Guys, check the Phantom Liberty theme with Dawid Podsiadło's voice. Just like 007's theme. Marco analyzed tracks 1-15, but the Deluxe Edition is made of 19 songs.
They actually released another track today which is the Main Theme for the expansion, I would heavily recommend looking at it, its called "Phantom Liberty"
Also, the writer/vocal of this song also wrote/sang "let you down" the ending song of Cyberpunk Edgerunner anime. He make us cry then, he make us cry again now.
Man, I simply LOVE how you feel the music, not just listen, but feel and understand... For me, "Never Looking Back" is one of the few favourite "painful" music pieces that I can sit back and listen while feeling frozen and stuck in my bones... Lock out the reality and transform myself into one of a characters... The mission is very emotional, makes you want to think about not only the characters and story, but other things too, but it would never be the same without this soundtrack... And you are right, this music will stay in my ears for a long, long time... This soundtrack has become my favourite music from Cyberpunk 2077 alongside with the main theme "Phantom Liberty" (oh, and end credits background visuals are something though). "V," "Rebel Patch" both also are my favourites but of course, those are different styles than "Never Looking Back."
After finishing one of the endings of the expansion I can say that Never Looking Back has a special place in my heart. That track is used perfectly in the story. The PL story is arguably one of the best I've experienced in a long while.
Completely agree. I was thinking about this the other day, if Cyberpunk ever gets a live-action adaptation I think the story of Phantom Liberty would be perfect. It still fits the overall theme of 2077, it's much shorter, and being a spy-thriller it might intrigue a larger audience.
The vocals at 14:03 sounds like the ambient music playing at the end of Nocturne OP55N1 (the final main story mission) . And to explain with as little spoilers as possible, it's playing when you are deciding which ending you are going to chose. I believe this "motif" is repeated throughout parts of the main story, very important parts.
minor technicality: Nocturne OP55N1 isn't the ACTUAL final story mission, as each ending consists of one or two story missions on their own, but as said by the intial comment it IS the point where you choose which ending you're going for and thus I'd say it's close enough to the "final" mission that the difference is meaningless.
This also plays under Johnny's monologue about why he hates Arasaka, and basically every conversation with Johnny in the Tapeworm questline. It's also V's theme which is also Been Good to know Ya. It, along with the Never Fade Away motif, is one of the most common and important themes in the game.
Contra la Luna was also among one of my favorites. It starts out funky, but then halfway there's just a sudden mood change, it genuinely made me think of "omg, this is probably a multi stage combat scene", and it reminded me of Lilith's Club made by Noisia, made for DMC Devil May Cry. As that song literally changes multiple times.
You mentioning Easter European sound quality of the vocals in some tracks actually made me realize something! The singing seems to appear in the OST when a certain character - Songbird So Mi - is on screen, it's her leitmotif. That is - Songbird looks a lot like a Mavka (Nyavka) from Ukrainian mythology. Mavkas appear as beautiful women from the front, but when they turn their backs to you, they reveal their almost undead nature - organs peeking through, bare spine, all that. Their entire idea almost screams deception and duality. Same with Songbird who is "normal" from the front, but from behind she looks completely robotic - her full back is purely cybernetic. Mavkas lured people into the woods to grant them an untimely demise. The quality of the singing is like if Songbird is plunging into the abyss, dragging us with her, deeper and deeper into the woods. It is insane how much her music tells about her. Considering CDPR are Polish devs,,, it's just too good to be a pure coincidence. (Also surprised you did not touch on You Can't Hide From Us, the most haunting of them all. :,) )
@@AboveTheTrees00 It doesn't matter, there are many nations in CDP Red development, many Ukrainians too. And we haven't our own comparing to Ukrainian mythology, many things are similar or the same in both mythologies, because we are slavs and lived in similiar places.
I had never heard of Mavkas before reading your post, but you seem absolutely right. Songbird/So Mi exudes this simultaneous innocence yet untrustworthiness and when you combine it with her body-horror levels of machine integration (both her potential rogue AI takeover and physical construction), I can see the parallels. Thanks for sharing!
All i can say about phantom liberty depending on a peticular choice you make it can be bleak and existential but with a slight dim glimmer of hope or pure dread and helpless dispair Great dlc
Never Looking Back is such a painfully haunting song. The scene it plays in the game really drives that feeling home. This is a song that'll stick with you for a while.
Without spoiling anything it's insane that you managed to hit the mood that the song delivers so accurately. Pain was definitely the emotion I was feeling during the gameplay in the moment, and it felt way stronger when the song hits. That's how I personally think you can tell when someone has poured their soul into their music, when you can feel the artist through the notes they play. Expertly made, and expertly picked up by you.
this song did exactly what it needed, it is like a subtitle to the emotion brought in the scene where it is played, a choice to do right and give up your chances, or to take anyone down for a shot at life. it makes you feel the weight of your decision, it will ruin someone no matter what you chose, but you get to pick who's worthy of having the better outcome at the expense of another
In "Never looking back" you can hear vocalisation that is heavily reminiscent of Witcher 3 soundtrack, what a great throwback (at least it sounds similarily for me).
Loving your breakdown to the Never Looking Back track. I sobbed heavily when I got to this part. The music, the voice acting, the pain this song makes you feel, you hit the nail on the head. It's visceral. Every time I listen, i tear up because it is HEAVY! You can't really breathe knowing what's coming. Excellent breakdown!
I think the 2077 soundtrack is one of my favourites of all time. I can never have a number fav ost but this is definitely on the higher end. Then fricking phantom liberty ost comes along and adds even more bangers to the already amazing collection of songs to another level. Been trying to learn music on a daw this year and I gota say making music with synths and crazy plugins is some of the most fun I've had with music. You can literally do anything. They mustve had a blast making these.
@12:02 I like how this brings V's Theme into the composition but with the whole new and very dark and sorrowful vibe (especially in comparison to the usual version).
After completing Phantom Liberty in its entirety, meaning every route possible, without spoiling anything; your read on Never Looking Back is scarily accurate. The track is heavy, to say the least.
