If you ever played Unreal Tournament, you’ve surely spent countless hours inside the iconic Facing Worlds map, probably one of the most insane and at the same time genius arenas ever designed in a videogame. If you’re not familiar, it’s not difficult to keep up. The location consists of just an asteroid and two towers, each belonging to a different team. That’s it. In thirty seconds you can figure it out in its entirety. What makes Facing World memorable, besides its flawless simplicity, is what’s beyond the map. The asteroid is indeed placed not in an anonymous region of the universe but in the orbit right above our Earth. This surreal view of our planet combined with the grandiose, graceful spin of the asteroid has always infused in me a sense of peacefulness and serenity and it’s what ties that map to this review
‘Psychokinesis’, the title track that opens this new, outstanding REMNANT.exe EP, is the exact transposition into music of this vision and sensation. Minimalist structure, elegant and geometric design, and fascinating use of space are terms that fit perfectly also in the description of the track. With its opening two minutes completely dedicated to melodies and arpeggios, ‘Psychokinesis’ sweeps away all the chaos and confusion in our mind and transports it to an unreal neutral space, which then fills with extremely vivid and three-dimensional scenes. Closing your eyes you will seem to drift in the vastness of this limbo but the magnetic power of REMNANT.exe’s sound will keep you firmly anchored to its center of gravity. The sound selection, both in the intro and in the drops, is one of the best I’ve heard in a while. Everything sounds so polished and crystalline. In several sections, I had the impression to be listening to a Deadmau5 and Eric Prydz collaboration. At 50 seconds I personally hear some serious ‘Strobe’ echoes while later on at 3 minutes I spotted some ‘Sunset At Cafè Mambo’ vibes. All this dropped in a wave context, which is mindblowing!
Stream ‘Psychokinesis’ and the full EP below or on your favorite platform here.
After writing this article I actually downloaded the new Unreal Tournament game, started a match in Facing Worlds and, instead of playing, I just stared at the view with ‘Psychokinesis’ playing in the background. A sublime experience that I highly suggest. In a time where gaming and music and interconnected more than ever, I don’t lie when I say that I’d crave to buy a ticket for a REMNANT.exe show inside this arena. Epic Games, are you taking notes?
