October 26, 2021
Marvel’s Guardians Of The Galaxy Video Game Soundtrack with Music by Composer Richard Jacques + Star-Lord Music Album Available Today
The latest from Marvel, Eidos-Montréal and Square Enix, Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy puts players in control of the universe’s least likely heroes. As fans have come to expect, the world of Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax, Rocket Raccoon, and Groot is full of incredible music and this game is no different – two soundtrack releases feature original music written for the game.
The game’s Original Video Game Soundtrack album features score by BAFTA and Ivor Novello-nominated composer Richard Jacques (Mass Effect, James Bond 007: Blood Stone). Jacques recorded the heroic, original thematic score and epic intergalactic symphony at Abbey Road Studios.
Space Rider, the debut album by Star-Lord Band, the (fictional) eighties underground heavy metal act, is co-composed by Steve Sczepkowski and Yohann Boudreault. The songs of Space Rider have an origin story all their own: In the game’s narrative, Peter Quill takes the name Star-Lord from his favorite band of the same name. With music being an important part of the Guardians universe, an entire album was created for the game.
“Music is intrinsic to the Guardians’ franchise, and we wanted to make it focal to the gameplay experience,” said co-composer Szczepkowski. “The soundtrack is infused in the DNA of the game, and our use of it goes far beyond usual expectations. Whether it’s powering up combat in the Huddle or bringing Star-Lord’s favourite band to life, every element was carefully woven into the lore to enhance the story of this rock and roll band of misfits.”
“The licensed music is such a big part of the DNA of the game,” said Jacques in an interview last August for nme.com. “Steve [Szczepkowski] and I were both wanting to make a completely seamless experience. So even when some of the licensed tracks might change, I would then react to make sure the score that happens before and after that licensed track lands in the right key.
“Sometimes I’d have to change the ending of the score that precedes the tracks and comes after it, but we really wanted to make that seamless, and I think we’ve really taken a lot of attention to detail over that,” continues Jacques. “Without giving too many tracks away, there are certain points where you might get an echo of the main melody or the main lyric and it just comes into the score, and you might get it in the French horns or something to take you into the next scene. So we’ve worked hard to make that as seamless as possible, and as a fan I love the selection. It took me back, and there’s a really good mixture of things for everyone”.
Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy will be available on PlayStation®5 console, PlayStation®4 console, Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One consoles, PC, and streaming via GeForce NOW on October 26, 2021. A Cloud Version for Nintendo Switch also coming to select regions October 26.