I'm really glad I re-downloaded the game for the expansion just for the music. Holy hell... the OST for this game is so damn good. "The Rebel Path" has been on repeat in recent days.
It's the choir element that does it for me. Never Looking Back, Test of Loyalty and Gate K9 are PHENOMENAL. This expansion and score deserve all of the praise they're getting. I actually enjoyed PL more than the base game-and I've never been interested in the spy thriller genre in my life.
Never Looking Back feels very contemplative to me. The Catholic mass analogy is spot on. I don't necessarily feel loss immediately. It starts as wonderment, that something beyond my understanding has happened and I am stunned. Pure shock. Denial. "This cannot be!" It is a forced reflection on a moment that elicits a feeling that this is not how this was supposed to go.
11:48 "What it means to be alive and what the soul's purpose is in this world." You just NAILED the description of the cyberpunk genre. Past Style over Substance, past "High Tech Low Life", past dystopian futures, cyberpunk makes us question what does it mean to be human in a space where what we know as humanity can be and is regularly augmented and commodified. If you're asking "What is a soul's purpose in this world?", then Cyberpunk 2077 is the game for you, choom.
From Just another weapon and Never lokking back I get a more space-y feeling rather than a cyberpunk-y feeling. Tho the feeling is the same. Especially with Never looking back, I got the image of "You get in an escape spacecraft and launch into space, the mothership explodes behind you, you look at your scanner and no one else made it out. You have limited water and no food, the closest habitable planet is one week away with hyperdrive, but even if you reach it by rationing your water, it's not a colonized planet."
my all around favs Force Projection & Hardest to Be since it's just a wholesome songs overall for riding my motorbike LOL But then all changed when I hear "Phantom Liberty." It's the best spy thriller song in recent years & definitely making rizz with many other James Bond OP songs.
Amazing video! Man, there's a combat track that plays in the "Firestarter" mission that's so unbelievably good, it's almost like a souped up version of "I'm a Netrunner" and it's my favorite in the entire dlc, but unfortunately it's not on the official release of the OST, i just don't understand the reasoning behind not including all of the music done for the expansion in the soundtrack release :(
Always sucks when that happens. From what I've heard from composers like Austin Wintory, a common reason for not includuding a piece in the OST is that music for games is usually not just a singular audio file that can be ripped from the game but a collection of layers that has to be specifically mastered for a soundtrack release (especially in games where the music can have dynamic layers that change/loop with the gameplay), and it's additional work that has to be paid for. So then developers will make deals with the composer for a specific amount of tracks that will be mastered for the OST, and something often gets left behind.
@GKNsuomi I see, does this also happen with in-house composers? I was under the impression that the people who worked on Cyberpunk worked in CD Projekt Red, but I'm probably wrong, either way, thanks for the clarification!
I watched a tech review for DLSS 3.5 in Cyberpunk 2077 on Digital Fountary UA-cam channel, and the music played in the background was from the Phantom Liberty OST starting from here 9:30, and the moment I heard it, it hit me hard emotionally and gave me goosebumps, and I have no understanding of music, but I understand how they affect the person hearing it. Your explanation gave meaning to what I heard, and made the experience of hearing this track more satisfying and enjoyable. I also love your Baldur's Gate videos. Thanks a lot for explaining and analyzing video games music.
Never Looking Back is hauntingly beautiful on its own. When placed within its proper context, it's one of the most poignant and devastating moments in a video game.
Never Looking Back is like "Been Good To Know Ya" from the original Cyberpunk OST. In the sense that they both deliver the same emotion in completely different circumstances. They both elevate an already beautiful but painful scene. You hit the nail with this analysis. While we're on the topic of Phantom Liberty, you should also check out the song called "Phantom Liberty" by P.T. Adamczyk and Dawid Podsiadło. It's really different from the songs in the rest of the soundtrack but it ties up the story spectacularly, it brings out all of the emotions V and in turn the player felt and it showcases everyone's struggles, not just V's (such as what friend to betray or get betrayed by). I'd love to hear what you have to say about it.
Fellas. I did it, i marathoned through whole DLC. It's great, it's punchy, it's emotional, NO SPOILERS BUT AN ADVICE: They all have you by the balls. Do NOT trust ANYONE of them.
I'm really glad I wasn't the only one who latched onto "Never Looking Back" during my playthrough. It plays at a pivotal moment at the end of the DLC. It makes you feel afraid of the consequences that may or may not come of the decision you decide to make. It sucks you into the world that much more and perfectly sets the tone of what's happening. It gave me chills as I was contemplating my decision.
Gotta check out the music video for the Main Theme for Phantom Liberty. I just barely got the expansion last night but the theme song had me misty eyed. Definitely recommend a listen!
This is absolutely superb analysisy. The emotions in some of those songs are incredible and compliment already emotional scenes so well and bring them to even higher level. Never Looking Back and Test of Loyalty especially, both can tell the story on their own even without playing the game, and without spoiling dlc, they compliment the emotional moments incredibly well.
Don't know if anybody mentioned this but V's Theme and I'm a Netrunner (which is Songbird's theme) make complete sense being that similar because both characters have similiar circumstances.
Those two Never Looking Back and Test of Loyalty got me you can feel the layered mix of emotion in both track mainly never looking back but both the mix of dread confusion sorrow pain emptiness all indescribable while being powerless to do anything about your circumstances without those tracks the impact may have not been there such masterpieces that grip the deepest parts of you making you feel the full weight of your choices and what has happened one of the few games/ forms of entertainment I cannot get over I just keep going back because I LOVE the emotion and feeling in draws out the base game was SUPERB beyond belief the DLC made it into an imperfect MASTERPEICE.
The music is more dynamic in game, parts playing more in different parts. notable the voices are to mimic a songbird and the echo is meant to be others singing in with. This connects deeper into the story if you explore the lore
An absolutely amazing thing about White Singing (especially live) is that you can literally feel the performers voices deep in your bones. That clear high pitch sound gives you the feeling that its penetrating right thru your body to your soul and it doesnt stop until the voice disappears. Really amazing thing to experience in person.
