When Neon White was released earlier this Summer, many parts of the game received wide acclaim. Neon White, published by Annapurna Interactive, is a lightning-fast first-person action platformer that sees the player dash through levels as fast as they can. The indie game inspires the player with its porcelain landscapes spread out across turquoise water, creating a liminal yet dangerous depiction of heaven. Going through these levels with the player's color-coded companions is satisfying and inspires a competitive feeling to get a better time each time the level is played. The soundtrack of Neon White also helps inspire fast-paced platforming and keeps the player engaged.
The soundtrack for Neon White is one of the aspects of the game earning high acclaim from fans. It matches the gameplay perfectly in being upbeat and fast without overstaying its welcome. The player will likely try to repeat the levels as much as they can in order to speedrun for a good time, so it is fortunate that the songs work so well and stay fun. The kind of digital hardcore presented in the music is the perfect contrast to the otherwise pristine visuals that the player is surrounded by. It is the kind of music that one would expect to be in a cyberpunk setting, yet still fits in the odd angelic setting.
Neon White's Soundtrack Is Good For Speedrunners
Speedrunning has always been a popular way for gamers to experiment with their favorite titles and show a thorough understanding of how the game works. Neon White is practically made for speedrunning and makes sure that the soundtrack matches the energy of the speedrunners. Speedrunners will practice small parts of a game for hours and have to listen to bits of the soundtrack on a loop. Even the most well-crafted music in a game can get old after a while. Luckily, the music for Neon White doesn't have the same immediate droning effect of repetition and inspires the player to strive for speed. This is due to its high-energy soundtrack by Machine Girl.
Machine Girl is a music project by Matt Stephenson and Sean Kelly that performs electronic and digital hardcore music. Despite having no prior experience writing for video game soundtracks, Machine Girl's hardcore electric breakdowns fit right in with Neon White. The lead developer of the game, Ben Esposito, specifically picked out Machine Girl as the type of music that would work well for edgy 2000s anime, since that matched the flashy attitude of Neon White. Some of the breakdowns that the player might hear in the soundtrack even sound like something that could be heard during a commercial break on Toonami.
While Machine Girl might not have any experience in making music for video games, their music is clearly inspired by and compared to the medium. Machine Girl's music video for the song BITTEN TWICE uses a video game HUD throughout the video and has instrumentals that could fit easily into one of Mick Gordon's Doom soundtracks. In turn, fans of Machine Girl's music have been mapping the duo's music to games and remixing their songs to video game soundtracks for years. Even Matt Stephenson has remixed video game music before, with remixes of the Sega action game Jet Set Radio still on Machine Girl's Bandcamp page.
Machine Girl being so intrinsically linked with video game soundtracks and remixes makes it perfect for Neon White. After so much time listening to different soundtracks and experimenting with remixes, a musician can start to get a good understanding of how these soundtracks differ from more contemporary music. Thanks to the work of Machine Girl, the music for Neon White matches the energy and tone of the game perfectly.
Neon White is available now on PC and Nintendo Switch.