Risk of Rain 2 (2020) | Album Commentary by Chris Christodoulou

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WARNING ABOUT THE ENGINEER EDITION 2:
The ROR2:EE2 is NOT an expansion / DLC of the OST and it DOES NOT contain any new music. Please read carefully the album notes on bandcamp before spending money (no refunds, seriously)! Also, if you own the ROR2: Early Access album check the liner notes, there's a discount code for it ;)

This is a bandcamp exclusive, cannot be purchased anywhere else.

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REFERENCES:

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Composed, performed & produced by Chris Christodoulou
©℗2020 Chris Christodoulou

Artwork by Nicole Dorosh

Risk of Rain ©2012-2020 Hopoo game, LLC
Risk of Rain 2 Video game Published by Gearbox Publishing, LLC

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CONTENTS:
0:00 Through a Cloud, Darkly
2:14 Risk of Rain 2
7:30 Evapotranspiration
12:27 Thermodynamic Equilibrium
17:34 Terra Pluviam
25:10 Köppen as F---
30:58 Disdrometer
37:33 Into the Doldrums
42:42 A Glacier Eventually Farts (And Don’t You Listen to the Song of Life)
47:40 Nocturnal Emissions
52:23 The Dehydration of Risk of Rain 2
57:17 Parjanya
1:00:34 Hydrophobia
1:02:46 Antarctic Oscillation
1:09:25 The Rain Formerly Known as Purple
1:17:05 The Raindrop that Fell to the Sky
1:27:57 You’re Gonna Need a Bigger Ukulele
1:33:14 ...con lentitud poderosa
1:40:38 Petrichor V
1:48:14 Lacrimosum

#BehindTheMusic #AlbumCommentary #RiskOfRain2 #OST

[KennytheHedgehog]

can't wait for this commentary to get added in the game

[XentziS]

1:13:28 "I'm sure you're all quite annoyed that I'm talking over the solo"
Man, I've listened to this song a thousand times. No, sir, I'm here to listen to you. :)

[mwstudios]

Elitists: "The only right way to play Risk of Rain 2 is speedrunning!"
Chris: "I made the songs long so people can take their time."

[Sgunbee]

1:36:14 "What are we going to do for the final level ? Because I knew how important the final level of the first game was to people and the piece that played there in particular. And I was thinking - can we do something that will match that emotionnal paypack, or even take it a step further, to some degree ?"

Well guess what Chris, you did it. To one billion degree. Tears were shed when I first heard this track and realized what was happening.

[sam_john]

Chris doing acappella for the parts he's proud of was what I needed in these trying times

[VallyPally]

25:27 "and now we are listening to Köppen as "

i was expecting something like that for some reason

[kripi]

I legit almost cried when he said about the Petrichor's name story that's so... Wholesome. I hope that person is all fine and he's watching.

[ManlyBog]

Seriously man your music is absolutely incredible and has really shown me how music as a media doesn't have to be so "standard". You captured the feeling of being on an alien plant so incredibly well every time I boot up the game I just sit and listen. Your music really means a lot to me and definitely has improved my life and I'm so glad that in my limited time here I can spend some listening to your music.

[elloworld-sh]

"I've always wanted this piece to be black metal, just pure black metal"
1:32:15 *writes lofi hip hop elevator music*

[nethertrain]

I've always loved Risk of Rain. A long, long time ago I was browsing steam and then I stumble upon a small indie game that looks fun. I said "screw it why not" and bought it right there and then. Little did I know I wouldn't get up from my chair until I had unlocked 5 or 6 survivors and had beaten the game multiple times over. The game was fun, but, not just fun. Something about it perfectly mirrored me as a person. Finally going and sleeping I just kept thinking about it, back then I didn't know what it was that I enjoyed so much about this small game. Today I know it was everything, the music, the gameplay, the story hidden behind secrets and logs, the MUSIC.

I've also always been a writer, loved writing stories and making characters that had deeper roots than just being a stock character. I only years later realized just how much RoR1 had changed me personally. Everything I wrote I could tell had elements of it there, never directly, but always helping me. Always there to show me that a story isn't a surface level thing, an idea can go a far way. And today I believe that's what affected me most about Risk of Rain. It showed me and taught me how to write, how to create these deep and interesting stories.