@@AGASHBAALAH Laboratorium Pieśni - U lisi (Ой y лиси) Laboratorium Pieśni - Sztoj pa moru (Што й па мору) Laboratorium Pieśni - Lecieli żurauli (Ой ляцелі жураўлі) A modern song performed with white voice Tulia - Nothing Else Matters You may find a lot of songs if you search for "slavic pagan folk music"
Regarding your comment about how some of the tracks take a while to get where they are going, I think a lot of that is down to the dual nature of a lot of these tracks. Very often, these songs are being played in the background of specific plot important missions. And since the player has the option to either stealth their way through it, and keep things quiet, or "going loud" and thus kick off a violent gunfight, the music has to adapt accordingly. So what I've noticed, is that when they are building these songs, they are layering them to be able to switch between their slow/stealth components (usually the buildup at the start you are talking about), and the louder parts later (if the player mucks up their stealth and gets into open combat). Which I personally find to be a really fascinating direction for music to be taking these days. This sort of dynamic, adaptive kind of musical structure. Where by design, you make the parts able to kind of start and stop tempo whenever you need to, by building INTO the song structure, the transition from the quiet to the loud, and vice versa. I noticed it with the song "Gate K9 (Firestarter Mission Version), as the.....I guess you call it the bridge? The quiet, slowed down portion between 2 louder, heavier sequences, is basically the "stealth music". ua-cam.com/video/SAeKBoZQ0a4/v-deo.html So that if you are in a loud combat moment, the music ramps up naturally to account for that....but then if you clear the fight, and things go back to calm, again it dials back the intensity, and it makes sense, and sounds natural, because it's basically the bridge portion of the song.
The statement that you make at 15:39 is proven so fundamentally accurate if one experiences the absolute outpouring of emotions in the scene it is played... Truly, my favorite track of the DLC and on of my favorite tracks in video game OSTs... Thank you for your in-depth analysis!
When I saw the title and realized what it stood for, I thought it'd play during a segment where we got... y'know... a Big Friggin' Gun. I was not expecting the first boss battle of the DLC to be against a micro-Metal Gear.
Force Projection, Militech Combat Theme and Sandevistan are some very nice (electronic) songs aswell. Especcially the Militech theme, it carries and conveys that military industrial-complex vibe VERY well
Phantom Liberty is such a great expansion with the stakes getting higher and higher. Never Looking Back is brilliant because it plays at a key climax moment which makes you question everything. The story writing they did for this game was amazing, and the combination of the story, the scene at hand, and the music is something that I would expect to see play in more of a cinema than a game.
Indeed, music in Cyberpunk 2077 is amazing. All of it. In light of that, I would recommend, at some later point, check out the music for another game on similar topic - cyber modifications, coping with them, "what it means to be a human", and so on - game called Deus Ex: Human Revolution. Sound tracks of these two games are, to me, some of the best ever created.
This is the best part 9:28. Also during that part it also sounds like mean laughing and after playing the expansion, for me it feels like there is saddness in this, but also little bit of evil.
Never Looking Back was also my favourite. I'll be using it in my DND game for the theme of an important and tragic NPC. Since original Cyberpunk 77 release I've been obsessed with the soundtracks it's incredible. The game is awesome too.
The best thing about the soundtrack is that for every beautifully melancholic Test of Loyalty and Never looking Back you have a bombastic, balls to the walls Gate K9 and Contra la Luna
I imagine you haven't seen the Edgerunners anime that pairs with the game, but you're really describing the themes of that show through your breakdown of this soundtrack. Very astute.
It's a shame I am only just now coming across this video. I played PL on release and when I heard never looking back initially I was more or less in awe of it, but couldn't put my finger on the exact reasons. So thank you for this breakdown, it really helped appreciate this masterpiece even more and truly understand what it means. And I listen to it whenever I travel, just to contemplate and think about stuff.
Was kinda expecting to see at least the main part of "Gate K9" in the HYPE TRACKS segment, thats a shame. Maybe you can do a part 2 with some of the ones you didnt talk about in this one including the absolutely awesome main theme (that plays in the final credits in full)?
@@MarcoMeatball Good question, its hard to say what exactly is in the Phantom liberty ost and I dont exactly know what you have heard and/or reacted to, but from what I can see when I try to find an official soundtrack playlist, it has 15 tracks + sometimes another 15 that play in the newly added radio channel in game (which dont really count). The problem is that those 15 tracks do not include the main theme for some reason (named Phantom Liberty, that deserves its own video in my opinion but I digress) and they are not all the tracks that play in game either for some reason, since "Gate K9", (my favourite and the one I wanted you to mention/react to in the first place) isnt included either so I dont really know.
A fantastic song that sets the "Spy Drama" feel of the game expansion is from Dawid Podsiadło and P.T. Adamczyk. It is used in "Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty - Official Launch Trailer" to great effect. "Dawid Podsiadło, P.T. Adamczyk - Phantom Liberty (Official Cyberpunk 2077 Music Video)" is the name of the full song. Also, the music in "Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty - Official Cinematic Trailer" haunts me, chills run up and down my spine and I can feel the pain of the character in those moments.
Those tracks that have a long intro are designed for the stealth missions, so you have a build up version for the moments you're hidden, and then explode into a full on track when you enter combat. One of the prettiest details in the game
Funny, I've been vibing with Cyberpunk again what with the new expansion and I just today thought "I hope MarcoMeatball reacts to this." And look, he did! My wish was answered!
I love I'm a netrunner. It conveys the feelings of urgency, mystery and action. It is a dark, uncomfortable spy movie with dark twist. It is awesome. It conveys mystery and underlying dark purpose.
The reason some of the songs might start slow is that they play in combat which could be stealth or live combat. You may infiltrate an area and hear the slow start and then you get spotted and oh god oh fuck here comes the bass, vocals, and grenades.
