Pro skatin' with Tony Hawk wouldn't have felt half as cool without tracks like Motorhead's Ace of Spades, and I fear I wouldn't have cried as much as I did at the end of Life is Strange if not for Foals' Spanish Sahara.
Welcome to Critical Hit (formerly known as Soundtrack Sunday), where I celebrate and lament all things videogame music, audio design, and the ways our favourite games make our ears tingle.
Licensed videogame music has its place—throw it in willy-nilly and the vibes are very much off. But a well-placed song plucked from the radio charts or more indie pastures can add an extra level of immersion or flavour to a moment that might not hit quite the same with an original score.
In-game radios are the easiest examples of this. Think of all the '80s music used to bring Grand Theft Auto: Vice City to life, or driving around in Saints Row 4 while you duet Paula Abdul's Opposites Attract. Or sports games, which tend to utilise ...
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