how great the OST is, but conversations about this game inevitably focus on a person's experiences w/ it, since there's so much freedom & variance that the same quest or a fight can be resolved in completely different ways. It feels very personal in that way, whereas music is hard to differentiate because they're mostly based on programming cues. It was a nominee for best soundtrack at TGA. Many people prefer it over what Soken delivered in FF16. & while I'm not one of those people, I can understand why. It's fresh, & it stands out, & there are some captivating tracks.
I have to agree, nobody ever seems to talk about the OST, but it adds so much to an already amazing atmosphere the game creates. I have the damn character creation screen stuck in my head at times.
I was a super big fan of both. Dion's theme especially had me from FF16. I was someone who would've been ecstatic for either BG3 or FF16 to win it, so I'm satisfied haha.
The love and passion you can feel in this theme, reflects the game quiet well. BG3 is one of those ''once in a lifetime games'' like Witcher 3 for example.
I got BG3 in September after hearing so many good things about it. I hadn't heard of BG1 or BG2. I didn't know if it'd be my type of game, or if it'd be to my taste. But I felt entranced almost - it was practically begging me to get it. So I took the chance. (I admit there was also a certain song that made me just as interested hehe)
And after 100 hours into this game... Maybe over 200 hours now. I'm not even done. I'm not even FINISHED yet. But what's on my mind?
"I can't wait to do another playthrough where I pick this instead of that, and do that instead of this!"
It's...One of those games.
I have almost 200 hours in the game and like, 70% of that is the character creator from constantly restarting, so this bit of music is bored into my brain lol.
"It's not one of the games I'd play" is the most common remark I've seen about BG3 on gaming community alongside my own circles and it 99.9% of the time managed to 'convert' them to a huge fan once they click with the game
I know it well since it happens to me too
To some of your questions. Baldurs gate is one city in the someone and dragons universe and the place the games happen.
Bg1 and 2 are well known in the subgenre of crpgs but not so much outside.
But with bg3 they went up to triple a. And the whole soundtrack is just amazing, ambience as well as voiced songs.
11:03 - It sounds like the kind of song that an epic ballad would be set to, which is what I think they're going for. Something that Bards would sing your story to.
oh baby bg3's music is something else Borislav Slavov is a god
The Main Theme is like an Overature for a msuical. It doesn't bring in all the musical motifs quite as directly as most overatures do for musicals, but it brings in elements and moods from throughout the game in a kind of preview of the story. A lot of aspects of the game are very theatrical and the music ties in perfectly.
Down down down by the riverrrrr...
Oh yes🎉
The doors to baldurs gate have been opened. What a day! I'm so looking forward to the other songs.
I'll see you down by the river.
Personally I really like the battle track "Twisted Force"! Its discordant at parts but a really well written piece with a very memorable hook
I adore Twisted Force… there’s just something about it that makes it so good as music for combat… it’s simultaneously “ooo I better sit up straight & focus on this fight” and “I can sit here forever just vibing with this music” (which is a perfect combo for a turn-based game like BG3)
Both the game AND the music of Baldur’s Gate 3 are amazing! One of the coolest aspects of BG3 is the amount of FREEDOM that you have as a player to carve out your own story as you play. EVERY dialogue option you choose, EVERY action you make has consequences, good or bad, and has an impact on the direction your playthrough will go. You can take the path of a totally lawful good character, or go full chaotic evil, or anything in between. That there can be dozens of different ways to defeat difficult fights is but one small part of what makes this game so fun & almost infinitely replayable. Each new playthrough is going to be its own unique experience.
It's kinda funny that I never heard anything about the music in Baldur's Gate 3 until now. I never followed the Game Awards at all, but I would have figured that it would have been a bigger topic if they managed to get nominated for best music. However, after hearing this one song, I totally understand how they earned that nomination. If the rest of the soundtrack is even half as good as this, I am absolutely excited to hear more of it. Kudos to Larian for (even more of) their amazing work.
Baldur's Gate 3 really did come out of nowhere. I knew nothing about the game, saw some clips and people talking about some of the absurd things they can do in the game, and I bought it the same weekend it released. And the game blew my mind. You can literally do all the crazy stuff people say you can. It easily became my GotY.