Much like with the original OST for 2077, you get such a new, incredible perspective on the music once you've witnessed the entirety of the story. I remember feeling this hollow, melancholic feeling once I completed the original story - which by the way is not a criticism at all. And it's the same again here, Never Look Back is such an incredible piece of music that when listened to with the context of the world of Cyberpunk and more specifically V's journey through Night City it really hits home...and to an extent even makes you question things about your own existence, albeit probably not to the extremes of a bleak, dystopian future 😅
The eerie female vocals remind me of "Ghost in the shell" soundtrack especially Ghost city. Cyberpunk 2077 and Ghost in the shell both have awesome soundtracks.
i wonder if you're gonna do a breakdown on some song such as Been good to know ya, You shall Never Have to forgive me again, or even the NEW phantom liberty (yes, it's the name just released yesterday), or even Samurai Musics. imo Cyberpunk really have wide Genre, really gives you the impression that the world is alive through music. most games usually tried to stick to the genre of the games, which makes sense for medieval style but sometimes sci fi also affected with locking the music to one genre. cyberpunk really gives a big impression that this world exists (or will exist in the future) visually, metaphorically or literally and i really have a big respect on it
Its really interesting about the similarities and differences between "Im a Netrunner" and "Just another weapon" (MINOR SPOILERS FOR PL AHEAD): Essentially they are both songs about Songbird, but one is a representation of our first encounter with her. "Songbird" the netrunner, its starts as abrupt as her first contact with us, its fully of confrontation and put up walls and agendas, it makes us suspicious. Meanwhile "Just another weapon" shares so many elements with it, but starts softly more calmly and is way more personal and intimate and it represents Song So Mi the person behind the alias, the name is ironically Just a weapon because by this point in the story we learn so much more about her personally that while others see her as just a weapon its not the same for V, we see the person behind the Netrunner, behind the weapon. Well, that is, should you choose to make those decisions...
3:30 - The tracks that have “downtime” tend to be the ones that build momentum in response to player choice and gameplay. In moments of stealth/action, especially, the music adapts to reflect the state of the player-effectively “looping” the structure segments to reflect a hidden/alerted/detected state. You’re right to point out that this doesn’t necessarily translate to listening though.
This soundtrack plays at two instances in the game, one when you need to decide the fate of an important character, and the other when you need to decide your own fate with respect to the same character after having made an important choice earlier leading to one of these instances. The thing you said about pain in this soundtrack, I felt that pain while deciding our fates. Great video choomba.
Just finished Phantom Liberty. Without context, this is fenomenal, it's so good. BUT with context, it's SO much better. In game when Never Lookin Back starts playing, and especially what's happening in that exact moment... i think it was the first time i ever had to pause a game to process my thoughts. That was definitely one of the best experiences i had in videogames. And in my opinion moments like this is one of the reasons, films cannot possibly give even close experience like this. Only if you actually part of the story, you can experience it. I have no words, only emotions. Looking forward to main theme reaction called Phantom Liberty. This one played right after previous track. Not gonna lie, that was the last nail for breaking my emotions completely.
![Phantom Liberty destroyed me [Spoilers]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/NNw89WVOYgU/mqdefault.jpg)
The man who composed the cyberpunk music really knows how to make you feel existential dread.
And those moments where specific OSTs are placed just makes it so much more powerful, it's scary
P.T Adamczyk 🔥🔥
Guys, check the Phantom Liberty theme with Dawid Podsiadło's voice. Just like 007's theme.
Marco analyzed tracks 1-15, but the Deluxe Edition is made of 19 songs.
Then when you know the context of where those tracks play. It gives you goosebumps.
True..... amazing game sorry the best one
They actually released another track today which is the Main Theme for the expansion, I would heavily recommend looking at it, its called "Phantom Liberty"
Lol just in time!
That song is phenomenal, and the whole sequence it plays during in the game.
Also, the writer/vocal of this song also wrote/sang "let you down" the ending song of Cyberpunk Edgerunner anime. He make us cry then, he make us cry again now.
Dawid Podsiadło is the Goat. Fun fact: the character of Dante from the expansion uses his likeness.
@@nowi211 ......and I just shot him
Never Looking Back gives me huge vibes of "Been Good to Know Ya" from the base games OST and im loving it
Exactly, to me that felt like Been Good to Know Ya's younger sibling in a way, both are related to moments i failed to hold back tears
Mix V's dreadful feeling with Songbirds ones, you have this masterpiece of a song
Man, I simply LOVE how you feel the music, not just listen, but feel and understand...
For me, "Never Looking Back" is one of the few favourite "painful" music pieces that I can sit back and listen while feeling frozen and stuck in my bones... Lock out the reality and transform myself into one of a characters...
The mission is very emotional, makes you want to think about not only the characters and story, but other things too, but it would never be the same without this soundtrack...
And you are right, this music will stay in my ears for a long, long time...
This soundtrack has become my favourite music from Cyberpunk 2077 alongside with the main theme "Phantom Liberty" (oh, and end credits background visuals are something though).
"V," "Rebel Patch" both also are my favourites but of course, those are different styles than "Never Looking Back."
Appreciate this so much.
After finishing one of the endings of the expansion I can say that Never Looking Back has a special place in my heart. That track is used perfectly in the story.
The PL story is arguably one of the best I've experienced in a long while.
Completely agree. I was thinking about this the other day, if Cyberpunk ever gets a live-action adaptation I think the story of Phantom Liberty would be perfect. It still fits the overall theme of 2077, it's much shorter, and being a spy-thriller it might intrigue a larger audience.
@@frostmawedits9879 if they ever do a live action rendition of PL, then I sincerely hope they go with the King of Wands ending, it’s just *chefs kiss*
how, it was soo so much worse than the base game and overall the expension is half baked on every lvl excep t the ending
@@Exel3nce what u smoking dawg
The vocals at 14:03 sounds like the ambient music playing at the end of Nocturne OP55N1 (the final main story mission) . And to explain with as little spoilers as possible, it's playing when you are deciding which ending you are going to chose. I believe this "motif" is repeated throughout parts of the main story, very important parts.
minor technicality: Nocturne OP55N1 isn't the ACTUAL final story mission, as each ending consists of one or two story missions on their own, but as said by the intial comment it IS the point where you choose which ending you're going for and thus I'd say it's close enough to the "final" mission that the difference is meaningless.
