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Unlike the terrible movies, the Bloodrayne games have a fair number of fans, not enough to keep the series going, it seems, but at least things went out with a bang. WayForward’s Bloodrayne Betrayal for XBLA and PSN is arguably the best game in the series and part of that success is undoubtedly due to the excellent soundtrack by Jake Kaufman. Featuring equal parts Baroque/Classical influences as epic rock, the Betrayal soundtrack sets the perfect mood for the action while staying distinct from similar games like Castlevania.

The title screen song establishes that you’re about to play something different, something classy. It’s a little piece that wouldn’t sound out of place in a larger Baroque concerto. Piano, strings, even a choir: It’s all here to give you a relaxed moment before you start this very difficult game. Things really kick into high gear, though, with “Dusk Falls,” which plays during the first level. Electric guitar punches play over arpeggios in the piano and choir “ahs” as the song opens and soon a heavy drum kit enters and things never really let up from there. This might be the most Castlevania-ish song on the whole soundtrack. It has a strong and energetic melody and is a great complement to the visceral action on screen.

A similar song is “Sanguine Nightmare,” though it adds more synthesized sounds. I love the understated opening. Though it’s less centered on melody, the chords progressions and instrumentation keep things interesting. Some of the other songs with a similar Baroque rock sound include “Betrayal,” which lets loose an epic guitar solo in the middle, “Kagan,” and “Zetagama,” which is the very heavily guitar-driven final boss theme.

But Bloodrayne Betrayal also features much more peaceful yet fitting songs, like “Raven,” which is basically a classical piano piece with some synth strings in the background. “Vampires’ Ball” is a very similar piece in style but has a much more robust string section. These songs are often used in more platform-intensive sections and fit their purpose surprisingly well. “Crimson Demon” is an orchestral boss theme and uses the full range of the orchestra to create an extremely intense situation to fight in.

“Poisoned Halls” seems like it’s trying to have things both ways at first with more of an orchestral opening but soon an electric guitar comes in and doesn’t go away. The guitar drives the song ever onward with the melody only really coming back with reprises of the opening portion of the song. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, though, because this song plays during the brutal endgame levels and you’ll need to push you onward.

The credits song, “Cursed Dawn,” is noteworthy for making the Baroque rock style of the soundtrack into a vocal track. What’s cool is that the voice actor for Bloodrayne is actually the one that sings as well and does an excellent job too. Then there’s the music for the bonus gallery (aptly titled “Bonus Gallery”), which takes several of the themes from the game and turns it into an energetic café jazz remix. A delightful and unexpected change of pace.

But the bonus music does not stop there. No sir, all the in-game music also done in an 8-bit style a la the NES. How cool is that? Very cool, my friends, very cool.

Listen to the whole soundtrack on bandcamp.

Click here to read some of my thoughts about the game after playing it earlier this year.