I’m currently on my 3rd playthrough, and I absolutely 1-shot Minthara in the goblin camp with a smokepowder barrel 😂 I’d agreed to help her raid the grove, but I was lying when I said that. As a result, she wasn’t hostile towards me when I went back to kill the goblin leaders & was able to strategically place the barrel near her & blow it up. When it happened though, I was surprised I was able to defeat her in a single turn & that the scariest part of it all was that the explosion nearly yeeted her corpse into the chasm haha I didn’t want to lose out on the loot! (my Tav is a druid & currently wearing Minthara’s armor, I love it, it looks so good!)
I'm kind of surprised you've never heard of Baldur's Gate. The original is from 1998 and was the second game Bioware ever released. Baldur's Gate is a city in the Forgotten Realms D&D setting of Faerun, and that whole setting was pretty big for a slew of RPG's. The 2 Baldur's Gate games, Icewind Dale, Neverwinter Nights. R.A. Salvatore's Drizzt Do'urden books are in that setting as well.
BG1 and 2 are pretty dated by today's standards since they're RTWP (real-time with pause) running on the old 2nd edition AD&D rules, but were pretty solid and sprawling for their time. BG3 is from the makers of the Divinity games, who picked up the license after many, many years (BG2 was in 2000 so almost 20 years, considering they spent 6 years making BG3).
You simply MUST listen to Down by the River, the piece the whole soundtrack is based around. Some of the most beautiful voice work I've heard in my life.
The downside to everything in Baldur's Gate 3 being so good, is that some things the game does incredibly well might not even get mentioned, (like the music) because people have too many other things to praise. It was even nominated for best score/soundtrack, but it was nominated for (and won) so many other awards that people don't talk about it.
Down by the River is one of my favourite tracks to come out this year.
The "BUM BUM BUM DANANA" Is gonna be a motif you hear a lot in this OST.
The guys made a really really good game. It crossed over to main stream even though these games are usually niche. Other songs worth checking out: Weeping Dawn, Sixteen Strikes, The Power, Raphael's Final Act, I Want To Live. The deluxe edition comes with the soundtrack.
Man this game is like a 10,000 page book, your comments in that regard were spot on lol. I've been chipping away at my first playthrough since launch and i'm barely beginning Act 2, the game is this huge, epic, sprawling adventure story and this theme definitely captures that well!
The entire soundtrack to BG3 is awesome. I enjoying messing around in the character create screen just to hear the music. Its just one of those video games that you immediately recognize it has a classic soundtrack like Mass Effect 2. I remember back when Mass Effect 2 came out I would stay at the main menu for 5+ minutes, because I loved the menu theme so much.
I was in the same boat. I saw gameplay and thought, "Nah, not a fan of that style of game."
I have 250+ hours in it.
The music of Baldurs Gate 3 is, as the game, immaculate! Borislav Slavov and Larian did such an amazing job of building a completely immersive and atmospheric experience and you should definitely listen to more of Baldurs Gate 3's treasures!
Also you really should try to play it even if it seems to be not your cup of tea.
There are a few music boxes you can collect in the game. If you use them, it'll play the theme. I always keep at least one music box just to play it every once in a while.
BG3 came out on PS5 in September and proceeded to sky rocket to my favorite game of all time. I am approaching 800 hours into it and can't stop playing it, so i hear the music a lot. And it still gets me how stunning it is. Can't wait for you to hear Raphael's Final Act. I think it really sets a new standard for boss battle themes.
Artistic and lovely is an accurate description of the game.
"A story of love and friendship in the face of great adversity"
is how I would sum up the soundtrack and the game. There will be battles, pain and great darkness but also light, friendship and perhaps even romance at the unlikeliest of times.
I was also on the same boat of "I'm not into these types of games".
I remember watching my favorite streamer on Twitch play it and being a total gremlin in chat and complaining about them playing it and then I decided to bite the bullet and give it a try.
Currently I'm 130 hours in and having an absolute blast! It is nerdy AF and I love it!
