Year: 2022
Type: Original Soundtrack (OST)
Composer(s): Phill Boucher; Tim Wynn
Number of tracks: 27

★★★★★

Radiant hero orgy

Early December saw the release of Marvel’s Midnight Suns, a game from the XCOM-makers at Firaxis Games set in the Marvel universe, with mixed reviews: For some, it is a logical combination of clever tactical battles and superhero cosmos, for others it's a babble-fest with too little actual gameplay. At least that's what I've gathered from the opinions of the channels I frequent in terms of opinion-forming. As someone who really enjoyed playing XCOM 2 , I don't want to rule out the possibility of a game review appearing on this site at some point. Because it wasn't just what I saw about the content that made me want to play the game.

No, I was also taken with the music. It comes from the composers Phill Boucher and Tim Wynn. While the former is best known in the gaming sector from Fortnite , Wynn was involved in the later offshoots of the Total War-series (primarily the Warhammer-spinoff), Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 and Command & Conquer 4 as well as Dungeon Siege III . Both also bring experience from the XCOM-series: Boucher first joined the team for XCOM: Chimera Squad from 2020, while Wynn has been involved since XCOM: Enemy Unknown . So it's good to see that it's not just the same development studio at work again.

The duo knows how to accompany the tactically demanding battles with exciting tracks. To this end, Marvel’s Midnights Suns remains true to the usual formula of thunderous action bombast, which was also used in XCOM 2 . However, the composers infuse the music in this OST with a hint of Marvel-DNA - and it works really well! The very first tracks welcome the Avengers-disciples with outstretched and muscle-bound arms.

With its fanfares, Origins sounds like it was borrowed from Brian Tyler's score for Iron Man 3 , before taking a step back for a short while and drifting more in the direction of Thor. This is followed by strings that once again sound like the man in the iron suit. Super heroic. This continues in The Sanctum and the Shield, where dark menace and orchestral strings paired with percussion continue in line with the superhero trope. Other examples of well-made action cinema fare include One of Those Off-Off-Broadway Shows, Hello Cleveland and What Could Kill a God. Fans of hero movies, action thrills and the MCU in particular will feel right at home here.

Deviating from this, the OST also likes to wander around in other realms. With Old Stomping Ground, New Stompers and Knock, Knock , it goes more into the fantasy department, which gives the composition its own spin and, above all, identity. After all, Marvel’s Midnight Suns not only brings together the A-listers and their familiar motifs from Marvel's popcorn machinery, but also comparatively smaller characters such as Ghost Rider, Blade and Magik. This creates a bit of a Dragon Age-atmosphere or - if you want to stay in the cinematic realm - memories of the later Harry Potter-games.

The picture is completed by rock and metal intermezzi in Return to the Motherland and The Prophecy of the Midnight Sun, which shred beautifully - rock on! My highlight of the soundtrack, however, remains the blend of Marvel and XCOM that Boucher and Wynn have achieved here, which is why I'm already looking forward to the OSTs for the DLCs that have already been announced. Meanwhile, if the music sounds too much like the original from the silver screen, you'll find epics on an equivalent level with Overwatch.

No.	Title	Artist(s)	Ratings
01	Origins	Tim Wynn	5
02	The Sanctum and the Shield	Tim Wynn	5
03	Sanctum Under Siege	Phill Boucher	4
04	Darkness and Light	Tim Wynn	4
05	We're in This Together	Phill Boucher	4
06	We Have to Go Back	Tim Wynn	4
07	Old Stomping Ground, New Stompers	Phill Boucher	4
08	Knock, Knock	Tim Wynn	3
09	One of Those Off-Off-Broadway Shows	Phill Boucher	4
10	Hello Cleveland	Tim Wynn	5
11	Battle in the Belltower	Phill Boucher	4
12	An Empty Chapel	Phill Boucher	3
13	A Dark Reunion	Tim Wynn	4
14	Heartfelt Farewells	Tim Wynn	3
15	Exploring the Outskirts	Phill Boucher	3
16	A Night at the Carnival	Phill Boucher	5
17	This Is for Johnny Blaze	Tim Wynn	4
18	Side Deal with the Devil	Phill Boucher	4
19	Common Ground	Phill Boucher	3
20	Return to the Motherland	Phill Boucher	4
21	The Strongest There Is	Tim Wynn	4
22	What Could Kill a God	Phill Boucher	4
23	The Strongest Among Us	Phill Boucher	4
24	I Am Chthon	Tim Wynn	4
25	The Prophecy of the Midnight Sun	Phill Boucher	3
26	Rise of the Midnight Sun	Tim Wynn	4
27	All for You	Tim Wynn	4