Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft
Year: 2014
Type: Original Soundtrack (OST)
Composer(s): Jason Hayes, Peter McConnell
Number of tracks: 9
Taproom shenanigans
So it's actually a good game. Actually. If it wasn't from Blizzard, which has degenerated over the years from a family-friendly quality content guarantor to a money-hungry street vendor following the takeover by Activision. For this reason, the originally highly recommendable collectible card deck builder in the Warcraft-world has become a frustration generator for me, where you are always left behind as a non-paying customer.
Because, as is usual in games of this type, you won't make any headway - at least competitively - if you don't spend enough time or money in the loot boxes in the hope of randomly obtaining the game-deciding legendary card or farming enough essences to be able to craft it. Once you have finally put together your meta deck, the matches quickly degenerate into routine boredom. And because the next season with its new mechanics makes the valuable cards obsolete and they are also removed from the ranked card pool, the spiral starts all over again.
Some people may happily surrender to this pull, but I've become annoyed when games are obviously only interested in stealing as much money and life time from me as possible. Hearthstone is really fun with its entertaining gameplay! But when you're matched over and over again with cracks who - pardon the expression - nip any spirit of experimentation in the bud with their imbalanced strategies, even I lose interest. I'm left with the memories of various in-person seminars in the back row during my time at university - and the soundtrack.
Ha, what a transition, he did it again! The OST was created by Jason Hayes and Peter McConnell, of whom Hayes at least has a pretty good feel for the sound world of the Warcraft franchise thanks to his involvement in various scores: the nine tracks feel like they were pulled directly from WoW, giving Hearthstone a sense of belonging to this cosmos. Thusly, fans of the MMO will feel right at home, but non-experts should also have fun.
I find the snappy Pull Up a Chair, in which we acoustically enter the taproom at the start of the game, particularly beautiful, probably because it is often heard. The muffled background noise erupts as the door opens. Laughter and jeering spill out. A voice greets us with the words: "It's good to see you again! Pull up a chair by the hearth!" An interplay of guitar and fiddle begins, while the main menu opens in the game. The main motif is heard, which is later taken over by a flute and continued in a solo.
This storytelling really does create a very homely feeling, as if we had just landed in a medieval/fantasy game. The jolly music should therefore be enough to provide any game master of a pen & paper game with atmospheric background music for the taproom. Far removed from any epic, guitars, flutes and strings play the leading roles in the OST, which at times evokes Irish/Celtic vibes (Tricks of the Trade) and at other times exudes Mediterranean flair (Two Rogues, One Mark). It's all very relaxed, very harmonious and also a little mischievous. I think it's good!
Nostalgia warning
| No. | Title | Artist(s) | Ratings |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Heroes of Warcraft [Cinematic Score] | Jason Hayes |  |
| 02 | Pull Up a Chair | Peter McConnell |  |
| 03 | Tricks of the Trade | Peter McConnell |  |
| 04 | Two Rogues, One Mark | Peter McConnell | |
| 05 | The Arena Awaits | Peter McConnell | |
| 06 | Playing with a Full Deck | Peter McConnell | |
| 07 | Awash in Ale, But Nary a Mug | Peter McConnell | |
| 08 | One Last Chance | Peter McConnell | |
| 09 | Tabletop Battles | Peter McConnell | |
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