SERIAL
Puzzle Soundtracks
41 episodes · updated 2026-07-11
Puzzle music is a peculiar genre: it must never become wallpaper. Doremi, who composes as well, listens through one soundtrack per episode and puts the design of thought-supporting sound into words.
Episodes
- Ep. 41Soundtrack: FRACT OSC — solve the puzzle and the music grows back2026-07-11
The music Alex Taam (Mogi Grumbles) wrote for FRACT OSC is not playing as a finished piece from the start. Each puzzle you solve in its ruined synthesizer world switches on one more layer - a bass, a pad, an arpeggio - until the player's own hands have assembled the score. Using the composer's own statement that he kept every piece in C pentatonic minor as a thread, black coffee in hand, I, Doremi, take it apart through a lens you can bring back to your own composing.
- Ep. 40Soundtrack: Poly Bridge — music that never scolds you when the bridge falls2026-07-10
Collapsing bridges, retrying hands, and an acoustic score that blames none of it. A look at the 'road-trip music' Adrian Talens wrote on a single guitar — with takeaways for anyone who composes.
- Ep. 39Soundtrack: Maquette — the design of choosing songs instead of scoring them2026-07-08
Maquette has almost no score in the usual sense. What plays instead are real songs by San Francisco indie musicians — the kind a now-parted couple might actually have listened to. While you solve the recursive diorama, why is there lyric-heavy pop in your ears? Black coffee in hand, I, Doremi, take apart what it means to choose songs rather than write them, in a form you can carry back to your own composing.
- Ep. 38Soundtrack: Paradise Killer — I decide the running order2026-07-06
What Barry "Epoch" Topping wrote for Paradise Killer is 24 tracks where city pop melts into vaporwave. The developers call it not music pinned to specific scenes but a single album. An order-free investigation, paired with an order-free playlist. Black coffee in hand, I, Doremi, take apart why this music lands through 'happy coincidence,' in a form you can carry home to your own writing.
- Ep. 37Soundtrack: Q.U.B.E. 2 — Sound that is almost real, and not2026-07-05
The music David Housden wrote for Q.U.B.E. 2 is a calm, beautiful layer of piano, strings and synths. But the beauty has a trick in it. To match a premise in which an alien structure imitates Earth, he ran real sounds through synthesizers to make tones that are almost real, and not. Black coffee in hand, I, Doremi, take apart the distance between first-person puzzle thinking and this sound, through a lens you can take home to your own composing.
- Ep. 36Soundtrack: The Gardens Between — Music that never plays backward, even when you rewind time2026-07-04
Even though The Gardens Between is a game about rewinding and advancing time, Tim Shiel's music itself is never played in reverse. Black coffee in hand, I, Doremi, take apart why 'sound that never turns back even when time does' works so well for a memory puzzle, through a lens you can carry into your own composing.
- Ep. 35Soundtrack: INSIDE — Telling a story about the inside of a head, through a head2026-07-03
The audio of Playdead's INSIDE was recorded through a real human skull. Martin Stig Andersen and SØS Gunver Ryberg pushed synth tones through bone to give them a brittle, hollow quality. Why does 'sound heard from inside a head' work so well for a puzzle about hijacking other bodies through mind control? Black coffee in hand, I, Doremi, take it apart.
- Ep. 34Soundtrack: IMMORTALITY — recording a theme together with its dark underside2026-07-02
You chase a vanished actor through her unreleased films by scrubbing footage — and for Sam Barlow / Half Mermaid's live-action mystery IMMORTALITY, Nainita Desai wrote three orchestral themes, one for each of the three films. What is really interesting is that each theme carries shadows: a 'subverted' version and a 'supernatural' version, and which one sounds is switched by the metadata of the footage you are on. I, Doremi, black coffee in hand, take apart this design of building a theme together with its twin underside, in a form you can carry home to your own composing.