I was the same, didnt like turn based combat, now im on my 3rd playthrough
Interesting that you said it doesn't look like the sort of game you would play. I usually play farming sim type games and was adamant that I didn't want to play BG3. However, I watched a playthrough on UA-cam by a streamer who usually plays "cosy" games and became totally entranced by it. I bought it for my 60th birthday back in October and have played every day since. At one point I had 8 different games on the go and have over 450 hours under my belt. I love it. I love the music and I love the community, everyone has been very welcoming and helpful and no-one makes fun of my age or inexperience. My only criticism of it is that now all of my other games seem so bland! xxx
Way to go! Welcome to Baldur’s Gate! Well, a late welcome considering you’ve played for 450 hours already haha
Happy to see this! As a long time Larian fan, I'm happy to see them and their game get the recognition they deserve. The music in BG3 is absolutely stellar, but I think the reason you don't hear a lot of people about it is because everything about the game feels like it's one organic and complete project. The music, art, animations, sound design, voice performances, all of them fit together so well that it is a little harder to separate them.
Borislav Slavov has delivered on Divinity Original Sin 2, and now again with BG3. I'd love to see you react to more of his work since the soundtracks of both of these games have a bunch of gems among them. 'The Battle for Divinity' (DOS2) is one of my favorite tracks from that game, 'I Want to Live - Classical Version (BG3) is such a poweful piece that perfectly captures the essence of the companions and the way I playerd my Dark Urge, which is one of the options when creating a character. And of course there is 'Raphael's Final Act' (BG3), which is brilliant as I am sure a lot of other people surely have told you by now!
Nobody thinks BG3 is something they'd enjoy.. until they actually play it. I'm having a hard time convincing friends to play it (would love to do a multiplayer run) and I know if they would just give it a chance they would absolutely love it.
The baldur's gate games always had cinematic quality music, full of epicness and feeling of vastness and huge scope. The music indeed told the story in a way. Its what they did best. The games were cinematic masterpieces by themselves with narration and agency that all other games at the time couldn't even dream of.
Go back to the soundtrack of the 2nd game (still the best game I have ever played on pc in general) back in 2000s and you will be amazed at what they achieved in that OST as well. Of course they went even harder on this sequel. It took them years and they went real HARD at it. Its a legendary franchise that we finally got a worthy sequel for. You can't begin to imagine how long people waited for a proper amazing sequel like the one we finally got. This franchise was all the rage back in the late 90s/early 00s. For all people that liked rpgs this was the best game they ever played. Like literally. Everything that followed the next decades just felt weaker and indifferent. That's how GOOD it was.
Its possible that younger generations consider us nerds for playing baldur's gate games back then, it is what is , but yeah, it was true dope. Gameplay, music, everything was just too good. Endless weekends of playing without even sleeping. You never had this amount of freedom and epicness in rpgs before this franchise.
I hope you get to hear Down by the River soon. That track is amazing. Also The Power (orchestral version) is a great track. It has one of the loveliest, playful melodies in the game imo.
there is so much good music in this game!! A few I would recommend are, Twisted force, Sixteen strikes, Nightsong, Legacy of Bhaal, Raphael's Final act, Harpy Song, and ofc, Down by the river and weeping dawn.
The music is one of the first things I will mention about BG3, it's just so beautiful and fresh but it never forces itself too much into the foreground. It starts from the moment you open the game and it just goes OOOOAAAHHH at you, and then the beautiful 'Down by the River' plays as you create your character, never gets boring even if it takes you an hour (which it will).
And then there's a bunch of standout themes in the middle of gameplay, be it just regular combat music or specific story relevant pieces.
Definitely should check out more!!
I think you've listened to some of the music from Divinity Original Sin 2, the same composer worked on the music for Baldur's Gate 3!
First thing that really hit me about this game when I started playing was the music. It's just as amazing as the graphics, gameplay, story, etc., and I really notice if I like the music in a game.
The composer even put together his own Imperial March with the track Mind Flayer Theme
"Twisted Force" is my favourite ost of this game. You should definitely react to it. And there is a lot of excellent tracks !
