Welcome to the underground! That is to say the Undertale Symphony is coming to town this weekend. Now you may or may not be familiar with Undertale, its an RPG that came out about 10 years ago, with a really impactful storyline that makes every choice you make count. But something that you can’t talk about Undertale without talking about, is the music.
Indie games with soundtracks so good you’d be shocked they come from games, is not a new phenomenon. Undertale, Stardew Valley, Payday, Minecraft, the list goes on. But having their music play in a symphony is something of a recent thing. I mean the game awards usually has an orchestra play some of the hits from that year but Undertale Symphony is different. Its entirely focused on the one game. Stardew Valley, the game I mentioned earlier? It does the same thing, but with its music. Both concerts take large bands and play the music from the games while footage from the game is overlayed. The difference between Stardew and Undertale is that Stardew is non linear. The game goes where you take it. However long it takes for you to reach the top is the time it takes, you are your character, but that’s more the conduit to the world. Undertale on the other hand, takes you where it wants to go. It knows where the story ends and it takes you along for the ride.
It’s a very intentional game, and that’s reflected in the music. I’m sure you’ve heard Megalovania, the frantic, fast paced, “final boss” track. Check out the game if you want to know why I put quotes there. But beyond Megalovania, the game is full of tracks the perfectly compliment the story. There’s one that plays called “It’s Raining Somewhere Else” which just puts me at peace. Should it? Who knows! But it sounds exactly like the title implies, but with a little more energy than you would expect. It’s nothing crazy but really, go listen, it’ll break any preconceived notion of what video game music can and should be.
You might be able to tell, but I really like video game music, does that make me a giant nerd? “Yes!”. Ouch, rude, I write you a nice article and this is how you repay me? Whatever, anyway, really, check out the Undertale Symphony if you have the chance, symphonies are amazing, Undertale’s music is amazing, The Queen Elizabeth theatre, where this is happening on the 10th is amazing. Seriously, do yourself a favour, and get yourself the tickets.