From the languid tempo that starts each level, to the frenetic bebop energy driving a series of devastating assaults, the soundscape of the indie beat em up Ape Out is all about contrasts. As the eponymous gorilla, Ape Out lets players exact revenge against a battalion of doughy humans who are too feeble to stand directly against your wrath. It s thunderous centrifuge of jazz and violence where the former is just as important as the latter.
It’s a game that goes between extremes, says Matt Boch, an associate arts professor at the NYU Game Center and the composer and sound designer of Ape Out s dizzying soundtrack. We’re trying to give people [the experience of having] these heights of intensity, and then the low points that build suspense.