French-Tunisian composer, Amine Bouhafa, is helming the soundtrack of the upcoming third-person action-adventure title, Aphelion; Don’t Nod revealed today via a new trailer that premiered at the New Game Plus Showcase.
Bouhafa is a César award-winning composer, most notably known for creating atmospheric scores for movies such as The Summit of the Gods, The Little Sister, and Timbuktu. The new trailer gives a glimpse of the hauntingly beautiful musical journey that awaits in the Aphelion, alongside Bouhafa’s take on how the soundtrack came to life.
Bouhafa’s music tries to capture the “frozen identity” of Aphelion’s icy environments
In Aphelion, players can experience Bouhafa’s unique blend of epic and intimate composition as they navigate the treacherous locales of Persephone. Past Don’t Nod titles, such as Life is Strange, and the most recently released Lost Records: Bloom & Rage, were all immensely atmospheric titles with music being an integral part of the experience, and Aphelion is looking to be no different.
The new trailer reveals how Bouhafa used various musical instruments, such as the pipe organ and the unique, almost alien-like cristal baschet, to capture and reflect the “sacred” feeling of adventure and to bring Persephone’s icy environments to life.
Players won’t just be exploring scenic vistas in Aphelion. There are plenty of caves and claustrophobic space stations to explore, many of which are haunted by an alien entity: Nemesis. Bouhafa’s music adds much tension to Nemesis’ personality, which should lead to some intense encounters.
Aphelion’s creative director, Florent Guillaume, had much to share on this exciting collaboration with the French-Tunisian composer. “It has been a real pleasure to collaborate with Amine on Aphelion. We discovered his work through his composition for The Summit of the Gods and were immediately captivated by his talent for portraying the intimacy of characters caught up in a grand, epic adventure,” Gulliaume adds.
“Amine is a person with great emotional intelligence and sincere humanity. I hope that players will feel that connection and will be moved by their experience.”
In other news, Don’t Nod has announced a partnership with Maximum Entertainment to produce physical copies of Aphelion’s PS5 version. Pre-orders are now open at participating retailers across North America, Europe, and Australia.
Aphelion will launch in 2026 on PC (Steam), PS5, and Xbox Series X/S, and Xbox Game Pass.