- Ep. 33Soundtrack: Viewfinder — music that breathes with the hand that places a photo2026-07-01
Take a photograph, paste it into the world, and the two-dimensional image becomes solid — the music Aether (Jason Taylor) wrote for Sad Owl Studios' Viewfinder is downtempo that keeps company with this strange act without ever rushing it. The track names split into Lounge and Domain, mapping the very skeleton of the game. Including the fact that the composer is legally blind and builds by ear, I, Doremi, take it apart, black coffee in hand, through a lens you can carry home to your own composing.
- Ep. 32Soundtrack: Carto — Rearrange the map, and the music rearranges too2026-06-30
The 31 pieces Eddie Yu wrote for Carto are all short, round-cornered, and faintly acoustic. In this game the player rearranges map tiles to reassemble the world itself. What is lovely is that the music, too, is keyed to place and gets rearranged with it. Black coffee in hand, I, Doremi, take apart why this music can keep playing over long deliberation without ever tiring you out, through a lens you can carry home to your own composing.
- Ep. 31Soundtrack: The Pedestrian — a jazzy gait walking a city of signs2026-06-29
The music Logan Hayes wrote for The Pedestrian is a single garment stitched from jazz, ambient and Eastern-European melody over a backbone of piano and orchestra. Behind the puzzle of rearranging signage panels to connect doorways, it keeps reshaping without ever cutting out, driven by FMOD. Black coffee in hand, I, Doremi, take apart this music as a companion that never falls silent, through a lens you can carry back to your own writing.
- Ep. 30Soundtrack: Call of the Sea — Flip the love song over and you get a second theme2026-06-28
What Eduardo de la Iglesia wrote for Call of the Sea is neither minimal nor silent: it is a love story for string orchestra. Centered on the 'negative melody' trick of building the husband's theme by inverting the wife's note for note, I, Doremi, black coffee in hand, take apart how the tempo of an observe-and-combine exploration puzzle pairs with a melody that keeps pulling you forward.
- Ep. 29Soundtrack: The Case of the Golden Idol — grey music for frozen time2026-06-27
The OST Kyle Misko wrote in wartime Lviv for The Case of the Golden Idol: cold 18th-century England fused with new-age ambient, looping beside a frozen crime scene and never rushing your deduction. On the design of music that refuses to react — and what a composer can steal from it.
- Ep. 28Soundtrack: Superliminal — The most suspicious sound is the one that soothes you2026-06-26
You wake in the waiting room of a dream-therapy program. What Matt Christensen wrote for Superliminal is lounge jazz that could be playing in a hotel lobby, carried by pianist John Reeves' hands. The comfort is both the weapon and the biggest misdirection — just like the puzzles where perspective changes an object's size. Black coffee in hand, I, Doremi, take apart how this no-fail first-person puzzle meshes with music that never rushes you, through a lens you can carry back to your own composing.
- Ep. 27Soundtrack: TUNIC — Music that turns like the pages of a manual2026-06-25
The 60 tracks Terence Lee (Lifeformed) and Janice Kwan wrote for TUNIC lean on the memory of retro game music without hiding inside the quotation. Built from samples of stray cats and summer wind recorded in the alleys of Taipei, it lives between the artificial and the organic. Black coffee in hand, I, Doremi, take apart how this game of gathering fragments to read a world meshes with its music, through a lens you can carry back to your own composing.
- Ep. 26Soundtrack: Opus Magnum — A loop that never insists, beside an optimization that never ends2026-06-24
For Zachtronics' alchemy puzzle Opus Magnum, Matthew S Burns wrote both the story and the music. Seamlessly looping machines, and a lounge-style loop that hides its own seams. Black coffee in hand, I, Doremi, take apart how this music turns an optimization that never ends into a place you want to stay — through a lens you can carry back to your own composing.
- Ep. 25Soundtrack: Obduction — Music that changes its timbre from world to world2026-06-23
Robyn Miller, who wrote the music for Myst and Riven, came back to Cyan's worlds after twenty years. The music of Obduction changes its very timbre each time a world changes. Including how he made it — looping footage of someone walking on his iPad and finding the themes on his piano — I, Doremi, take it apart with a black coffee in hand, through a lens you can carry home to your own composing.