So to answer some of your questions:
-The last main line Baldur's Gate game was released in the year 2000 so it's no wonder you might be like "wait what about one and two?" the first two were early BioWare rpgs that actually kinda set the standard for companions in rpgs (especially the second one). This one takes place about a hundred years after the last one and is largely removed from the plot of those so it's a good place to hop in (there are some characters that make a return and references here and there but this is it's own story)
-Baldur was indeed a person. Well, *Balduran* (Baldur is a shortening of the name) was, who founded the city-state of Baldur's Gate hundreds and hundreds of years ago. He is long gone though.
-There are many songs with production that good, though most use the same leitmotif as this theme ^^ the soundtrack is also very reactive to you especially in combat like if you take out a baddie that shifts the tide of battle from you losing to suddenly your winning.
Oh don't worry, people will talk about the music. This game uses leitmotifs in many themes and has some amazing tracks. Check out Down by the River, I'm sure the rest is already recommended to you
The main theme is like they trying to tell a story about multiple characters on their adventures, each depicts their various emotions and personalities. Perfect song for the game.
baldur's gate 1 and 2 were older games that were definitely considered good games, but they were niche. They're in my wheel house, but i never played em. Fallout 1 and 2 were kind of the same type of catagory of game. 1 and 2 were great games, and got picked up by another studio YEARS later by people who WANTED to do it. in fallout's case there was a 10 year gap, in baldurs gates case, it was 23 years lol
yeah i wouldnt mind if you checked out the GOTY winner and the best sound track winners at all if theyre requested. sounds like a fun tradition.
Your initial reaction is exactly what made the whole ost memorable to me.
It's lovely, it's creative, it's beautiful, it's artistic and most of all it's extremely unique. There have been a lot of amazing OSTs and videogames this year, but what sert BG3's ost apart for me was how unique it sounded ; I've never heard something quite like it ever.
Would definitely recommend delving more into it, heck you might even play the game but warned that this can take away up to 150h of your life for a single playthrough (and it can be done in full coop if you're afraid lol)
What an experience has been BG3! Just finished it after 236 hours. Check other songs of the OST, especially: Raphael Final Act.
Love the main theme for BG3, I think it perfectly encapsulates how epic the game can be combined with how calm and sad and emotional it can be at times as well, like you said it feels like there’s a whole story in there - honestly all the music in the OST is pretty unique and Borislav Slavov did an excellent job, it definitely isn’t just background atmosphere as I expected as well
Honestly a little shocked that you've never heard of Baldur's Gate. Guess you haven't been a big RPG guy? It's one of the more critically acclaimed games of the it's genre. They came out in the late 90's to early 2000's. Anyway, very glad that the developers of Divinity were allowed to take on this franchise and managed to make a game with such a RESOUNDING success.
And as good as the OST of Baldur's Gate 3 is ... I think the one of Divinity: Original Sin 2 is even better. Gotta check if you listened to some of them before :D
Do yourself a flavor, take a ear to the soundtrack entire.
It's so cool you gave the soundtrack a chance despite the hesitation!
I've found the entire soundtrack to be amazing but a few of the favourites are; Nightsong, Twisted Force and Raphael's Final Act.
Never played BG1 or 2, but BG3 devoured my free time in a serious way for like three months. I don't think any other game ate into my sleep quite like this one lol. It is so very good and totally deserving of Game of the Year. The OST is fantastic and I look forward to your opinions on more of the tracks as they come in.
Most of it is pretty epic, actually. There is atmospheric zone music that is nice too, but when something happens and the music swells for the fight or cutscene or whatever, it's just SO good!
Borislov slavov really likes a strong central motif. So almost every single song on the ost uses that 7 note melody. It’s kinda like the John Williams way of writing where it is all about establishing something that is memorable and iconic and then after that its just variations of the central theme to fit different tones
If Final Fantasy 16 wasn't release this year, BG3 would 100% won the best music score at the Game Award, no doubt in my mind.
Hard to top Soken, true enough
Soken is the Mozart of video game music right now. There are several excellent composers, but he is on another level.
