Client: Relic

Composers: Alexander Röder, Matthias Wolf, Henning Nugel, Christian Wirtz, Nicolai Patricio, Dominik Morgenroth

Sound Designers: Severin Schwarz, Vincenzo Bellanova, Fabio Coressel, Michael Prechtl, Manik Möllers

Oud, Mandolin, Bouzouki: Christian Wirtz

Orchestra Recording: Budapest Art Orchestra

Orchestration: David Christiansen

Orchestral Mix & Session Production: Christian Wirtz

Summoning the Gods: Behind the Soundtrack of Age of Mythology: Retold and the Obsidian Mirror Expansion

When you are tasked with scoring a world where gods walk the earth and monsters clash in the thousands, the music cannot afford to be quiet. It needs to feel ancient, terrifying, and endlessly divine.

We are incredibly proud to pull back the curtain on one of our biggest audio undertakings yet: crafting the definitive soundtrack for Age of Mythology: Retold, as well as the dark, sprawling soundscapes for the brand-new campaign expansion, Obsidian Mirror.

From re-imagining iconic themes to giving a brand-new voice to the rising Aztec pantheon, we’ve spent months shaping an audio experience fit for the gods.

Retold: Modernizing a Mythic Classic

The original Age of Mythology holds a sacred place in strategy gaming history, and its music is a core part of that nostalgia. Our first challenge with Age of Mythology: Retold was balancing deep reverence for the past with modern production standards.

We didn’t just up-sample the old tracks—we rebuilt the musical foundation of the game from the ground up.

• Fully Symphonic Scope: We took the original motifs and exploded them into massive, fully symphonic arrangements. Every brass swell and choral chant was designed to make players feel the staggering scale of a Guardian rising or a God Power tearing across the map.
• Distinct Regional Textures: Whether you’re building a settlement in the Norse snowfields, defending the sands of Egypt, or marching through classical Greece, we ensured each civilization’s sonic footprint felt distinct by utilizing rare, era-accurate regional acoustic instruments.

Stepping Into the Smoke: The Obsidian Mirror Campaign

If Retold was about honoring a classic, the Obsidian Mirror expansion gave us a completely blank, blood-soaked canvas. Centered entirely on the highly anticipated Aztec pantheon, this 12-mission campaign demanded a fundamentally different sonic identity.

The mechanics of the expansion revolve around Tonalli (harvesting life force), sacrifice, and illusion. To capture that tone, our score had to feel vastly different from the European and Mediterranean structures of the base game.

The Instruments of Mesoamerica

To bring the Aztec empire to life, we bypassed traditional orchestral strings and focused on building an organic, rhythmically driven soundscape. We leaned heavily into:

• Pre-Columbian Woodwinds: Haunting clay flutes, ocarinas, and specialized death whistles to mirror the tactical “Fear and Illusion” mechanics deployed on the battlefield.
• Thunderous Percussion: The driving force of the combat tracks relies on the deep, booming resonance of traditional huehuetl and teponaztli log drums.
• The Sibling Rivalry: Musically, the soundtrack mirrors the central narrative clash between Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca. While Quetzalcoatl’s themes incorporate lighter, wind-based textures and soaring melodies, Tezcatlipoca’s motifs are dark, heavy, and jagged—shrouded in ambient low-end sound design to signify his domain of night and chaos.

Listen Close: The Sound of Cosmic Conflict

“When a player sacrifices a unit to gain favor, or when Tezcatlipoca steps through the Obsidian Mirror, the music has to communicate the terrifying gravity of that moment. We wanted the Aztec soundtrack to feel alive, raw, and fiercely distinct from anything else in the franchise.” — [Matthias Wolf, Lead Composer]

The gods have ascended, and the mirrors are smoking. Both the base game soundtrack of Age of Mythology: Retold and the intense new themes of Obsidian Mirror are out now. Pull up the game, crank up your speakers, and experience the power of the pantheons.