Music Highlight: ClockWerx
Even without its prominent endorsement from Tetris‘s Alexey Pajitnov on the box, ClockWerx would still be worth checking out. Its rotating, clock-inspired mechanics put a clever twist on player movement. As many with many games of its kind, ClockWerx groups its various challenges into a few different thematic sets, each with its own graphics and some new background music.
Most of these songs are peppy lounge tunes, all of which are quite catchy. The piece for the sixth set of levels, arbitrarily titled “Song H,” stands out for its slower groove.
Composer Peter Drescher captured ClockWerx‘s tone perfectly with this song. The game moves quickly but encourages a methodical approach given all the obstacles and pitfalls. Like “Song H,” it’s eager but laid-back, upbeat but careful. Most of the other music from ClockWerx marches faster and feels giddier, but this one hits the right balance for the game’s cautious pacing. Many other puzzle games share the same speed, so in a way, “Song H” is the platonic ideal for puzzle-solving music.
And like all the music in ClockWerx, “Song H” has a hook like nobody’s business. Have fun getting this one out of your head.