Yup, this motif shows up during been good to know ya and V’s theme. Basically anything important to the story of cyberpunk 2077
This also plays under Johnny's monologue about why he hates Arasaka, and basically every conversation with Johnny in the Tapeworm questline. It's also V's theme which is also Been Good to know Ya. It, along with the Never Fade Away motif, is one of the most common and important themes in the game.
I love how V's theme makes me feel like a badass and like I'm literally fucking nothing, at the same friggin' time!
Yep. You said that. Nice definition of Cyberpunk \v/
Gate K9 is such a BANG its immense.
The is a different and slightly longer version of this track called New Ways To Play
Never Looking Back is so good, and I literally shed a tear when it played in one scene...
brother I know exactly what scene you're talking about
Contra la Luna was also among one of my favorites. It starts out funky, but then halfway there's just a sudden mood change, it genuinely made me think of "omg, this is probably a multi stage combat scene", and it reminded me of Lilith's Club made by Noisia, made for DMC Devil May Cry. As that song literally changes multiple times.
ya i like that track a ton too.
You mentioning Easter European sound quality of the vocals in some tracks actually made me realize something!
The singing seems to appear in the OST when a certain character - Songbird So Mi - is on screen, it's her leitmotif.
That is - Songbird looks a lot like a Mavka (Nyavka) from Ukrainian mythology. Mavkas appear as beautiful women from the front, but when they turn their backs to you, they reveal their almost undead nature - organs peeking through, bare spine, all that. Their entire idea almost screams deception and duality. Same with Songbird who is "normal" from the front, but from behind she looks completely robotic - her full back is purely cybernetic.
Mavkas lured people into the woods to grant them an untimely demise. The quality of the singing is like if Songbird is plunging into the abyss, dragging us with her, deeper and deeper into the woods. It is insane how much her music tells about her.
Considering CDPR are Polish devs,,, it's just too good to be a pure coincidence.
(Also surprised you did not touch on You Can't Hide From Us, the most haunting of them all. :,) )
purely coincidental, we have our own culture and old fairytales
It coul be. Ukrainian and Polish have ulttimatly very similar mythology. We're all Slavs :) Cool, that You cought that up about So Mi!
@@AboveTheTrees00 It doesn't matter, there are many nations in CDP Red development, many Ukrainians too. And we haven't our own comparing to Ukrainian mythology, many things are similar or the same in both mythologies, because we are slavs and lived in similiar places.
I had never heard of Mavkas before reading your post, but you seem absolutely right. Songbird/So Mi exudes this simultaneous innocence yet untrustworthiness and when you combine it with her body-horror levels of machine integration (both her potential rogue AI takeover and physical construction), I can see the parallels. Thanks for sharing!
Aaand its shows in plot. Boys, don't be lured by her.
All i can say about phantom liberty depending on a peticular choice you make it can be bleak and existential but with a slight dim glimmer of hope or pure dread and helpless dispair
Great dlc
Never Looking Back is such a painfully haunting song. The scene it plays in the game really drives that feeling home. This is a song that'll stick with you for a while.
Test of Loyalty is also my favorite. So melancholic yet gutteral.
Without spoiling anything it's insane that you managed to hit the mood that the song delivers so accurately. Pain was definitely the emotion I was feeling during the gameplay in the moment, and it felt way stronger when the song hits. That's how I personally think you can tell when someone has poured their soul into their music, when you can feel the artist through the notes they play. Expertly made, and expertly picked up by you.
this song did exactly what it needed, it is like a subtitle to the emotion brought in the scene where it is played, a choice to do right and give up your chances, or to take anyone down for a shot at life. it makes you feel the weight of your decision, it will ruin someone no matter what you chose, but you get to pick who's worthy of having the better outcome at the expense of another
In "Never looking back" you can hear vocalisation that is heavily reminiscent of Witcher 3 soundtrack, what a great throwback (at least it sounds similarily for me).
Loving your breakdown to the Never Looking Back track. I sobbed heavily when I got to this part. The music, the voice acting, the pain this song makes you feel, you hit the nail on the head. It's visceral. Every time I listen, i tear up because it is HEAVY! You can't really breathe knowing what's coming. Excellent breakdown!
"netrunner" is music about Songbird's life story. elements hinting at blackwall are available
I think the 2077 soundtrack is one of my favourites of all time. I can never have a number fav ost but this is definitely on the higher end. Then fricking phantom liberty ost comes along and adds even more bangers to the already amazing collection of songs to another level. Been trying to learn music on a daw this year and I gota say making music with synths and crazy plugins is some of the most fun I've had with music. You can literally do anything. They mustve had a blast making these.
9:46 this gives me some severe goosebumps
@12:02 I like how this brings V's Theme into the composition but with the whole new and very dark and sorrowful vibe (especially in comparison to the usual version).
Never looking back is such a masterpiece
Agreed!
Hearing Never Look Back in the game's context, it's so powerful..
Does it play in both endings or only for one of them?
@@evildoctortaco In first path it's played during plot twist, second is played in the ending.
14:03 "Have you thought about how you're gonna spend your thirty silver coins?" - Silverhand
After completing Phantom Liberty in its entirety, meaning every route possible, without spoiling anything; your read on Never Looking Back is scarily accurate. The track is heavy, to say the least.
I'm really glad I re-downloaded the game for the expansion just for the music. Holy hell... the OST for this game is so damn good. "The Rebel Path" has been on repeat in recent days.
Guy has the exact same reaction to Never Looking Back as me.
One of the most powerful OSTs in recent memory
It's the choir element that does it for me. Never Looking Back, Test of Loyalty and Gate K9 are PHENOMENAL. This expansion and score deserve all of the praise they're getting. I actually enjoyed PL more than the base game-and I've never been interested in the spy thriller genre in my life.
