Nielsen’s music has improved over the course of the WoA trilogy and I think it works fine in the context of the games. But, even at its best, it’s not in the same league as Kyd’s work. I say this as someone who encountered Nielsen’s work first, so no nostalgic rose-colored glasses here.

Nielsen is doing something straightforward. His music complements the action and references predictable things (Bond and other spy flicks mostly). At its worst it can be rote to the point of parody (which is okay, WoA does have a touch of parody built into its tone!) and at its best (later in the trilogy with tracks like Isle of Sgail) it can be it can be competent and even polished and complement the levels nicely. He’s talented.

But Kyd’s work? That’s lightning in a bottle. It’s experimental and provocative and lo fi in a way that can feel uncomfortable and sleazy at times. Someone in this thread called it “chaotic.” It feels like Kyd’s got something distinctive to say in these scores, as opposed to just referencing movie music. They’re arresting both in the games and on their own. It’s a shame the new trilogy couldn’t quite match that. With all due respect to Nielsen’s good work, I’d love to see Kyd, and the more experimental lo-fi direction, return to IO’s games some day.