Soundtrack

OST cover

The soundtrack for Risk of Rain 2 was composed by Chris Christodoulou. It was first released as an Early Access OST before being fully released along the 1.0 update of the game on August 11th, 2020.

Availability

The official OST is currently available for purchase on Bandcamp. Early versions of the tracks were released during development in the Early Access OST, which is not available for purchase anymore (original Bandcamp link).

• Each track is also available separately on YouTube on Chris Christodoulou's channel.
  • OST Playlist
  • SotV Playlist

Track list

The album contains 20 official tracks:

1. Through a Cloud, Darkly (01:59)
2. Risk of Rain 2 (05:22)
3. Evapotranspiration (05:01)
4. Thermodynamic Equilibrium (05:18)
5. Terra Pluviam (07:41)
6. Köppen As Fuck (05:48)
7. Disdrometer (06:51)
8. Into the Doldrums (05:11)
9. A Glacier Eventually Farts (And Don't You Listen to the Song of Life) (05:11)
10. Nocturnal Emission (04:52)
11. The Dehydration of Risk of Rain 2 (04:58)
12. Parjanya (02:54)
13. Hydrophobia (02:47)
14. Antarctic Oscillation (06:27)
15. The Rain Formerly Known as Purple (07:55)
16. The Raindrop that Fell to the Sky (11:38)
17. You're Gonna Need a Bigger Ukulele (04:58)
18. ...con lentitud poderosa (04:50)
19. Petrichor V (11:27)
20. Lacrimosum (03:03)

The album also contains 4 bonus tracks:

1. Monsoon 2.0 (01:33)
2. Monsoon 2.0 (radio edit) (00:48)
3. Monsoon 2.0 (alternate version) (01:33)
4. A Glacier Eventually Farts [in-game version] (05:09)

Survivors of the Void track list

The Survivors of the Void soundtrack adds 9 new official tracks, and is also available for purchase on Bandcamp:

1. Prelude in D flat major (02:16)
2. A Placid Island of Ignorance (05:01)
3. Having Fallen, It Was Blood (03:03)
4. Out of Whose Womb Came the Ice? (03:47)
5. Once in a Lullaby (06:03)
6. A Boat Made from a Sheet of Newspaper (03:10)
7. They Might As Well Be Dead (04:43)
8. The Face of the Deep (05:21)
9. Who Can Fathom the Soundless Depths? (05:57)

Integration

The tracks can be classified in two categories: the Stage tracks, used as background music when exploring a level, and the Boss tracks, used during a Teleporter Event. Boss tracks, just like Stage tracks, are tied to the stage they are played on and not to the Boss spawned by the Teleporter.

Stage Tracks

1. Evapotranspiration is used on Distant Roost.
2. Terra Pluviam is used on Abandoned Aqueduct and Abyssal Depths.
3. Disdrometer is used on Titanic Plains and Scorched Acres.
4. Into the Doldrums is used on Rallypoint Delta and Gilded Coast.
5. A Glacier Eventually Farts [in-game version] is used on Void Fields.
6. Nocturnal Emission is used on Wetland Aspect.
7. Parjanya is used on Bazaar Between Time.
8. The Rain Formerly Known as Purple is used on Sky Meadow.
9. The Raindrop that Fell to the Sky is used on Siren's Call and Bulwark's Ambry.
10. ...con lentitud poderosa is used on Commencement.
11. Petrichor V is used on A Moment, Fractured and A Moment, Whole.
12. A Placid Island of Ignorance is used on Void Locus and The Planetarium.
13. Out of Whose Womb Came the Ice? is used on Siphoned Forest.
14. Once in a Lullaby is used on Aphelian Sanctuary.
15. They Might As Well Be Dead is used on Sundered Grove.
16. Who Can Fathom the Soundless Depths? is used on Sulfur Pools.

• All replicated stages in the Simulacrum play their respective stage music with the exception of Abandoned Aqueduct, which plays Who Can Fathom the Soundless Depths? instead.