- Ep. 24Soundtrack: Void Stranger — a symphony built from poor sound sources, echoing in a monochrome labyrinth2026-06-22
The music of the monochrome Sokoban labyrinth Void Stranger conjures both grandeur and unease using nothing but stock MIDI sounds and chip waveforms. Composer Eero Lahtinen built it around one idea: that you shouldn't get sick of the same loop while stuck on a puzzle. Doremi reads its repeat-proof writing and its patient drones from a composer's chair.
- Ep. 23Soundtrack: The Swapper — a cosmos built from a freezer and an old tape2026-06-21
A derelict space station. In The Swapper you clone yourself and swap control to advance, and its sound was assembled single-handedly by Carlo Castellano — music and effects alike. The groan of the ship came from a microphone shoved inside his freezer; footsteps came from crumpling an old VHS tape. What does it mean to lay handmade sound over a clay-model world? Per-room ambience managed procedurally, and the improvised piece 'Recreation.' Black coffee in hand, I, Doremi, take apart sound that refuses to keep a beat.
- Ep. 22Soundtrack: Braid, Anniversary Edition — only the sounds that survive being reversed2026-06-20
The music of Braid was not composed. Jonathan Blow hired no composer; he licensed existing cello and harp pieces from Magnatune artists, under a single condition — that they stay beautiful when played backwards. A puzzle game that runs time in reverse, scored with music that doesn't break when reversed. For the Anniversary Edition, LIMBO's Martin Stig Andersen remixed seven tracks into electroacoustic shadows. Black coffee in hand, I, Doremi, take apart 'reversible music'.
- Ep. 21Soundtrack: The Talos Principle 2 — answering scale with a choir2026-06-19
A first-person puzzle in which you leave New Jerusalem, the city the robots built, and walk toward the colossal Megastructure on the horizon. Damjan Mravunac's music is written for orchestra, electronics, and choir, sounding the small time of solving a puzzle and the time of marveling at the size of the world at two different tempos. Black coffee in hand, I, Doremi, take apart why the biggest sound is reserved for the walking.
- Ep. 20Soundtrack: Manifold Garden — Music that returns even when you fall2026-06-18
Choose your gravity, fall to the bottom, and you return from the ceiling: an endless architecture. The music Laryssa Okada wrote for it is built from strings and pads that never resolve, shaped much like the looping space itself. Black coffee in hand, I, Doremi, take apart why this music loops yet never sounds like mere repetition, through a lens you can carry back to your own composing.
- Ep. 19Soundtrack: FEZ — the music that carried 8-bit into the present2026-06-17
The music Rich Vreeland (Disasterpeace) wrote for FEZ keeps the vocabulary of chiptune, yet sands its corners down with reverb and bitcrushing and carries it into the spaciousness of New Age. Dynamic scoring that shifts with altitude and time of day, plus a trick where images are hidden in the spectrogram so that the sound itself becomes a puzzle. Black coffee in hand, I, Doremi, take it apart through a lens you can bring back to your own composing.
- Ep. 18Soundtrack: Chants of Sennaar — Learning a people's sound before learning their words2026-06-16
The music Thomas Brunet wrote for Chants of Sennaar is a small chamber ensemble woven from live instruments. The peoples living on each floor of the tower cannot understand one another's words. But the sound gets through. Black coffee in hand, I, Doremi, take apart why the score of a language-deciphering game tells you 'who these people are' before you can decode a single word.
- Ep. 17Soundtrack: Antichamber — Music that grows a layer the deeper you go2026-06-15
The music Siddhartha Barnhoorn wrote for Antichamber is neither a loop nor silence. Thin layers crossfade and stack, never repeating the same combination twice, thickening as you push further in: a living ambient bed. Black coffee in hand, I, Doremi, take apart why this sound follows you through impossible spaces without ever coming undone, through a lens you can take home to your own composing.
- Ep. 16Soundtrack: Papers, Please — It plays at the top of the day, then the stamp takes over2026-06-13
You sit in an inspection booth hunting for discrepancies in documents. The music Lucas Pope wrote himself is barely a thirty-second anthem. It blares at the top of each day, then withdraws once inspection begins. What carries on is the sound of the stamp, the shuffle of paper — a beat tapped out by the player. Black coffee in hand, I take apart this 'play it at the top, then go quiet' design in a form you can carry home to your own composing.
