Vom Glauben abgefallen

Whereas I could very well have done without Faith in Destiny. Six years after the release of the main game, a change of developer and the bankruptcy of publisher Jowood, the first of two stand-alone sequels was released, which unabashedly desecrated the proud SpellForce 2-corpse. It was not enough to present a bugfest, no, of course the composers were also replaced. This was probably inevitable, as Dynamedion had grown into a renowned brand in the meantime, not least because of the fantastic score for SpellForce 2, and was therefore too expensive for a simple cash grab.

The thankless task of taking on this great legacy fell to Josef Altersberger, whose discography is adorned with exactly two entries: SpellForce 2: Faith in Destiny and SpellForce 2: Demons of the Past. Whether he decided to hang up his career after the two albums, whether he went into hiding or even changed his name, I don't know. That would be justified if you were expecting a similar musical quality to that of the main game - because the OST isn't particularly good.

Games from the SpellForce-series

SpellForce: The Order of Dawn (2003)

SpellForce 2: Shadow Wars (2006)

SpellForce 3 (2017)

I don't want to sound too mean, because this is where the expectations of a Schalke fan to play Champions League football next season meet the harsh reality of the bottom of the second division. In other words: anyone expecting Taylor Swift will probably be disappointed by Karen from the meat counter, no matter how good she is at karaoke. Or even simpler: expectation 10, reality 3 #Tinder.

Joking aside, even if compared to the standard set for an album from 2012, the score is below average. The composition is uninspired, irrelevant, repetitive, overly dramatic and at the same time very flat. Instead of an orchestra, there are sounds from a can. The only ray of hope is The Dream Weaver, which promises a hint of mystery and depth with its pizzicato. But even then, the OST falls short of the mischievous goings-on of a Trine . It's almost comforting that the 19 tracks can be listened to in just over half an hour.