Boss Tracks

1. Thermodynamic Equilibrium is used on Titanic Plains, Distant Roost and Abandoned Aqueduct.
2. Köppen As Fuck is used on Wetland Aspect, Scorched Acres and Siren's Call.
3. Hydrophobia is used on Rallypoint Delta, Abyssal Depths and Sundered Grove.
4. Antarctic Oscillation is used on Sky Meadow.
5. You're Gonna Need a Bigger Ukulele is used on Commencement.
6. Having Fallen, It Was Blood is used on Siphoned Forest and Aphelian Sanctuary.
7. A Boat Made from a Sheet of Newspaper is used on Sulfur Pools.
8. The Face of the Deep is used on The Planetarium.

Others

1. Through a Cloud, Darkly is used in the cinematic intro of the game.
2. Risk of Rain 2 is used in the main menu and is the main theme of the game.
3. The Dehydration of Risk of Rain 2 is a variation of the main theme used for the Logbook, character selection and the menus for Eclipse and Prismatic Trials.
4. Lacrimosum is used in the outro cinematic and the end credits of the game.
5. Monsoon 2.0 is featured in the official cinematic trailer released in August 2019 and available on the Nintendo, Playstation and Xbox official Youtube channels.
6. Prelude in D flat major is used in the Simulacrum menu.

Namesakes

Just like in Risk of Rain 1, composer Chris Christodoulou has given every song in the soundtrack a name related to rain.

Whether it’s in plain sight or a bit more elaborate.