The best song is the one that plays when you suddenly win a fight
Down By the River is called like that because at the beginning of the game you are somewhere close to a river, and you have to follow it to go to ... Baldur's Gate
you knew they couldve easily gone w/ a dark fantasy tone of a game based on the main theme and menu screen. thats wild
Baldur's gate has almost LoTR level music in my opinion. Amazing music, and very creative uses of music in gameplay.
I definitely encourage checking out more songs from this game. The music is an integral part of the storytelling and received the appropriate attentio. There's even a song that results from conversation choices so many people won't even see it. Yet it's one of my favorites and performed as a cut scene.
Down by the River is great too. Baba Yetu is still my favourite video game song, but BG3 gives it a run for it's money on a number of occasions lol.
Interesting to see that you never heard about BG3 before Game Awards. It was the best rated video game of the year and most outlets gave it perfect score. It was talked about a lot.
This theme is an adventure. Setting out on a journey, encountering struggle and conflict, stopping for a peaceful rest, unraveling ancient mysteries, discovering that one gorgeous vista you'll remember for the rest of your life, walking into a lively tavern full of merry makers and grabbing a drink to join in... All of that, and more, can be heard in the theme. It's a truly perfect fit for a game as free and flexible as BG3.
Jesse's the premier youtube video game music analyst, such wonderful insight and connection with the music when it hits. A true pioneer spreading the gospel of video game music on youtube, keep being you Jesse!
Lmao this game has the best music of the last 10 years. I can only say that having played it though, in context everything is just perfect.
I look forward to your reaction to the other songs. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised how much you feel with the rest of the OST.
you can have characters in game playing music and you can join them as well, most ingame songs are multitrack so you can have multiple instruments playing the same song. The multitrack is also used in a few battle with diegetic music/songs ( for instance a harpies trying to charm your character, when using a luring song it will add a track on the battle music and if you disable her it will remove it).
There is actual great attention in the music but it's never overbearing so except in a few cases you don't realize it because it flows naturally
This game is the ultimate write your own adventure book. There's tons of choices you can make that can drastically change the story and how it progresses. It's a game that encourages you to think outside the box to change the outcome of certain encounters, like which direction you approach a coming fight from changes if an NPC will live or die. And that NPC may have zero purpose for most of the game, but then you'll encounter them later and they'll remember you saving them or helping them. I've only gotten maybe 1/3 through the game so far, but the music has been overall great to me. I'm a real music fan, if the music sets the scene perfectly, 100% chills. I never played much D&D(this is set in that world), but I am absolutely loving this game.
Hearing this music makes me nostaglic and the game only came out this year. Honestly I recommend the game if you are at all interested. A lot of people say that it’s not for them and then end up really liking it. Also you can play as a bard so there’s that. (13:12 Also yes Baldur is a person actually. You will not meet the guy in game but there’s lore)
Baldur's Gate is a city in the campaign setting of Forgotten Realms for D&D. The first one came out on pc in 1998, and is probably one of the top rated RPGs of all times. The second one was very close behind. I played both to death, because at the time there wasn't any D&D game that came even close to this. Since then it has spawned alot of shoot offs like Neverwinter Nights, which also takes place in the same world.
This is actually one of the first games that put Bioware on the map lol. Also typically Forgotten Realms is known for being high fantasy, similar to like Token as a fantasy setting. But Baldur's Gate was one of the first that I can remember that took the setting and made an extremely dark story. So despite the high strung music, it is a very dark fantasy type of game series (think of the witcher).
The music has also always been very much in the same vein as BG3, which they followed suit with. I always found the music to be very orchestral in nature, and alot of it was designed to pace the turn based combat. But BG3 is unique in that they focused so much more on the interaction of the characters, that the music also was built to fit those scenes as well.
If you want a good song to react to that is a literal side story, check out Alfira's song. Which is something alot of players missed their first playthroughs during early access.
Larian studio actually went to Wizards of the Coast who owned the rights to D&D, and asked to make the sequel. This game has been highly anticipated pretty much since 2000's, and nobody thought it was going to happen. There was alot of doubts that the studio could pull off the legendary standard that the BG series made, but they did it!!
