Had to make an account just to complain about this.
tl:dr - The new menu music on the Mourningstar is too distracting. Please remove it, or add other, more ambient/mood based tracks to balance it out.
I think this was added in the Scum update or possibly the one just after, but they’ve added a “new” song from the preexisting soundtrack into the Mourningstar playlist. I assume this was done to celebrate the release of the new character and/or the free weekend to promote the game to new players.
I really do not care for it. It’s this loud, full orchestra choral track that’s really triumphant and noisy with pounding drums and dramatic vocal solos, and I find it incredibly distracting when I’m trying to compare percentages on weapons or make new character builds.
I think it’s originally from the scene where Rannick promotes you and executes the traitor, and in my opinion it really doesn’t fit the vibes of the Mourningstar. Darktide can be an incredibly intense and stressful experience, and I really appreciated the choice of Atoma Prime as the backing track, a mostly low-key ambient track that focused more on building atmosphere than trying to excite you. Being on the Mourningstar is as close to rest and relaxation that our filthy Rejects get to enjoy, after all. I really appreciated how the instrumentation of the track could be interpreted as diegetic, with a lot of the sounds feeling very much like the strange mechanical noises one might hear aboard a massive spaceship in orbit. Plus that organ/choral drop at around 2:35 always catches me off guard. Gives me chills every time.
It wouldn’t even be so bad if it were more than one track that they added, but it’s just this new one and Atoma Prime, and the new one ain’t no Atoma Prime. I love all of Darktide’s soundtrack, Jesper Kyd is clearly a mad genius, but this newly added song is definitely one of the weaker tracks in the OST and it doesn’t hold up as well on repeated listens - something that happens a LOT because it plays almost every single time you log in.
In my opinion, the ominous stings that play at the beginning of each map where you’re running through those first few corridors before enemy contact would much better suit the vibes. Bring back my Lofi Chillhop Emperor Praise Playlist 10 hours, please. I’m trying to buildcraft here.