Never Looking Back feels very contemplative to me. The Catholic mass analogy is spot on. I don't necessarily feel loss immediately. It starts as wonderment, that something beyond my understanding has happened and I am stunned. Pure shock. Denial. "This cannot be!" It is a forced reflection on a moment that elicits a feeling that this is not how this was supposed to go.
11:48 "What it means to be alive and what the soul's purpose is in this world." You just NAILED the description of the cyberpunk genre. Past Style over Substance, past "High Tech Low Life", past dystopian futures, cyberpunk makes us question what does it mean to be human in a space where what we know as humanity can be and is regularly augmented and commodified.
If you're asking "What is a soul's purpose in this world?", then Cyberpunk 2077 is the game for you, choom.
Havent played PL yet but hearing Never Looking Back instantly had me in my feels knowing there's going to be some serious shit going down as it plays
100%
From Just another weapon and Never lokking back I get a more space-y feeling rather than a cyberpunk-y feeling. Tho the feeling is the same. Especially with Never looking back, I got the image of "You get in an escape spacecraft and launch into space, the mothership explodes behind you, you look at your scanner and no one else made it out. You have limited water and no food, the closest habitable planet is one week away with hyperdrive, but even if you reach it by rationing your water, it's not a colonized planet."
Congratulations, you pronounced their names perfectly. I'm impressed.
I have spent some time with poles and in Warsaw ❤
my all around favs Force Projection & Hardest to Be since it's just a wholesome songs overall for riding my motorbike LOL
But then all changed when I hear "Phantom Liberty." It's the best spy thriller song in recent years & definitely making rizz with many other James Bond OP songs.
Amazing video! Man, there's a combat track that plays in the "Firestarter" mission that's so unbelievably good, it's almost like a souped up version of "I'm a Netrunner" and it's my favorite in the entire dlc, but unfortunately it's not on the official release of the OST, i just don't understand the reasoning behind not including all of the music done for the expansion in the soundtrack release :(
Thank you! Damn weird. I need to start my playthrough
Always sucks when that happens. From what I've heard from composers like Austin Wintory, a common reason for not includuding a piece in the OST is that music for games is usually not just a singular audio file that can be ripped from the game but a collection of layers that has to be specifically mastered for a soundtrack release (especially in games where the music can have dynamic layers that change/loop with the gameplay), and it's additional work that has to be paid for. So then developers will make deals with the composer for a specific amount of tracks that will be mastered for the OST, and something often gets left behind.
@GKNsuomi I see, does this also happen with in-house composers? I was under the impression that the people who worked on Cyberpunk worked in CD Projekt Red, but I'm probably wrong, either way, thanks for the clarification!
9:30 somehow makes you think that you are at the same time the most powerful being ever and that there's no hope for you
I watched a tech review for DLSS 3.5 in Cyberpunk 2077 on Digital Fountary UA-cam channel, and the music played in the background was from the Phantom Liberty OST starting from here 9:30, and the moment I heard it, it hit me hard emotionally and gave me goosebumps, and I have no understanding of music, but I understand how they affect the person hearing it. Your explanation gave meaning to what I heard, and made the experience of hearing this track more satisfying and enjoyable. I also love your Baldur's Gate videos. Thanks a lot for explaining and analyzing video games music.
my absolute pleasure. more to come too.
Never Looking Back at times gives me TW3 vibes and i absolutely love it
To be honest, I'd love to hear Never Looking Back as a live performance
Never Looking Back is hauntingly beautiful on its own. When placed within its proper context, it's one of the most poignant and devastating moments in a video game.
Never Looking Back is like "Been Good To Know Ya" from the original Cyberpunk OST. In the sense that they both deliver the same emotion in completely different circumstances. They both elevate an already beautiful but painful scene. You hit the nail with this analysis.
While we're on the topic of Phantom Liberty, you should also check out the song called "Phantom Liberty" by P.T. Adamczyk and Dawid Podsiadło. It's really different from the songs in the rest of the soundtrack but it ties up the story spectacularly, it brings out all of the emotions V and in turn the player felt and it showcases everyone's struggles, not just V's (such as what friend to betray or get betrayed by). I'd love to hear what you have to say about it.
Fellas. I did it, i marathoned through whole DLC. It's great, it's punchy, it's emotional, NO SPOILERS BUT AN ADVICE:
They all have you by the balls. Do NOT trust ANYONE of them.
PL has no happy ending. Based on recent chatter on Orion, there may be some serious impacts depending on where So Mi lands.
this track plays at the darkest moment of the game, when the understanding comes that everything is over in order to understand it, you need to see it
I'm really glad I wasn't the only one who latched onto "Never Looking Back" during my playthrough. It plays at a pivotal moment at the end of the DLC. It makes you feel afraid of the consequences that may or may not come of the decision you decide to make. It sucks you into the world that much more and perfectly sets the tone of what's happening. It gave me chills as I was contemplating my decision.
Gotta check out the music video for the Main Theme for Phantom Liberty. I just barely got the expansion last night but the theme song had me misty eyed. Definitely recommend a listen!
This is absolutely superb analysisy. The emotions in some of those songs are incredible and compliment already emotional scenes so well and bring them to even higher level. Never Looking Back and Test of Loyalty especially, both can tell the story on their own even without playing the game, and without spoiling dlc, they compliment the emotional moments incredibly well.
Don't know if anybody mentioned this but V's Theme and I'm a Netrunner (which is Songbird's theme) make complete sense being that similar because both characters have similiar circumstances.
Those two Never Looking Back and Test of Loyalty got me you can feel the layered mix of emotion in both track mainly never looking back but both the mix of dread confusion sorrow pain emptiness all indescribable while being powerless to do anything about your circumstances without those tracks the impact may have not been there such masterpieces that grip the deepest parts of you making you feel the full weight of your choices and what has happened one of the few games/ forms of entertainment I cannot get over I just keep going back because I LOVE the emotion and feeling in draws out the base game was SUPERB beyond belief the DLC made it into an imperfect MASTERPEICE.
