Musician Austin Wintory today released the first single from the musical video game Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical.
The single Adrift, the main title song from Wintory – a songwriter, composer and music director – has lyrics by Eurovision Australia’s Montaigne, and is performed by Laura Bailey and Ashley Johnson. The track is the first to come out of the four soundtracks for the game. Three of the four albums, titled the Red, Blue and Green Editions, isolate the three colour-coded “traits” the player chooses from among the songs (co-written by Wintory, Tripod [Simon Hall, Steve Gates, Scott Edgar] and Montaigne). The fourth album, the Pantheon Edition, weaves together the three traits and also includes the game’s original score, also by Wintory.
There is minimal overlap between the three albums, and even with four releases, many of the songs would require dozens more albums to showcase every possible path a player might take through them. Today’s track is the first of the eventual four soundtracks of music to be released from the game, with all four soundtracks arriving on Thursday, 10 August alongside the debut of the game.
Wintory said, “Coming up with a song that simultaneously begins the game and also sets the tone for the story as a whole was undoubtedly among the most difficult jobs I had with Stray Gods. After quite a lot of fussing with it, including a fair bit of workshopping ideas with the team, I landed on a simple quasi-lullaby. I actually credit our performance director and my brother-in-arms Troy Baker for helping me see it when it was right in front of me, in a draft I was ready to discard. Add to that the absolutely crushing poignancy and beautiful simplicity of Montaigne’s lyrics, and Laura and Ashley’s angelic performances, and the result is a song that speaks to a feeling of being lost, struggling to find your place in the world. A feeling I’ve known many times. I am very, very lucky to have been part of this game as a whole, if only for the chance to write something fragile and wandering like this, in the hopes that it might speak to people feeling the same.”
The official description of Stray Gods reads: In a modern fantasy world, college dropout Grace is granted the power of a Muse – power she’ll need to find out the truth behind her predecessor’s death before time runs out. You’ll decide who Grace allies with who she can trust, and who may betray her in this beautifully hand-illustrated roleplaying musical. Charm, negotiate, or strong-arm your way through their world, playing through original, fully interactive musical numbers composed by Grammy-nominated composer Austin Wintory (Journey, Banner Saga), Tripod (musicians Scott Edgar, Steven Gates, and Simon Hall) and Eurovision Australia’s own Montaigne (Jess Cerro). Fully orchestrated and performed by an all-star cast, you’ll feel as though you’re right there on the stage. With thousands of potential variations based on your choices, you’ll craft the soundtrack to your own one-of-a-kind musical experience.