Exhausting RoR took a long, long time but I had done everything, gotten to the secret pig level, unlocked every item and survivor, read every log back and forth for days putting together a timeline of events. And then one day, I look up Risk of Rain on google and see a tumblr post from Hopoo Games stating they're working on another game. Not just any game mind you, THE game, 3d risk of rain. Don't remember much but I was probably beyond happy to hear that.

Years went by and maybe 1 or 2 posts from Hopoo Games. Growing up made me forget a lot about Risk of Rain. Didn't have time for games or writing. I never lost faith though, never stopped believing it would be here some day. One day. Then, it happened. Boot up my pc and steam automatically launches. Right there on the front page of the store is a game called Risk of Rain 2 with what looked like a weird colossus laser beaming some survivors I could barely remember. I bought it 3 or 4 times and gave it to everybody telling them to use the "buy one, give one" to give to the other people in our group. Playing the game was amazing, an entirely new experience but it still felt familiar. The music was absolutely god tier and the gameplay couldn't be more fun. As time went by and updates on the roadmap started getting implemented, I saw a new story. A story that's even better, even deeper, more complex, more intriguing, more mysterious. Once again Hopoo Games proved they didn't just have what it takes to take a 2d game and make it 3d and somehow EVEN BETTER, but they used a fairly simple story at the time and turned it into a story about 2 brothers, one apathetic and downright genocidal and the other lost in his desire to be a savior that he traps beings just to feel like he's a hero.

I know this was far too long, but I just wanted to leave this as a thank you. To you, Chris, To Hopoo Games. To everyone in the community keeping the game alive with feedback, memes, mods, ideas, voting. The one thing I never forgot about RoR1 was the music. So, thank you, thank you for 2013 and thank you for 2019-2020 and years to come and, I hope to see your music more.

[Denizu]

You going so in detail with all of the minute details of your work does give a whole another level of appreciating the work put in, both technically and creativly. Hell, if more composers do this then maybe even it will become normalized to a point where composers can be given their dues?

[TheAKLawson]

This guy is the person that would execute a song in every time signature known and unknown to music theory.

[guntherhess]

chris-"how can we wrap this up"
hopoo-"we are announcing risk of rain 3! now in 4D"

[Hornswroggle]

1:40:36 It's hard to overstate how much I love the story of the name "Petrichor V". It's this nice convergence point between you, Hopoo and the community, almost like a signature on a painting, a piece of art that all of us have made together, through the music and the Early Access feedback and development.

[gomaboto]

Into The Doldrums is like the quintessential Risk of Rain song. It's moody, atmospheric, mysterious, synth-y and ends up turning into a progressive, rocking banger

[mark_teta]

If you think I'm going to sit here and listen to an 1:50:00 album commentary for a video game then you're absolutely right

[mavriofficial]

Two months ago my dad was listening to music loud on his pc when suddenly i started hearing something that I thought was really really similar in sound development as the RoR2 main theme, so i ran to him to ask why or even how did he run into the soundtrack, to just discover he was hearing one of his Genesis cds! It was Firth of Fifth (the part is from the 6:30 minute mark). I made him listen to your entire soundtrack and he absolutely loved it, now that you even told that the V in Petrichor V is not just a random latin numeral but literally stands for Vangelis, one of his loved groups with Demis Roussos who I also have been listening to since I was a kid he will be super happy to hear it when I’ll tell him. I’ll be listening to this soundtrack forever and ever, it’s just like I get put in another dimension while hearing those melodies. Thanks Chris!

[Guorvo]

im glad that "A Glacier Eventually Farts (And Don’t You Listen to the Song of Life)" is one of your favorites, i looped the hell out of that song when it came out

[Archdarck]

Chris! Your music is undoubtedly one of the most important reasons that Risk of Rain became such a staple of Rogue-likes/lites games. The ethereal soundtrack...it just makes you feel so many powerful emotions, combine that with the long game-play and the experience becomes a therapeutic meditation.

Also what you said at 1:34:00 how "you need to have a gravitational pull" made me realize why these nostalgic "satellite" musical pieces are always so powerful, they pull you towards the previous theme and experience, but also push you towards something new. The feeling of being torn is very powerful, and I actually teared up a little bit upon hearing that.

[oopssry]

When the game updated with Sky Meadows and I listened to “The Rain Previously Known As Purple” for the first time, had to buy the album on band camp. Literally the only time i’ve ever bought a video game album. Love your work!