soundtracks,  video games

Mass Effect

Year: 2007
Type: Original Soundtrack (OST) / Extended Edition
Composer(s): Jack Wall, Sam Hulick
Number of tracks: 37 / 75


Space-Opera done right

This is the music review. Here you can find the game review of
Mass Effect.

To begin with, I'd like to paint a little picture of the mood, give a bit of context as to why you're about to hear hymns of praise for the music of old games once again. Because Mass Effect wasn't just a game with top graphics and a top story - no, it also had one of the best introductions to a video game. As befits a space epic, the game begins with text fade-ins against a dark background, outlining the setting, or indeed the universe of the game.

While the words appear and disappear again, a synth beat hums that could not proclaim 'space' more stereotypically. Distant strings can be heard, but they don't sound like the 80s, they sound like the future. As the music slowly wafts towards its climax, the title disappears, the outline of a planet emerges and the title Mass Effect logo appears with the first 'discharge' of the theme.

The camera is now on board a spaceship, following a character as he walks across the bridge. Percussion joins in, giving this performance something heroic, even ceremonial. There is a hustle and bustle as our protagonist continues towards his destination, the command center. The character stops, the camera moves around and we see our previously self-built (or left as standard, because better modeled) Commander Shepard. This is followed by a brief conversation with our helmsman Joker and preparations are made for the mass jump. What's that? A mass jump? No idea, but there's not enough time to understand everything right away.

Meanwhile, the music builds up dramatically one last time, the ship approaches its destination and is finally shot through space with a thunderstorm of effects. The background noise drops, we are in the game - and I was hooked. The fact that I was able to reproduce these impressions without looking back and only by listening to the main theme should be proof enough of how dramaturgically stylish the opening was - and the music was not least to blame for this. And with that, welcome to my Mass Effect music review! By the way: If you fancy taking a look at my old game review from back in the day, take a look at the Mass Effect game review.

You might not realize it, but I'm a bit of a fanboy of the sci-fi series from Bioware - although I was originally anti, because it was new, it wasn't Star Wars or even Star Trek. But moments like the beginning described above quickly converted me. Mass Effect 3 and even Andromeda have a hard time taking the fun out of the series for me... but that's another matter. What has always distinguished the series in my opinion was the background music. Where you usually have two or three particularly notable tracks or themes in games, the Mass Effect-series manages to tailor memorable tracks to even supposedly minor locations and characters - especially in the later installments.

But maybe I'm just too biased, because as is so often the case, the nostalgia alert also applies to this review. Now that that's out of the way, I can get on with my nerdy praise. For example, about the Citadel-theme, our first stop after the tutorial and the linchpin of the story. The music, first epic, then spherical, manages to create an acoustic grandeur that is inextricably linked to the image of the space station. Or Spectre Introduction, a variation of the main theme, only even bigger, even more epic, even more powerful.

Or the themes that revolve around the antagonists, such as Saren or Sovereign’s Theme, which are used as a recurring motif in the later parts. In contrast to the heroic tracks, these are gloomy, oppressive, almost crushing, with tubas and strings that, in the best Peter and the Wolf-manner, draw character sketches of large, darkly menacing entities. In stark contrast to this are tracks such as Vigil or The Presidium, which create dreamy illusions of a hopeful future with their spherical sounds.

The composers Sam Hulick and Jack Wall know how to use a stringent musical keyboard that is multifaceted enough not to become monotonous, but can rely on strong and catchy motifs to avoid becoming incoherent. Only the Love Theme stands out a little from the synth operetta, which as a piano piece is accompanied only by a light thumping and sensitively accompanies the tame in-game love scene. 

However, I do have one small criticism, even if that is probably my own problem. The OST, the original soundtrack, is a whopping 38 tracks long - great, after all, like The Very Hungry Caterpillar , I can never have too many songs. That's why I also checked out the Extended Edition and realized that sometimes less is more. The extended version is twice as big and contains 75 tracks, but unfortunately it also contains a lot of junk - especially the elevator tracks. Although some of them are tongue-in-cheek adaptations of the main theme, they remind me of the annoying loading time bridging rides in the Citadel; music-controlled memory does have its pitfalls. But even without these connections, it would still be elevator music... and who likes listening to that?

Beyond these unnecessary extras, there are also less powerful tracks such as Ilos, Spectre Talk or Refinery , which could also be found in this form in Portal 2 or Mirror’s Edge : There's music there, it sounds quaint, but rather witless without gameplay. Therefore, as much as I appreciate a comprehensive album, I would say that you're only missing out on the Mass Effect OST if you haven't heard it - but you don't need the extended version.

My conclusion: The soundtrack is roundhouse kick, but a deliberate, accentuated foundation for the Mass Effect-mythos. It links the saga and the epic and is just as inextricably bound to the game as Howard Shore's compositions are to The Lord of the Rings-trilogy, for example, or the Imperial March with the appearance of a short-breathed, black-clad gentleman.


Nostalgia warning

The rating of the individual tracks is purely subjective and clearly colored by my own experience with the game. You can find out more in the article About Nostalgia.

