No Looking Back: The initial ambience does a nice job representing a wasteland type of area. Then the build up injections the emotions of sadness, then hope, than nervous excitement which all accompany the story you described quite nicely. I really like the plucky string sounds over the orchestral strings which to me represent the nervous energy and excitement leading up to launch. The sound effects representing travelling at incredible speeds are really creative and I love ending on the sub-bass where I was feeling it more than I was hearing it. The final sequence of this track placed me in the scene and was a really cool experience.
Stranded: This is a very peaceful ambient track that uses cold pads mixed with warm piano. This dichotomy creates a sense of confusion and unease while the harmony supports these feelings and perpetuates that things seem pretty bleak.
No Way Back: The initial harmonic walk up and upward arpeggios seems to give a sense of optimism and hope which seems a little different than what I was expecting from the title. The viola/cello melody does a very nice job capturing the voice of Irene sharing really complex emotions that to me say “Is this what I wanted? Now I don’t have to return… But this is not what I thought it would be like.”
Escape: The gameplay seems to take an interesting turn with this track. The drum beat is really nicely produced and I really like the piano pattern holding onto the determination in the face of uncertainty. It would be really fun to hear more of what comes after this track in the story!
Overall these tracks pull together a really beautiful and emotional story that had me engaged the entire time. When I reached the end, I couldn’t help but shake the feeling that there should be more given that the fourth track varies from the style of the preceding tracks. It was very fun to listen to though and it would work really well in game to keep the adrenaline pumping! Very nicely done and thank you for sharing!