Ypx here—today we’re going to be listening to “Ossuary” from Dead Cells.
Dead Cells spent a year in early access on Steam before being released on PC, OSX, and consoles in 2018, with mobile releases following in subsequent years. The game is a mix of the rouge-like and metroidvania games, mixing procedural world generation and progression based abilities. Though the game is permadeath based, abilities and unlocks if bought before death remain unlocked.
This track is a great example of subtle changes over the course of an atmospheric or ambient piece. There’s a rattling dulcimer sound that persists throughout, slowly changing pitch from one instance to the next and carrying melody for a while but around this sound is slowly evolving. From reverb-laden hits and chants to drums building up to metallic risers, the sounds mostly retreat into a more wild and sparse percussive textures before building again to a much denser texture at the 2:40 mark. Strings and a thin choir carry the melody shortly on their own before the textures give way to the sparse environment noises, ending without the dulcimer.
Skeli'n Studios 