Risk of Rain 2 song	Meaning	Explanation/Quote
Through a Cloud, Darkly	Not confirmed.	Could be a reference to the UES Safe Travels approaching Petrichor V, as seen in the start-up cinematic.
Risk of Rain 2	The name of the second game.	A risk of failure or bad things happening.
Evapotranspiration	The process of water moving from the earth’s surface into the atmosphere.	Evapotranspiration is generally what causes rain to happen, since it’s a part of the water cycle.
Thermodynamic Equilibrium	An axiomatic concept of thermodynamics.	It is observed that some property of an object, like the pressure in a volume of gas, the length of a metal rod, or the electrical conductivity of a wire, can change when the object is heated or cooled. If two of these objects are brought into physical contact there is initially a change in the property of both objects. But, eventually, the change in property stops and the objects are said to be in thermal, or thermodynamic, equilibrium.
Terra Pluviam	Greek for “Earth” and “Rain”, respectively.	Could be translated to “Land of Rain”.
Köppen as Fuck	May be a reference to the "Tropical Rainforest Climate", which is designated as "Af" in the Köppen climate classification (Köppen Af).	In this context, Af is used as AF, written abbreviation for “as fuck”.
Disdrometer	An instrument used to measure the drop size distribution and velocity of falling hydrometeors.	Hydrometeors like graupel, hail and, of course, rain.
Into the Doldrums	“Doldrums” refers to the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), a stripe or band area near the thermal equator where the northeast and the southeast trade winds converge. The doldrums, specifically, is an area of the ITCZ known by sailors for its calm, windless nature.	The ITCZ in general has a drastic effect on the weather, affecting rainfalls in multiple equatorial nations. There’s even an area inside the ITCZ known as the Monsoon Trough, which plays a role in creating many of the world's rainforests.
A Glacier Eventually Farts (And Don't You Listen to the Song of Life)	A direct quote from Werner Herzog's Minnesota Declaration. This is the second time Werner Herzog is referenced in this song, since Chris Christodolou sampled a narration by Herzog from the documentary Burden of Dreams for this track.	“Mother Nature doesn’t call, doesn’t speak to you, although a glacier eventually farts. And don’t you listen to the Song of Life”
Nocturnal Emission	Also known as a wet dream.	“Another one of those great titles of mine. Google it.” - Chris Christodoulou (Risk of Rain 2 Album Commentary)
The Dehydration of Risk of Rain 2	The name was chosen by Christodoulou because this song is a variation of the main theme, stripped down of many instruments.	The intended name of this track was “The Dehydration of Risk of Rain 2's Main Theme by the Composer Chris Christodoulou”. This is a reference to the long titles of old novels of the likes of “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford”.
Hydrophobia	Contrary to what one might believe, Hydrophobia is not the fear of water. This was an old name for Rabies, a viral disease that causes encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) in humans and other mammals.	Hydrophobia its the technically correct term for fear of water (now known as Aquaphobia). But Hydrophobia now refers to a symptom of later-stage rabies, which manifests itself in humans as difficulty in swallowing, fear when presented with liquids to drink, and an inability to quench one's thirst.
Antarctic Oscillation	Refers to a variation of the atmosphere in the form of a belt of strong westerly winds or low-pressure surrounding Antarctica.	It’s known for having two phases that bring positive and negative effects on the weather, all related to humidity, snowfalls and rainfalls.
The Rain Formerly Known as Purple	The name is a play on the song Purple Rain by Prince, and one of Prince's appellations ("The Artist Formerly Known as Prince"). In fact, the whole track IS the play, featuring similar motifs from the original song. On a deeper level, the meaning of the purple rain refers to the end of the world.	"When there's blood in the sky... red and blue = purple. Purple rain pertains to the end of the world and being with the one you love and letting your faith/God guide you through the purple rain." - Prince
The Raindrop that Fell to the Sky	Not confirmed.	On another level, and as Chris says in the album commentary, at the mid-point of the production of the soundtrack he felt tired and even started to think he might not complete the project. But also the need to create something special was there, so this song was kind of an outlet to that frustration.
You're Gonna Need a Bigger Ukulele	A reference to a quote from the movie Jaws. And likely a reference to how iconic the Ukulele is within the Risk of Rain media. And also, maybe a reference to how no one has what it takes when facing the final boss of the game, Mithrix.	“You’re going to need a bigger boat.” - Martin Brody
...con lentitud poderosa	The three last words of a paragraph from El Inmortal, a short story about a human who accidentally achieves immortality, and the metaphysical paradoxes he has to face. Written by Argentinian writer Jorge Luis Borges.	Original (Spanish) "Pensé en un mundo sin memoria, sin tiempo, consideré la posibilidad de un lenguaje que ignorara los sustantivos, un lenguaje de verbos impersonales o de indeclinables epítetos. Así fueron muriendo los días y con los días los años, pero algo parecido a la felicidad ocurrió una mañana. Llovió, con lentitud poderosa." English Translation "I thought of a world without memory, without time, I considered the possibility of a language that ignored nouns, a language of impersonal verbs or indeclinable epithets. Thus the days died and with the days the years, but something similar to happiness happened one morning. It rained, with powerful slowness."
Petrichor V	The smell of the earth after the rain.	Despite the simple meaning, there’s a longer story behind the name. Upon releasing the Risk of Rain 1 soundtrack, a YouTube comment gave Chris Christodoulou the idea of using the word “petrichor” for a song title. Chris remembered this comment even when he lost the bookmark for it. When the time came to make the Risk of Rain 2 soundtrack, Chris was going to use the title “Petrichor” for this song, but a song with the same title was featured in the Hyper Light Drifter soundtrack by Disasterpeace. So, he had to come up with something else, which was the “V” in the title. The V has multiple meanings that Chris has mentioned in the album commentary: The Roman number five. The number five itself being a big thing within the whole soundtrack, since Chris uses that kind of tempo several times. A reference to Vangelis, the composer of the Blade Runner soundtrack. Blade Runner being one of Chris’ and Hopoo Games’ main inspirations for the game. Petrichor V inside the Risk of Rain lore is also the planet on which both games take place.
Lacrimosum	Latin for “tearful”.	"I remember the old days and I cry; and I go in the ill wind that carries me. Here, there, like the dead leaf." - Chanson d'Automne by French poet Paul Verlaine.

Survivors of the Void

The deeper meaning behind the names is also featured in the Survivors of the Void soundtrack. With the added bonus of not only featuring names related to rain, but also names related to eldritch horrors and abominations. Which is itself a reference to the Void thematic of the SOTV expansion.