Mass Effect

No.TitleArtist(s)Ratings
01Mass EffectJack Wall; Sam Hulick55/5
02The NormandySam Hulick44/5
03Eden PrimeJack Wall11/5
04Battle at Eden PrimeSam Hulick33/5
05SarenJack Wall44/5
06The CitadelRichard Jacques55/5
07The PresidiumJack Wall33/5
08The WardsJack Wall44/5
09Criminal ElementsJack Wall33/5
10Spectre InductionRichard Jacques; Jack Wall; Sam Hulick55/5
11Liara's WorldJack Wall33/5
12A Very Dangerous PlaceSam Hulick44/5
13FerosJack Wall22/5
14Protecting the ColonySam Hulick33/5
15The ThorianRichard Jacques; Jack Wall11/5
16NoveriaJack Wall22/5
17The Secret LabsSam Hulick22/5
18The Alien QueenRichard Jacques; Jack Wall; Sam Hulick44/5
19Fatal ConfrontationJack Wall33/5
20Saren's BaseJack Wall33/5
21Breeding GroundJack Wall; Sam Hulick55/5
22Virmire RideJack Wall44/5
23ExitRichard Jacques; Jack Wall; Sam Hulick55/5
24Love ThemeJack Wall44/5
25Uncharted WorldsSam Hulick44/5
26IlosJack Wall11/5
27VigilJack Wall44/5
28Sovereign's ThemeSam Hulick55/5
29UplinkSam Hulick33/5
30Battling SarenJack Wall44/5
31In Pursuit of SarenJack Wall; Sam Hulick55/5
32InfusionJack Wall; Sam Hulick; David Kates44/5
33Final AssaultJack Wall; Sam Hulick; David Kates44/5
34VictorySam Hulick44/5
35From the WreckageSam Hulick44/5
36The End (Reprise)Jack Wall; Sam Hulick55/5
37M4 Part II (Faunts)Faunts55/5

Mass Effect [Extended Edition]

No.TitleArtist(s)Ratings
01Mass Effect*Jack Wall55/5
02Mass Effect [Alternate]Jack Wall33/5
03Mass Effect [Sam Hulick Version]Sam Hulick44/5
04The Normandy*Sam Hulick44/5
05Eden Prime BriefingJack Wall22/5
06Battle at Eden Prime*Sam Hulick33/5
07Eden Prime*Jack Wall11/5
08Saren*Jack Wall44/5
09The Citadel*Richard Jacques; Jack Wall; Sam Hulick55/5
10The Presidium 1Jack Wall33/5
11The Presidium 2Jack Wall22/5
12The Presidium 3Jack Wall33/5
13The Presidium 4 (Ruins)Jack Wall22/5
14The Wards*Jack Wall33/5
15The Wards [Extended]Jack Wall22/5
16Criminal Elements*Jack Wall33/5
17Spectre Induction*Richard Jacques; Jack Wall; Sam Hulick55/5
18Spectre TalkJack Wall22/5
19Speech HeroicJack Wall33/5
20Speech HardassJack Wall33/5
21Liara's World*Jack Wall33/5
22A Very Dangerous Place*Sam Hulick44/5
23Feros*Jack Wall22/5
24Battle on FerosJack Wall33/5
25Protecting the Colony*Sam Hulick33/5
26The Thorian*Richard Jacques; Jack Wall11/5
27RefineryJack Wall22/5
28GethJack Wall22/5
29KnossosJack Wall22/5
30Noveria*Jack Wall22/5
31*The Secret LabsSam Hulick22/5
32Peak 15Jack Wall11/5
33RiftstationJack Wall22/5
34Riftstation BattleJack Wall33/5
35Riftstation Battle (with Liara)Jack Wall33/5
36Riftstation Battle (without Liara)Jack Wall22/5
37The Alien Queen*Richard Jacques; Jack Wall; Sam Hulick44/5
38Virmire Ride*Jack Wall44/5
39Wrex DiesJack Wall22/5
40Wrex LivesJack Wall33/5
41Patton SpeechJack Wall33/5
42Breeding Ground*Jack Wall; Sam Hulick55/5
43Sovereign's Theme*Sam Hulick55/5
44Choice OkJack Wall44/5
45Choice ColdJack Wall44/5
46Exit*Richard Jacques; Jack Wall; Sam Hulick55/5
47Exit WoundedJack Wall44/5
48Escape the Citadel (Good)Jack Wall33/5
49Escape the Citadel (Bad)Jack Wall44/5
50Love Theme*Jack Wall44/5
51Ilos*Jack Wall11/5
52Ilos Battle 1Jack Wall33/5
53Ilos Battle 2Jack Wall33/5
54Vigil*Jack Wall44/5
55In Pursuit of Saren*Jack Wall; Sam Hulick55/5
56Uplink*Sam Hulick33/5
57Running to the Citadel TowerJack Wall33/5
58Battling Saren*Jack Wall44/5
59The Death of SarenJack Wall44/5
60Saving the CouncilJack Wall33/5
61Infusion*David Kates; Jack Wall; Sam Hulick44/5
62Final Assault*David Kates; Jack Wall; Sam Hulick44/5
63Victory*Sam Hulick44/5
64From the Wreckage*Sam Hulick44/5
65Ending GoodJack Wall44/5
66Ending BadJack Wall33/5
67Uncharted Worlds*Sam Hulick44/5
68Elevator Music 1Jack Wall11/5
69Elevator Music 2Jack Wall11/5
70Elevator Music 3Jack Wall11/5
71Elevator Music 4Jack Wall11/5
72Elevator Music 5Jack Wall11/5
73Elevator Music 6Jack Wall11/5
74Elevator Music 7Jack Wall11/5
75M4 (Part II)*Faunts55/5

*Track contained in the Original Soundtrack

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