The soundtrack

Jazz, cacophony, polka… In a puzzle game.

It was weird because…

The point-and-click adventure is usually the most sedate and cerebral of genres, requiring a strong narrative, and much patience and lateral thought from the player. So, ambient background noodling, right?

Wrong. The Neverhood’s guano-mental music is raucous, noisy, and very, very silly. It should have broken our minds.

But it worked because…

The Neverhood was a lunatic game by Doug TenNapel, the twisted mind behind Earthworm Jim. It was a surreal, claymation adventure which used nutso animation and accessible visual puzzles to keep the madness flowing at pace. It was the point-and-click Ren & Stimpy, so its aural insanity was weirdly fitting.

Composed by Terry Scott Taylor, the ensuing Imaginarium: Songs from The Neverhood was a critical hit. Inevitably, like the game, it didn't exactly set the mainstream alight. For the initiated though, here was game music elevated to a new level - interested parties should make with the PayPal right here.

Liked this? Now read: A-Z of chiptune

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