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Sound Check: Resident Evil's "Peace Of Mind"
In this recurring series, the Game Informer staff reflects on meaningful video game music tracks. We explain why a particular tune stands out to us, the memories it evokes, and reflect on what makes it catchy/intense/emotional. For our inaugural Sound Check post we listen to "Peace of Mind", the eerie yet soothing save room music from the 1996 PlayStation game Resident Evil.
The original Resident Evil's soundtrack aims to create a sense of unease. Moody, digitized violins sustain notes to build tension, and bombastic orchestra hits punctuate a self-destruct system countdown. The soundtrack ranges from effective to goofy, but the save room music "Peace of Mind" is a stand out track.
Every room in the mansion is crawling with enemies, many of which can kill you with deadly efficiency. Ammo is low and the threat of death is constant, so stumbling upon an opportunity to save your game and rearrange your inventory is pure relief. Reinforcing that sense of respite is "Peace of Mind"'s calming piano melody. I experience a Pavlovian sense of calm each time I hear the tune in the game, but something about the soothing track reminds you all is not well. A subtly unsettling note warbles beneath the melody like a zombie victim's scream echoing from somewhere in the mansion. Few video game tracks communicate a feeling of simultaneous security and unease like this.
[View:http://media1.gameinformer.com/media/audio/theshow/residentevil/ResidentEvilOST.mp3:610]
What do you think? Do you share my feelings? Have another favorite track from the game? Are you hearing this for the first time? Sound off in the comments below.
Be sure to check out Game Informer's other similar recurring series, Moments and Places.
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