Year: 2023
Type: Original Soundtrack (OST)
Composer(s): Guillaume Ferran
Number of tracks: 23

★★★★★

Emotional rock climbing

The developers at Don't Nod proved to me that they have a knack for a special take on games, not least with the great Life Is Strange. Other titles such as the earlier Remember Me are also said to have been quite good. However, their reputation crumbled with their subsequent releases, starting with Vamypr, which I thought was mediocre, followed by the sequels Life Is Strange 2 and the copy-paste coming-of-age drama Tell Me Why.

Now they are literally trying to counteract this slump in success with Jusant . Contrary to what the title suggests ('Jusant' = French for 'low tide'), the puzzle platformer is all about climbing a mountain - that's it. A simple premise that should be reasonably entertaining after all ... maybe I'll try it out sometime. As a fan of the Life Is Strange-soundtracks, I wanted to at least get an impression of it and I have to say: it's worth it!

The 23-track album was composed by Guillaume Ferran and seems to be his first work, at least in the video game cosmos. The debut for Jusant is worthy of all honors and completely wins me over with its relaxing, dreamy mood. The interplay of piano and synths, sometimes melancholic ("Amer"), sometimes driving ("9C+ (Caillasses)"), in combination with the violin, creates an interesting balancing act and follows the paths of Unravels ("Solstice") or Valleys ("Ascension").

Now and again, the score even dips its light-footed toe into the soulful ambient waters of Skyrim, only to unpack the organ in the next track and pull us out of our meditation ("Les affluents"). A thoroughly successful journey that touches without pathos and inspires empathy. If you like the above examples or simply want to relax for a while, this OST is definitely worth listening to.

Nr.	Title	Interpret(en)	Ratings
01	Jusant	Guillaume Ferran	4
02	Estran	Guillaume Ferran	4
03	Amer	Guillaume Ferran	5
04	Sémaphore	Guillaume Ferran	4
05	Finisterre	Guillaume Ferran	3
06	Migration	Guillaume Ferran	4
07	Adret	Guillaume Ferran	3
08	Contre-jour	Guillaume Ferran	3
09	Impluvium	Guillaume Ferran	3
10	Champs-d'en-Haut	Guillaume Ferran	4
11	9C+ (Caillasses)	Guillaume Ferran	5
12	Solstice	Guillaume Ferran	5
13	Hydrochorie	Guillaume Ferran	2
14	Marché des canaux	Guillaume Ferran	1
15	Réservoir	Guillaume Ferran	4
16	Les affluents	Guillaume Ferran	5
17	Mouvements	Guillaume Ferran	2
18	Mirage	Guillaume Ferran	5
19	Ballast	Guillaume Ferran	2
20	Ascension	Guillaume Ferran	5
21	Anthropocène	Guillaume Ferran	4
22	Syzygie	Guillaume Ferran	5
23	Vives-Eaux	Guillaume Ferran	4