SOTV song	Meaning	Explanation/Quote
Prelude in D Flat Major	The name of the song by Chopin that Chris Christodoulou re-arranged in the Risk of Rain style.	This Chopin song is also known as the “Raindrop” prelude, which is probably the main reason why Chris used it.
A Placid Island of Ignorance	A quote from The Call of Cthulhu, a short story by American writer H. P. Lovecraft.	“The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents. We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity, and it was not meant that we should voyage far”
Having Fallen, It Was Blood	A quote from Silence: A Fable, a book by American writer Edgar Allan Poe.	“It was night, and the rain fell; and, falling, it was rain, but, having fallen, it was blood.”
Out of Whose Womb Came the Ice?	A quote from the Bible. Specifically, from Job 38:29.	“Hath the rain a father? Or who hath begotten the drops of dew? Out of whose womb came the ice? And the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it?”
Once in a Lullaby	Part of the lyrics from Over the Rainbow by Yip Harburg.	Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high There’s a land that I heard of once in a lullaby Somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue And the dreams that you dare to dream Really do come true On a deeper level, the song Over the Rainbow talks about a “rainbow world”. An idealization of the world the current generation wants to live in and give to the next generation. But at the same time, talks how the current generation has failed at making this rainbow world, and how they might never see it. Which kind of defines the Risk of Rain story as a whole. “But we could hand down our songs, which still hand down to hope and laughter. So, in times of confusion like these, when the whole world is a hopeless jumble and the raindrops tumble all around, Heaven opens a plane. When purple clouds darken up the skyway, there’s a lovely highway to be found, leading from your windowpane to a spot behind the sun. Just a step beyond the rain.” - Yip Harburg
A Boat Made from a Sheet of Newspaper	A quote from IT, a horror novel by American writer Stephen King.	“The terror, which would not end for another 28 years -if it ever did end- began, so far as I know or can tell, with a boat made from a sheet of newspaper floating down a gutter swollen with rain”
They Might As Well Be Dead	Part of the lyrics of the song Rain, by The Beatles.	If the rain comes They run and hide their head They might as well be dead If the rain comes
The Face of The Deep	A quote from the Bible. Specifically, from Job 38:30. This is the second time Chris Christodoulou has quoted this specific Job chapter.	“The waters are hid as with a stone, and the face of the deep is frozen” This title could also be a wordplay. Not only you’re on the Deep Void, the face of the deep, when this song plays. You’re also facing the literal Face of the Deep, the Voidling.
Who Can Fathom the Soundless Depths?	A quote from Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas, a book by non-American writer Jules Verne. Specifically, from the ending of the book.	“Accordingly there are two men out of all mankind who are now qualified to answer that question asked 6,000 years ago in the Book of Ecclesiastes: ‘Who can fathom the soundless depths?’ Those two men are Captain Nemo and myself.”

Motifs

Along with the basic Risk of Rain motif that is found throughout both soundtracks, a number of songs also borrow motifs from the first Risk of Rain soundtrack, or even other songs in and outside of Risk of Rain 2:

Risk of Rain 2 song	Inspiration
Through a Cloud, Darkly	Risk of Rain (RoR)
Risk of Rain 2	The Ghost Writer (Alexandre Desplat)
The Dehydration of Risk of Rain 2	Risk of Rain 2 (RoR2)
Terra Pluviam	Mission to the Asteroid (Michael Land)
Antarctic Oscillation	Arctic Oscillation (RoR) Dew Point (RoR)
The Rain Formerly Known as Purple	Chanson d'Automne.. (RoR) Purple Rain (Prince)
You're Gonna Need a Bigger Ukulele	Double Fucking Rainbow (RoR) Precipitation (RoR)
...con lentitud poderosa	Coalescence (RoR) Monsoon (RoR)
Lacrimosum	...con lentitud poderosa (RoR2)
Monsoon 2.0	Monsoon (RoR) Surface Tension (RoR)
A Placid Island of Ignorance (SotV)	Risk of Rain (RoR) Erotomania (Dream Theater)
Having Fallen, It Was Blood (SotV)	Hailstorm (RoR)
Out of Whose Womb Came the Ice? (SotV)	Into the Doldrums (RoR2) Monsoon (RoR) Pigs (Three Different Ones) (Pink Floyd)
A Boat Made from a Sheet of Newspaper (SotV)	The Rain Formerly Known as Purple (RoR2)
They Might As Well Be Dead (SotV)	Moisture Deficit (RoR)
The Face of the Deep (SotV)	A Fortune In Lies (Dream Theater) Double Fucking Rainbow (RoR)