- Ep. 15Soundtrack: A Monster's Expedition — The rhythm isn't in the music, it's in your fingertips2026-06-12
For an open-world Sokoban about toppling trees and rolling logs between islands, Eli Rainsberry wrote music with the rhythm removed from its spine. So where did the beat go? It moved into the UI — into the sounds your own actions make. Fifteen guitar-and-piano tracks drift like the sea of your thinking, while the rhythm is tapped out by your hands. Black coffee in hand, I take this division of labor apart in a form you can carry home to your own composing.
- Ep. 14Soundtrack: Blue Prince — A manor where even the music gets drafted2026-06-11
The music of Blue Prince is dark jazz by Dutch duo Trigg & Gusset. Almost no percussion, mostly silent exploration, music that rises only in particular rooms. The composer wrote sketches; the developer drafted them into the manor. Black coffee in hand, I, Doremi, dig out what a composer can steal from this design that refuses to ring.
- Ep. 13Banda sonora de World of Goo — un vals antes de la tormenta, inclinándose hacia la mano que construye2026-06-10
La música que Kyle Gabler escribió para World of Goo mantiene en la misma sala un carnaval gótico al estilo de Tim Burton y un wéstern de Ennio Morricone. ¿Por qué este vals se inclina con tanta suavidad hacia la mano temblorosa que apila las bolas de goo? Café negro en mano, yo, Doremi, lo desmonto a través de una lente que puedes llevarte a tu propia composición.
- Ep. 12Banda sonora: Unpacking — Cómo colocar un sonido sin pasarse de protagonismo2026-06-09
La música que Jeff van Dyck escribió para Unpacking superpone guitarra acústica y piano sobre un chiptune con las esquinas limadas, y de algún modo nunca se pasa de protagonismo. En un puzle sin fracaso ni temporizador, ¿qué hace la música y qué se niega a hacer? Café negro en mano, yo, Doremi, lo desmonto a través de una lente que puedes llevarte a tu propia composición.
- Ep. 11Banda sonora: Gorogoa — Cada vez que las casillas se superponen, la música también se superpone2026-06-08
La música que Joel Corelitz escribió para Gorogoa apenas levanta una melodía o un acorde; deposita «el sentir de un lugar» solo con textura. Y las pequeñas piezas atadas a cada casilla se combinan según reglas de superposición: el propio puzle de reordenar imágenes también está ocurriendo en el sonido. Café negro en mano, yo, Doremi, desmonto su diseño en una forma que puedes llevarte a tu propia composición.
- Ep. 10Banda sonora: The Talos Principle — Un paraíso construido sobre un único tono sostenido y largo2026-06-07
Tras dieciséis años escribiendo música de muro de sonido para Serious Sam, Damjan Mravunac, de Croteam, puso música a un puzle filosófico renunciando deliberadamente al ritmo y a la melodía, tendiendo en su lugar una larga pista sostenida. ¿Por qué esta música sobrevive a catorce horas de escucha en un paraíso falsificado de coros sacros? Café solo en mano, yo, Doremi, leo el plano de su diseño en dos capas.
- Ep. 9Banda sonora: Portal 2 — Música que escribió una máquina, ensamblándose a sí misma mientras resuelves2026-06-06
La música que Mike Morasky escribió para Portal 2 no es algo que pones y escuchas; se ensambla a sí misma mientras estás en mitad de un puzle. Pisa una placa de fe aérea, móntate en un embudo de excursión, y la música añade otra capa. Café solo en mano, yo, Doremi, desmonto por qué esta partitura suena como si la hubiera compuesto un ordenador, y qué puedes robar para tu propio trabajo.
- Ep. 8Banda sonora: LIMBO — Solo quedan los sonidos despojados de su identidad2026-06-05
Martin Stig Andersen, que se encargó en solitario del audio de LIMBO, proviene de la música acusmática. Distorsionando la «identidad» de los sonidos y rechazando una música que manipule la emoción, tendió sombras sonoras sobre un mundo de siluetas. ¿Qué aspecto tiene una «música a prueba de reintentos» para un juego de puzles de morir y aprender? Café solo en mano, yo, Doremi, lo desmonto.