The music is more dynamic in game, parts playing more in different parts. notable the voices are to mimic a songbird and the echo is meant to be others singing in with. This connects deeper into the story if you explore the lore
An absolutely amazing thing about White Singing (especially live) is that you can literally feel the performers voices deep in your bones. That clear high pitch sound gives you the feeling that its penetrating right thru your body to your soul and it doesnt stop until the voice disappears. Really amazing thing to experience in person.
Are there any songs you might recommend me to look up if I want to feel that?
@@AGASHBAALAH
Laboratorium Pieśni - U lisi (Ой y лиси)
Laboratorium Pieśni - Sztoj pa moru (Што й па мору)
Laboratorium Pieśni - Lecieli żurauli (Ой ляцелі жураўлі)
A modern song performed with white voice
Tulia - Nothing Else Matters
You may find a lot of songs if you search for "slavic pagan folk music"
They nailed it again. Pls play the whole game and let us see your deep and interesting reaction on that all.✨
Regarding your comment about how some of the tracks take a while to get where they are going, I think a lot of that is down to the dual nature of a lot of these tracks. Very often, these songs are being played in the background of specific plot important missions. And since the player has the option to either stealth their way through it, and keep things quiet, or "going loud" and thus kick off a violent gunfight, the music has to adapt accordingly. So what I've noticed, is that when they are building these songs, they are layering them to be able to switch between their slow/stealth components (usually the buildup at the start you are talking about), and the louder parts later (if the player mucks up their stealth and gets into open combat). Which I personally find to be a really fascinating direction for music to be taking these days. This sort of dynamic, adaptive kind of musical structure. Where by design, you make the parts able to kind of start and stop tempo whenever you need to, by building INTO the song structure, the transition from the quiet to the loud, and vice versa. I noticed it with the song "Gate K9 (Firestarter Mission Version), as the.....I guess you call it the bridge? The quiet, slowed down portion between 2 louder, heavier sequences, is basically the "stealth music". ua-cam.com/video/SAeKBoZQ0a4/v-deo.html So that if you are in a loud combat moment, the music ramps up naturally to account for that....but then if you clear the fight, and things go back to calm, again it dials back the intensity, and it makes sense, and sounds natural, because it's basically the bridge portion of the song.
The statement that you make at 15:39 is proven so fundamentally accurate if one experiences the absolute outpouring of emotions in the scene it is played...
Truly, my favorite track of the DLC and on of my favorite tracks in video game OSTs...
Thank you for your in-depth analysis!
"Bravo Foxtrott Golf" underlines a pretty tough bossfight. It fits perfectly there!
When I saw the title and realized what it stood for, I thought it'd play during a segment where we got... y'know... a Big Friggin' Gun.
I was not expecting the first boss battle of the DLC to be against a micro-Metal Gear.
I love to listen to your analysis. Can't wait to see your reaction on Phantom Liberty main theme!
Having played the game and the DLC, Marco has absolutely hit the nail on the head with this analysis
I believe the theme for this dlc is "spy thriller" so wow these all nail that feeling super well
Been going thru your past 2077 videos just now, great timing! Love these
aw! awesome!
Force Projection, Militech Combat Theme and Sandevistan are some very nice (electronic) songs aswell. Especcially the Militech theme, it carries and conveys that military industrial-complex vibe VERY well
the sounddesign and music in this game is just on another level imo
Thanks to this I now have a bunch of tracks that I can add to my playlist let's goooo
Damn you nailed the game perfectly. I hope you will reach the ending and you will hear "Never looking back" on that Final Choice
Looking at the entire thing under a lens this week!
Phantom Liberty is such a great expansion with the stakes getting higher and higher. Never Looking Back is brilliant because it plays at a key climax moment which makes you question everything. The story writing they did for this game was amazing, and the combination of the story, the scene at hand, and the music is something that I would expect to see play in more of a cinema than a game.
Indeed, music in Cyberpunk 2077 is amazing. All of it. In light of that, I would recommend, at some later point, check out the music for another game on similar topic - cyber modifications, coping with them, "what it means to be a human", and so on - game called Deus Ex: Human Revolution. Sound tracks of these two games are, to me, some of the best ever created.
This is the best part 9:28. Also during that part it also sounds like mean laughing and after playing the expansion, for me it feels like there is saddness in this, but also little bit of evil.
YA!!!!
Jesus Christ this game really made a huge comeback
Just another weapon leaves a hole in my heart
Never Looking Back was also my favourite. I'll be using it in my DND game for the theme of an important and tragic NPC. Since original Cyberpunk 77 release I've been obsessed with the soundtracks it's incredible. The game is awesome too.
The best thing about the soundtrack is that for every beautifully melancholic Test of Loyalty and Never looking Back you have a bombastic, balls to the walls Gate K9 and Contra la Luna
I imagine you haven't seen the Edgerunners anime that pairs with the game, but you're really describing the themes of that show through your breakdown of this soundtrack. Very astute.
It's a shame I am only just now coming across this video. I played PL on release and when I heard never looking back initially I was more or less in awe of it, but couldn't put my finger on the exact reasons. So thank you for this breakdown, it really helped appreciate this masterpiece even more and truly understand what it means. And I listen to it whenever I travel, just to contemplate and think about stuff.
Ya same its almost painful isn’t it
Was kinda expecting to see at least the main part of "Gate K9" in the HYPE TRACKS segment, thats a shame. Maybe you can do a part 2 with some of the ones you didnt talk about in this one including the absolutely awesome main theme (that plays in the final credits in full)?
I only missed 3 tracks?