Oh there are some really nice tracks in BG3, some emotional, some epic battle tracks.
as someone with a passing interest in D&D and no knowledge of previous Baldur's Gate games, BG3 was a fantastic introduction for me. Amazing game absolutely recommend it.
there's a lot of themes in this game that you HAVE to hear in game. a STELLAR OST for sure.
As others have said, "Raphael's Final Act" is pretty much the most popular of BG3's soundtracks, rightfully so.
However "Legacy of Bhaal" is another top contender, same goes for "Twisted Force"
One of my favorite OSTs from the last 5 years I swear to god....this music made me cry so many times
I hadn't been so entranced by a game OST since Persona 5 Royal.
Id say the main theme perfectly represents the story of bg3 for my experience in the game, the different moods, or like a journey through the melody. it really does tell a story that makes sense once you experience the game.
The music hasn't been picked up on just yet by all my favourite channels :) I'm enjoying my musical journey through the game right now, it's as much a masterpiece as the story.
I want to live from BG3, such transenced feeling when I first heard it.
Borislav Slavov is the goat, his previous work is fantastic and definitely worth a look for those that liked his work in BG3.
Baldur's Gate III is one of those few games where voting it to win Game of the Year would be a no-brainer, kudos to Larian for making probably the least linear game ever made.
On another note, I want to recommend the song Stygia from Metal: Hellsinger, a rhythm shooter like BPM: Bullets Per Minute but metal. If you haven't listened to Metal: Hellsinger's OST you absolutely should - Each level has its own metal track and for each one there's a lead vocalist from a particular band like Jinjer and System of a Down, and in Stygia's case: Arch Enemy.
Greetings, I stumbled on to your page. I am a BG3 and music lover. This game totally deserves all the awards, attention, and praise it has gotten. Even if you don't like turn based combat games, you might still like this game. Worth trying. However, regardless of liking the game play or the story, or the characters, dude, THE MUSIC IS AMAZING. My top two Down by the River and Harpy Song. Looking forward to watching some of your other vids.
as someone who pretty much started playing video games with BG2, the legacy of bhaal track from BG3 hit me over the head like a sledgehammer both with its similarities to the older games' main themes and the specific context of who my character was with when it decides to play
I loved this. Once you have played you can hear all 3 acts in this track. The war drums of act 2 you picked up on with just the score. Epic. Also I played the og baldurs gate in college in early 2000's. Then forgot about it for 20 years until this game.
Vivid imagination!!? Somebody master a DnD campaign for this absolute Chad!
8:07 You mention how its a Theatrical Adventure and it's fairly accurate. This theme is played on the menu screen and is used to help your mindset settle into an adventure that is about to start.
"Song of Balduran" is also very very good! My personal favorite
God this main theme makes me emotional every time I hear it. It's so good...
THE MUSIC IS SOOOOOO GOOD!! I have the OST on like repeat. Borislav Slavov did amazing work. I'm glad his music is finally getting recognized!
Mind Flayer Theme is the Zentradi Theme of our times.
Raphaels final act, the power, weeping dawn. To answer your last question
Rapheals final act is god tier.
I also love some of the combat songs but they vary. the games music is overall very fitting for the games themes and style.
There are so many good tracks! Raphael's Final Act, I Want to Live, Nightsong, The Power, Twisted Force, Nine Blades, Down by the River. Bobby did a helluva job and definitely would have won OST of the Year if FFXVI hadn't come out. It's right on par, just different.
The music in this game is outstanding, definitely the most catchy and emotional game OST this year for me. The emotional weight to some soundtracks differ from player to player because of the ways you took your adventure but one of my absolute favorites is Last Light Inn track - a glimmer of hope in an ocean of darkness. The whole OST is amazing honestly.
I didn't think I'd like BG3 either. I've never been a fan of turn-based combat. It's now my favorite game ever-it doesn't shy away from the dark. Every character is well-written. I've never played a game with so much player agency. It's an incredible game with amazing characters, writing, and the music is amazing. The game is VERY story driven. You might consider giving it a try even if you don't think you'll like it, it's worth the try. It's one of the most well-crafted games in recent history. Larian poured their hearts and souls into it, and it shows. Great video =)