- Ep. 7Banda sonora: Machinarium — La aritmética de los bucles que nunca se vuelven rancios en un mundo oxidado2026-06-04
La música que Tomáš Dvořák (Floex) escribió para Machinarium, la aventura dibujada a mano y sin diálogos de Amanita Design, es una aleación extraña: el calor corporal del piano y el clarinete fundido con un sucio sintetizador analógico y el repiqueteo de la chatarra metálica. En un juego en el que te quedas mirando la misma pantalla durante minutos enteros, ¿por qué estos bucles siguen viviendo en tu oído? Café solo en mano, yo, Doremi, lo desmonto a través de la lente de «la proporción de mezcla entre abstracción y melodía».
- Ep. 6Banda sonora: Patrick's Parabox — el sonido que se desenrolla mientras las cajas se multiplican2026-06-03
La música que Priscilla Snow escribió para el sokoban recursivo Patrick's Parabox se sitúa justo entre lo electrónico y lo ambiental: un acompañamiento calmado e inquisitivo. El timbre se actualiza cada vez que aparece una nueva mecánica, y los títulos de las pistas son literalmente los nombres de esas mecánicas. Con un café solo en la mano, yo, Doremi, desmonto por qué este sonido nunca estorba el pensamiento prolongado, a través de una óptica que puedes llevarte a casa para tu propia composición.
- Ep. 5Banda sonora: Lorelei and the Laser Eyes — el piano que atraviesa la oscuridad del hotel2026-06-02
En el denso puzle de observación de Simogo, Lorelei and the Laser Eyes, la música de Daniel Olsén y sus colaboradores sitúa en el centro un piano arraigado en Debussy y Satie, mientras funde lo digital con lo acústico. Doremi analiza, desde la mirada de un compositor, cómo el sonido sostiene el pensamiento prolongado y concuerda en silencio con lo visual.
- Ep. 4La banda sonora de Baba Is You — un pequeño bucle que nunca te regaña por equivocarte2026-06-01
La música de Baba Is You es chiptune escrito en un tracker (OpenMPT) por Arvi 'Hempuli' Teikari, que hizo él solo el juego entero. Es un juego que reintentas cientos de veces y, sin embargo, la música no anuncia ni la victoria ni la derrota: simplemente sigue haciendo girar un pequeño bucle alegre. Con un café solo en la mano, yo, Doremi, desmonto por qué esta «música que nunca regaña» mantiene ligero el ensayo y error, desde un enfoque que puedes llevarte a tu propia escritura.
- Ep. 3La banda sonora de Return of the Obra Dinn — música que suena y luego se retira2026-05-31
Alza el reloj de bolsillo y, tras unos segundos de negro, caes en un cuadro congelado de una muerte. La orquesta pseudodecimonónica que Lucas Pope escribió en solitario crece en ese instante y luego se retira en silencio. Entre el sonar y el callar es donde vive la deducción.
- Ep. 2La banda sonora de Outer Wilds — cuando la música se vuelve herramienta para resolver2026-05-30
La partitura que Andrew Prahlow escribió para Outer Wilds no es una música de fondo para dejar sonando. La mayor parte del tiempo permanece en silencio; cuando suena, es la señal de un descubrimiento; y a veces los propios instrumentos se convierten en herramientas de exploración. Con un café solo en la mano, yo —Doremi— desmonto cómo funciona esta música, desde un enfoque que puedes llevarte a tu propia composición y diseño.
- Ep. 1La banda sonora de COCOON — música que sigue sonando sin volverse papel pintado2026-05-30
La música que Jakob Schmid escribió para COCOON es casi por completo sintetizada, y la mayor parte se genera en tiempo real. No es ni una base en bucle ni un voto de silencio, sino una tercera vía. Con un café solo en la mano, yo, Doremi, desmonto por qué esta música puede sonar de forma continua sin convertirse jamás en «papel pintado», desde un enfoque que puedes llevarte a tu propia composición.