Trivia

• Through a Cloud, Darkly, You're Gonna Need a Bigger Ukulele, ...con lentitud poderosa and Lacrimosum were added with the 1.0 update.
• The main melody of Risk of Rain 2 and The Dehydration of Risk of Rain 2 is adapted from the melody of "The Ghost Writer" from Alexandre Desplat's score for the film of the same name.
• Nocturnal Emission was previously used on Sundered Grove before the release of Survivors of the Void.
• The ending of Terra Pluviam is an adaptation of the opening chords of "Mission to the Asteroid" from Michael Land's score 1995 game The Dig, made to fit the RoR2 sound pallette.
• Köppen As Fuck was added with the Scorched Acres update.
• A Glacier Eventually Farts (And Don't You Listen to the Song of Life) was added with the Hidden Realms update. The voice featured on the track (but not present in-game) is the one of Werner Herzog from the "making-of" documentary film Burden of Dreams (1982). The sampled dialogue is not featured in-game, and the instrumental version is a bonus track on the soundtrack.
• A Glacier Eventually Farts samples the outro of Coalescence from RoR at around 2 minutes in.
• The Dehydration of Risk of Rain 2 was originally titled The Dehydration of Risk of Rain 2's Main Theme by the Composer Chris Christodoulou up until the 1.0 update. Christodoulou explained that the song's title was shortened as some distribution platforms may return errors if a song title includes the artist's name in it.
• Antarctic Oscillation and The Rain Formerly Known as Purple were added with the Artifacts update. The latter was initially called The Rain Previously Known as Purple.
• The Rain Formerly Known as Purple incorporates an arpeggiating piano motif and an ascending guitar motif from "Purple Rain", a song by the late artist Prince. The outro to both songs are also similar, including the use of piano and cymbals. The song also uses manipulated samples of the electric piano and clarinet from Chanson d'Automne from RoR.
• The Raindrop that Fell to the Sky was added with the Skills 2.0 update.
• The YouTube release of Prelude in D flat major, as well as the release of the full Soundtrack of SOTV in Bandcamp and Spotify and also the release of the DLC itself, happened the same day: March 1st, Frédéric Chopin's birthday.
• In a first for the franchise, Prelude in D flat major and Who Can Fathom the Soundless Depths? are the first songs that are not composed by Christodoulou, but are rather his arrangements of Frédéric Chopin's Prelude Op. 28, No. 15 (appropriately named the "Raindrop" prelude).
• Out of Whose Womb Came the Ice? contains a breif section of the RoR song "Arctic Oscilation"

Version History

Survivors of the Void

• Major Content
  • Added New Track: Prelude in D flat major
  • Added New Track: A Placid Island of Ignorance
  • Added New Track: Having Fallen, It Was Blood
  • Added New Track: Out of Whose Womb Came the Ice?
  • Added New Track: Once in a Lullaby
  • Added New Track: A Boat Made from a Sheet of Newspaper
  • Added New Track: They Might As Well Be Dead
  • Added New Track: The Face of the Deep
  • Added New Track: Who Can Fathom the Soundless Depths?

PC Patch v1.0.2.0

• Bug Fixes
  • Updated all music tracks to be more similar to the OST version

Early Access Content Update 5

• Major Content
  • Added New Track: Through a Cloud, Darkly
  • Added New Track: ...con lentitud poderosa
  • Added New Track: You're Gonna Need a Bigger Ukulele
  • Added New Track: Lacrimosum

Early Access Artifacts Content Update

• Major Content
  • Added New Stage Track: The Rain Previously Known as Purple
  • Added New Boss Track: Antarctic Oscillation

Early Access 'Skills 2.0' Content Update

• Music & SFX
  • Add new stage track