AC6 soundtrack/music impressions

[ZaruForever]

I originally posted this in other place, but will quote myself again.

The whole new direction with music is... weird? Idk, ive been listening for AC music for years and years, this one seems to be a step down. What happened to good old FreQuency team? Hoshino-san, you felt more energetic in late 90s and 00s. Some of tracks ARE epic, though. But too "cinematic" compared to how AC music used to be. The topic of music in this game is very conflicting for me at the moment. Also disappointed to not get Saitoh or Eto tunes. Instead its Hoshino, Miyazawa and Onodera... not what I waited for 10 years. Kitamura-chan leaving FromSoft also sad.

edit:
After further listening, there are tracks that I enjoy, however my conlusion is that soundtrack is good "as it is", but sort of disappointment as "ac music" in case you had certain expectations. And yes, garage theme is too weak. Guess they used most fancy tunes on bosses.

edit2:
A couple of songs are pretty good though. I'm sure they will do a huge impact during game. I just wish there were more "heavy hitters" like them, and less "fillers".

edit3:
Also I think we should wait for CD release of OST, cause it feels like current version does not represent it in best way.

The songs which I more or less liked are following:

- Contact with You
- Rough and Decent (including "bad joke" remix)
- Hearing Things
- Beyond Scorched Skies
- Unbreakable
- Verification
- Clockwork Hostility
- Coral Guardian
- Rush Assignment
- Steel Haze
- Cries of Coral
- The Man Who Burnt It All (+ The Man Who Passed the Torch)
- Echoes of Coral
- Stargazer


So, about 15 tracks out of 47 I consider to be enjoyable.
Among the ones I mentioned, some are stronger, some are weaker. I can't pick "absolute favorites" yet (I'd better revisit them all after playing the game itself), but for now I would say that this soundtrack will NOT get into top-10 favorite AC soundtracks for me (maybe a song or two would, though, but album-wise nope). However, of you are fan of certain music genres and bands, you might like it. I think those who enjoyed "Ghosts I-IV" by Nine Inch Nails or "Returnal" by Oneohtrix Point Never might appreciate certain tracks here.

Still, I absolutely agree that a notable bunch of tracks from soundtrack are disappointing/uninteresting "fillers" that sometimes have curious sound design, but ultimately fall into "faceless generic bgm" side of things. Those are the tracks I didn't name here. On the other hand, they might sound good enough in context of game, of course.

I think that AC6 music is techically "decent music", but from viewpoint of long time AC enthusiast it really can be a let down. Especially if you are a fan of notable non-AC Kota Hoshino works like Evergrace, Lost Kingdoms, Echo Night or Metal Wolf Chaos. Lack of Tsukasa Saitoh, Hideyuki Eto, Kohichi Suenaga , Yoshikazu Takayama and Yuka Kitamura participation also makes me sad. They were core of Armored Core music in mid to late 00s and early 10s.

I just miss days when FromSoftware composers were ENERGY BEASTS, lol.

[Grim]

I LOVE certain tracks in this game. The rest are kinda forgettable, but these ones make up for it I think.

Fires of Rubicon/The Man Who Burnt It All
Contact With You
C-Weapon
Hearing Things
Steel Haze (Rusted Pride)
Stargazer

Fires of Rubicon/The Man Who Burnt It All have the same motif/section that's just iconic for the title, especially since I've heard it so many times binging the prerelease trailers.

Contact With You harkens back to the vibes of the AC music of old, just this fast-paced, electronic beats-laden track, perfect for fighting the (2nd) skill gate in the game.

C-Weapon brings home this feeling of foreboding and urgency, it makes me uncomfortable and I love it.

Hearing Things just plays up to my love of lofi beats you can study to.

Steel Haze (Rusted Pride) has these soaring tones and orchestral voices that give it, weirdly, a hopeful sound in a world at war. Also Rusty best boy.

Stargazer is just an overall feel-good soundtrack after obtaining the true ending. Pure cathartis. It's the most Hoshino-sounding piece in the game in my opinion.

[Sirius140]

I LOVE certain tracks in this game. The rest are kinda forgettable, but these ones make up for it I think.

Fires of Rubicon/The Man Who Burnt It All
Contact With You
C-Weapon
Hearing Things
Steel Haze (Rusted Pride)
Stargazer

Fires of Rubicon/The Man Who Burnt It All have the same motif/section that's just iconic for the title, especially since I've heard it so many times binging the prerelease trailers.

Contact With You harkens back to the vibes of the AC music of old, just this fast-paced, electronic beats-laden track, perfect for fighting the (2nd) skill gate in the game.

C-Weapon brings home this feeling of foreboding and urgency, it makes me uncomfortable and I love it.

Hearing Things just plays up to my love of lofi beats you can study to.

Steel Haze (Rusted Pride) has these soaring tones and orchestral voices that give it, weirdly, a hopeful sound in a world at war. Also Rusty best boy.

Stargazer is just an overall feel-good soundtrack after obtaining the true ending. Pure cathartis. It's the most Hoshino-sounding piece in the game in my opinion.

This pretty much sums up my impressions as well. I almost cried when I heard the leitmotif baked into Stargazer.