Today, PC Gamer published a brilliant new article breaking down Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne's song, Late Goodbye.
Late Goodbye was created by Poets of the Fall and launched with the game in 2003, giving the world a teaser of what the group had in store. The collaboration came from old friendships between the band's co-founder and Remedy's writer. The result of this collaboration was a song which fitted perfectly to the game world and helped start an international fan base for the newly-launched band; giving the group recognition even before their first album was released.
The song is remembered fondly in the Remedy community as it was the beginning of a partnership between the two companies which has led to stunning songs such as Children of the Elder God, The Poet and the Muse, Balance Slays the Demon, and Labyrinth. Plus Late Goodbye is an amazing song in itself.
In the article, writer Andy Kelly spoke to Sam Lake (original face of Max Payne and writer on the Max Payne series under Remedy's control) and Marko Saaresto (lead vocalist, song writer and co-founder of Poets of the Fall) about how the song came to be.
You can read their full article, HERE.
The story behind Late Goodbye, the song that defined Max Payne 2 https://t.co/iBWFEcGTCo pic.twitter.com/EABuABGBLA— PC Gamer (@pcgamer) August 21, 2018
The story behind Late Goodbye, the song that defined Max Payne 2
As a Max Payne 2 fan, the opening chords of Late Goodbye by Finnish band Poets of the Fall always give me a shiver of nostalgia. The atmospheric song plays over the end credits, but has always felt like the game’s theme to me. When I think about Max Payne 2, I think of that acoustic guitar and those low, swelling strings. But in an example of developer Remedy’s knack for clever world-building, Late Goodbye is more than just a credits song: it’s threaded into the game itself, and deeply connected to the story.Read the full interview, HERE.
“We have in-game television shows in Max Payne 2 that become a larger part of the world, such as the Address Unknown theme park,” says Sam Lake, creator (and face) of Max Payne, lead writer at Remedy, and co-writer of Late Goodbye. “In the same way, I didn’t want this song to just play over the end credits. I wanted it to exist in, and be a part of, the world we created."
