Year: 2009
Type: Original Soundtrack (OST)
Composer(s): Michiel van den Bos
Number of tracks: 34

★★★★★

Brightly colored fantasy

I used to be a big fan of the Overlord-series, which turns the fantasy genre on its head a little: Instead of the noble knight in shining armor, here we play a Sauron offshoot who, with his minions, tyrannizes the brightly overdrawn lands of peasants, fairies and unicorns and turns them into a gloomy wasteland. This may sound rather depressing, but it works very well thanks to the tongue-in-cheek humor that makes even PETA purists want to beat up innocent baby seals.

The series undeniably has its charm, but was never successful enough to establish itself on the mass market. Meanwhile, 15 years on from Overlord 2 muss ich mir derweil eingestehen, dass das Gameplay nie so revolutionär war, wie ich es in meiner damaligen Game-Review zu Overlord back then. After all, Pikmin was already a pioneer in bossing around little people in 2001. In the case of Overlord commanding the comic-relief Minions, who carry out our instructions with blind devotion and accompanied by simple-minded slogans, nevertheless makes the change of perspective to the side of the bad guys entertaining - better well imitated than badly invented.

Overlord (2007)

Overlord: Raising Hell (2008)

Overlord 2 (2009)

As I mentioned in my review of the predecessor, my nostalgia was nevertheless clouded, which is why I put the OST of Overlord 2 back on my ears for this review. I'll say it up front: the music for the sequel is a continuation of the original, as Dutch composer Michiel van den Bos was once again at work. There, as here, "an exciting fantasy soundtrack" would lend itself as an appropriate description for the 34 tracks long score. However, it wouldn't be a fitting differentiator to the prequel.

No, Overlord 2 looks more like a higher-contrast version of the first game. In the first installment, we were exploring gloomy, ominous dwarven tunnels and generic, ominous hobbit dwellings, a sort of earthy brown to grey. This also had an effect on the music of the gamerip. In the sequel, we instead enter more colorful regions such as the Christmas-themed Nordberg, the elf-infested Sanctuary and the tropical Everlight. This literally rubs off on the score, which therefore reveals itself a splash more colorful.

While only the battle tracks were memorable in the previous album, the slightly cheesy ambient pieces such as Nordberg (Exploration), Arcadia or Sanctuary (Beauty) also become real ear-catchers here. This is not least due to the recurring motifs. The OST feels more self-contained. In addition, the newly introduced antagonist in the form of the Roman-inspired empire with its pompous sounds provides a much more recognizable antithesis.

Another classic feature of the series is the humor that shines through at every turn: be it the deliberately stereotypical Nordberg (Christmas), which seems to have escaped from a Christmas commercial with its jingling bells, or Everlight (Beach), which promises us Bahamas-style beach relaxation - of course with a steel drum. Another representative is Minion Impossible, whose fast-paced style is not just reminiscent of a certain spy thriller franchise with Tom Cruise.

As for the top tracks: My personal favorites are the great main theme, as usual, which builds on the motif of its predecessor, comes across as more powerful and melodic and once again by including the music-making Minions comments with a wink on how bananas the setting actually is. This theme also appears from time to time in the score, sometimes faster and more dramatic in Overlord Wrath or Empire (Upperhand), sometimes slower and more driving in Netherworld (Epic).

These are joined by the combat themes (Empire (Combat), Overlord Combat 2, Sanctuary (Combat)), which shake my baser instincts with their interplay of booming trumpets, powerful drums and drawn strings. The Minion-themes (Minion Band (Main), Minion Theme 2) form the finale. They both blow the same horn, both versions work. And that describes the score itself quite well: nothing new compared to its predecessor, nothing out of the ordinary compared to the genre standard. But in my opinion, the mixture makes the soundtrack well worth listening to - even if the game no longer has the same effect today as it did 15 years ago.

No.	Title	Artist(s)	Ratings
01	Overlord 2	Michiel van den Bos	5
02	Prelude	Michiel van den Bos	4
03	Nordberg (Exploration)	Michiel van den Bos	4
04	Nordberg (Christmas)	Michiel van den Bos	3
05	Empire (Combat)	Michiel van den Bos	5
06	Overlord Combat 2	Michiel van den Bos	5
07	Nordberg (Arctic)	Michiel van den Bos	3
08	Nordberg (Combat)	Michiel van den Bos	3
09	Sanctuary (Tension)	Michiel van den Bos	2
10	Sanctuary (Fay)	Michiel van den Bos	2
11	Netherworld (Epic)	Michiel van den Bos	4
12	Minion Band (Main)	Michiel van den Bos	5
13	Arcadia	Michiel van den Bos	4
14	Sanctuary (Beauty)	Michiel van den Bos	5
15	Sanctuary (Combat)	Michiel van den Bos	5
16	Minion Theme 2	Michiel van den Bos	5
17	Empire (March)	Michiel van den Bos	4
18	Minion Infiltration	Michiel van den Bos	2
19	Empire (Arena Subdued)	Michiel van den Bos	3
20	Netherworld	Michiel van den Bos	3
21	Netherworld (Mistress)	Michiel van den Bos	3
22	Nordberg (Seaworthy)	Michiel van den Bos	2
23	Everlight (Mystery)	Michiel van den Bos	3
24	Everlight (Beach)	Michiel van den Bos	2
25	Everlight (Jungle Explore)	Michiel van den Bos	3
26	Everlight (Jungle)	Michiel van den Bos	4
27	Minion Impossible	Michiel van den Bos	4
28	Rose Theme	Michiel van den Bos	3
29	Wasteland (Tension)	Michiel van den Bos	2
30	Empire (Glory)	Michiel van den Bos	2
31	Overlord Wrath	Michiel van den Bos	5
32	Empire (Arena)	Michiel van den Bos	4
33	Empire (Upperhand)	Michiel van den Bos	4
34	End Credits	Michiel van den Bos	5