Arkane Lyon’s award-winning, genre-bending shooterDeathloophas the makings of a modern classic. From its sharp, multilayered story to its spy-meets-supernatural gunplay, not to mention its Game Awards-winning art direction,Deathloopappeals on many levels. A considerable part of the game’s appeal is composer Tom Salta’s original score that carries each player’sGroundhog’s Day-esque adventures on the island of Blackreef.
Deathloophad one of the best game soundtracks of 2021, featuring a collision of 1960s jazz and 70s rock in creative, contemporary arrangements. Game Rant spoke with Salta about his approach to composing music for an island caught out of time.
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Playing by Proxy of Deathloop’s Score
One of the things that setsDeathloop’s soundtracks apart is how seamlessly it synergizes with the gameplay. GivenDeathloop’s broad range of weapons, powers, and stealth options, managing all those threads is quite a feat. Yet Salta was unable to play the game while composing, as the title was still in development, meaning his end-product demanded a lot of back-and-forth.
“As I composed the music for various areas, the audio team would put my music in the game and send me back video captures, so I could see and hear how everything was working in context. This was invaluable because I was able to make adjustments and improvements to everything as I went along.”
To get Salta started, Arkane provided him with a wealth of information to conceptualize the period, including level design art, background documentation, and character profiles. These assets allowed Salta to compose music that was at once period-appropriate and refreshingly original, just likethe time-loop setting of Blackreef. The approach is not dissimilar to composing for Hollywood blockbusters, andDeathloop’s soundtrack is suitably cinematic. However, players' agency over the flow of scenes, as opposed to the authoritative pacing of a director, presents a unique challenge for scoring video games.
Salta had to design tracks for the average-length combat encounter, and longer, slower-paced tracks for stealth sections, as well as enabling the game to dynamically transition between both without a thematic dissonance. The answer to that challenge, as with most aspects of game development, was aggressive iteration. Assisted by Arkane’s video captures, Salta could fine-tune his tracks to suit the player’s current in-game circumstances. Composing music is often seen as a solitary endeavor, butcollaboration is at the core of a game’s success.
Scoring Visionary Targets
Deathloop, like Arkane’s earlier titles in theDishonoreduniverse, is a character-rich shooter. The environment may have the starring role as a constant presence throughout the game, but the variety in Cole’s mission relies on his eight distinctly eccentric assassination targets:
“Every target, or Visionary, in Deathloop has a distinct personality and backstory. Arkane did an amazing job of showing me each character. This enabled us to have conversations about what kind of musical instruments, sounds and style would best communicate their unique and colorful personalities to the player.”
It’s a subtle detail that every player will appreciate unconsciously, but only musical-minded gamers are likely to notice each Visionary is associated with unique instrumentation. Some share the same instruments - percussion and jazzy sax feature prominently in most combat tracks - butCharlie Montague, Blackreef’s brilliant game designer, has a distinctly sci-fi vibe. Spooky low-tones characterize sneaking music, while explosive brass sections light up the level once shooting starts. In Karl’s Bay, tense strings typify skulking, while keyboards and guitars take center stage when things take a turn for the worst.
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Meanwhile,Aleksis Dorsey, the fox-faced financial backer of Blackreef, has a hint of jazz piano for his quiet sections. A character as dramatic and lavish as Aleksis could easily be crass and garish, but the piano in his theme hints at some deeper refinement. The soundtrack’s capacity to expand on the characters' personalities is crucial forDeathloop’s narrative. Aside from Cole and Juliana, characters' screen times are relatively limited, seeing as confrontations typically entail a desperate “kill or be killed” struggle. But as players explore the Visionaries' environments, and rifle through their personal effects, the music helps spell out their true nature.
In Deathloop, Collaboration is Key
Salta’s process, which involved deep study, generous asset access by Arkane, and near-constant communication, is a prime example of the composer’s advice for young creatives. Relationships are the “most important thing to understand about this industry,” Salta said. Those looking to break into the industry should start making connections and nurturing them.
It is hard to argue against Salta’s results. He has scored numerous games with different developers across a wide variety of genres. Tellingly, his work onDeathloopis now eligible forthe Grammy Awards all new “Video Game Soundtrack” category.
Deathloopis available now for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.