@@MarcoMeatball Good question, its hard to say what exactly is in the Phantom liberty ost and I dont exactly know what you have heard and/or reacted to, but from what I can see when I try to find an official soundtrack playlist, it has 15 tracks + sometimes another 15 that play in the newly added radio channel in game (which dont really count). The problem is that those 15 tracks do not include the main theme for some reason (named Phantom Liberty, that deserves its own video in my opinion but I digress) and they are not all the tracks that play in game either for some reason, since "Gate K9", (my favourite and the one I wanted you to mention/react to in the first place) isnt included either so I dont really know.
"Infiltration Compromised" is by FAR my favorite high energy track from PL. My favorite overall is the title track, of course.
nev er looking back is a song that'll stay with me for a long long time
A fantastic song that sets the "Spy Drama" feel of the game expansion is from Dawid Podsiadło and P.T. Adamczyk. It is used in "Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty - Official Launch Trailer" to great effect.
"Dawid Podsiadło, P.T. Adamczyk - Phantom Liberty (Official Cyberpunk 2077 Music Video)" is the name of the full song.
Also, the music in "Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty - Official Cinematic Trailer" haunts me, chills run up and down my spine and I can feel the pain of the character in those moments.
Those tracks that have a long intro are designed for the stealth missions, so you have a build up version for the moments you're hidden, and then explode into a full on track when you enter combat. One of the prettiest details in the game
Man , this OST is sooo underrated....has some amazing tracks
Funny, I've been vibing with Cyberpunk again what with the new expansion and I just today thought "I hope MarcoMeatball reacts to this." And look, he did! My wish was answered!
Hope you enjoy!
Marco i think you should listen to 2 soundtracks for an indie game called "billie bust up".
They are so good for a small developer team
I love I'm a netrunner. It conveys the feelings of urgency, mystery and action. It is a dark, uncomfortable spy movie with dark twist. It is awesome. It conveys mystery and underlying dark purpose.
For those who are interested: the vocals were done by Tulia! They've got into Eurovision but didn't win, their music is usually pop-folk oriented
The reason some of the songs might start slow is that they play in combat which could be stealth or live combat. You may infiltrate an area and hear the slow start and then you get spotted and oh god oh fuck here comes the bass, vocals, and grenades.
Oh man you've got to do Phantom Liberty, the credit music for the dlc. It's just... damn.
Much like with the original OST for 2077, you get such a new, incredible perspective on the music once you've witnessed the entirety of the story. I remember feeling this hollow, melancholic feeling once I completed the original story - which by the way is not a criticism at all. And it's the same again here, Never Look Back is such an incredible piece of music that when listened to with the context of the world of Cyberpunk and more specifically V's journey through Night City it really hits home...and to an extent even makes you question things about your own existence, albeit probably not to the extremes of a bleak, dystopian future 😅
The eerie female vocals remind me of "Ghost in the shell" soundtrack especially Ghost city. Cyberpunk 2077 and Ghost in the shell both have awesome soundtracks.
i wonder if you're gonna do a breakdown on some song such as Been good to know ya, You shall Never Have to forgive me again, or even the NEW phantom liberty (yes, it's the name just released yesterday), or even Samurai Musics. imo Cyberpunk really have wide Genre, really gives you the impression that the world is alive through music. most games usually tried to stick to the genre of the games, which makes sense for medieval style but sometimes sci fi also affected with locking the music to one genre. cyberpunk really gives a big impression that this world exists (or will exist in the future) visually, metaphorically or literally and i really have a big respect on it
Bro the way you described the music in the end, it's like you speak my language.
I thought nothing could beat the main Cyberpunk 2077 ost then Phantom Liberty dropped and I was blown away.
i started tearing up at a song i don't even know the context for yet, that's crazy
I got a lot of memories from this, started sweating a bit the stress is back
never looking back made me almost cry man while trying to save her they know how to write good stuff.
Its really interesting about the similarities and differences between "Im a Netrunner" and "Just another weapon" (MINOR SPOILERS FOR PL AHEAD):
Essentially they are both songs about Songbird, but one is a representation of our first encounter with her. "Songbird" the netrunner, its starts as abrupt as her first contact with us, its fully of confrontation and put up walls and agendas, it makes us suspicious. Meanwhile "Just another weapon" shares so many elements with it, but starts softly more calmly and is way more personal and intimate and it represents Song So Mi the person behind the alias, the name is ironically Just a weapon because by this point in the story we learn so much more about her personally that while others see her as just a weapon its not the same for V, we see the person behind the Netrunner, behind the weapon. Well, that is, should you choose to make those decisions...
3:30 - The tracks that have “downtime” tend to be the ones that build momentum in response to player choice and gameplay. In moments of stealth/action, especially, the music adapts to reflect the state of the player-effectively “looping” the structure segments to reflect a hidden/alerted/detected state. You’re right to point out that this doesn’t necessarily translate to listening though.
6:09 the "worst" thing is that i exactly know when this song is playing and it hits like sledge hammer ...
Bravo. Foxtrot. Golf. B. G. F. BIG. FUCKING. GUN. Love this track in context.
This soundtrack plays at two instances in the game, one when you need to decide the fate of an important character, and the other when you need to decide your own fate with respect to the same character after having made an important choice earlier leading to one of these instances. The thing you said about pain in this soundtrack, I felt that pain while deciding our fates. Great video choomba.
Thank you also for not spoiling it that means a lot :)
Just finished Phantom Liberty.
Without context, this is fenomenal, it's so good. BUT with context, it's SO much better. In game when Never Lookin Back starts playing, and especially what's happening in that exact moment... i think it was the first time i ever had to pause a game to process my thoughts. That was definitely one of the best experiences i had in videogames. And in my opinion moments like this is one of the reasons, films cannot possibly give even close experience like this. Only if you actually part of the story, you can experience it.
I have no words, only emotions. Looking forward to main theme reaction called Phantom Liberty. This one played right after previous track. Not gonna lie, that was the last nail for breaking my emotions completely.
You are going to love doing Kayn and Swain's themes for League of Legends. Keep doing your good work on these very cool videos!
Appreciate it. Just filmed swain. It was fun!
Amazing video! I'm a CP2077 fan and I loved the video and your content! Subbed!
Thanks for the sub!