• Review by Leo Mayr - 7/26/18

Despite having made quite a name for himself in the past, Austin Wintory still seems to focus on smaller, more intimate projects. While his resume ranges from the hugely successful Journey to 2015’s Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate, his work on smaller titles has always something truly special. Just a few months ago with Luna and now Pode, Wintory has once again proven his ability to create powerful yet intimate scores that really get to you.

Pode is a fun puzzle game with truly remarkable visuals and a simple, yet effective story. Wintory’s score feels very intimate and personal. While a lot of the music is quite atmospheric, there’s always something going on, there’s always something to keep you moving forward.

The stunning game world is beautifully brought to life by the music, and the score nicely reflects the player progressing through the game. In the early parts, the score is dominated by two Hardanger fiddles and as the game progresses, the score focuses more on cello. This shift gives the whole experience a wonderful feeling of progression, of change. In the beginning, the score feels ambient and atmospheric, while the later parts introduce more melodic music. So, the entire experience has a great sense of progression and achievement as you’re making your way through the stunning game world.

Pode is once again a fantastic effort by Austin Wintory. The mostly atmospheric score wonderfully breathes life into the stunning visuals of the game, and there’s a few fantastic moments, especially in the later parts of the game that really make playing the game feel like a journey. The fact that some parts of the score were improvised makes the whole effort even more impressive, especially considering you can’t really tell which parts were planned and which weren’t.

• 4/5