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The Monolith's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Impression | #2 | 4.333 | 4.333 |
| Quality | #3 | 4.515 | 4.515 |
| Overall | #6 | 4.152 | 4.152 |
| Creativity | #21 | 3.909 | 3.909 |
| Correlation to theme | #30 | 3.848 | 3.848 |
Ranked from 33 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Description
Album name: The Monolith
Genre: Epic Folk Orchestral
Game concept: A roguelike adventure game about a journey into the wasteland in search of an ancient monolith. The game has a dark, brooding atmosphere with a sense of mystery and adventure. The hero goes on a two-fold journey both by traveling to a distant land and in their own mind as they attempt to overcome the will of the monolith.
Tracks:
1 - Into the Wastes: This track is the main menu theme, establishing the sound of the game and many instruments and textures that appear throughout the album
2 - The Forgotten Citadel: This track plays during gameplay when exploring and solving puzzles. It has a more upbeat feel, but also a tension to support the player exploring the unknown.
3 - Waking the Monolith: This track plays during a boss fight where the spirit within the monolith awakens to battle the player.
Message from the artist:
These songs feature classical guitar, orchestral instruments, and an eclectic mix of folk instruments ranging from Taiko drums to the Erhu. I wanted to capture a dark, brooding sound that still felt adventurous, and was very inspired by soundtracks like Hades, Dead Cells, and Blasphemous. Enjoy!
Theme
How does it fit the theme?
This album fits the theme in a few ways. The use of ethnic folk instruments and unusual combinations of sounds gives the listener something unique and adventurous to listen to. The flow between songs also reinforces that a journey is taking place, from the steady rhythm of the intro track through to the faster paced songs that support gameplay. Each song builds on ideas from the previous one, whether through recurring instruments or the rising intensity from one song to the next.
Link to streaming services
https://soundcloud.com/majorbruno/sets/the-monolith
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Comments
Wooooow, loving this live instrumentation! What a treat.
You did such a great job capturing a sense of space and emotional weight. Your rhythms are lovely, the melody parts repeat just enough to be catchy without being annoying, and you’re moving the backing chords around to keep everything feeling fresh.
I think “Waking the Monolith” is my favorite track here, and I suspect it’s also yours, given how much fun you had recording these metal guitars. Always great to hear solid guitar technique in a short jam like this – you could have shredded instead, but I really like how you kept things focused on selling the vibe and energy of the track.
Really awesome work – I’d love to hear more like this!
Wow, really appreciated all the detailed comments! Thanks so much for listening. I definitely tried to ride that line with being a bit more reserved to really focus on the atmosphere. You're right about the metal guitar - that's definitely a not-so-guilty pleasure of mine. Really happy you enjoyed it!