Video game soundtracks have gained considerable prestige in recent years. Earlier this year, James Bond composer David Arnold took the stage at the BAFTA Games Awards to pay tribute to the medium before presenting an award to Toma Otowa for the Ghost of Yōtei soundtrack. UK classical music radio station Classic FM now frequently plays video game scores.
But beyond classical compositions indebted to the great masters and influenced by a century of film scores, there exist other kinds of soundtracks endemic to the video game medium that remain “pretty disreputable.” Rather than recalling the cinematic vistas of modern blockbuster games, these tracks evoke “the grimy thrills of the arcade,” according to a Polygon writer. They move easily between multiple musical genres while maintaining “a hard-charging tempo and pushed-to-the-max production.” Still found in genres like fighting and racing games, they can be heard in Tekken 8, Sonic Racing: Crossworlds, or the beloved Tokyo Xtreme Racer.
The writer recently discovered a prime example of this form: the soundtrack to solo-developed Spanish indie racing game Super Woden: Rally Edge. The game itself, described as “fantastic,” is a pared-down arcade rally challenge featuring dozens of collectible classic rally cars. For game music enthusiasts not interested in racing, the soundtrack is available to buy separately on Steam and can also be found on YouTube.
The score is mostly high-energy material suited to a game about sending toylike cars hurtling and powersliding along two-minute rally stages, with a retro quality matching its cel-shaded PS1 aesthetic. It consists of EDM, metal, hip-hop, and jazz-funk rendered with synthetic MIDI sound that pairs naturally with vibrant low-poly graphics.
“Drive or Die” is infectiously jolly, powered by an insistent bassline and amusingly 80s synthesized orchestra stabs. “Across the Universe” is another example of DJ DeVito’s hilariously insistent four-to-the-floor techno.
The soundtrack comprises two halves provided by different artists. DJ DeVito supplies a spine of techno, Eurodance, electro, and happy hardcore, all “relentlessly and joyously upbeat.” This foundation is then elevated by an artist called DonutDroid, whose ability to flit between musical genres while maintaining a consistent sound the writer calls “truly amazing.”
“Burn Rubber Lovers” is punky breakbeat that wouldn’t be out of place on the Jet Set Radio soundtrack. “Funk Boy Slim” is immaculate funky big beat with Hammond organ, horns, and jazz flute. “Disco Killer Music Lover” is early, scuzzy Daft Punk.
The writer notes that DonutDroid’s musicianship can amaze: tracks like “Turbocharged rage” and “Lost in Daytona” venture into wild, stuttering jazz rock territory with complex time signatures, slap bass, and noodling solos. Nobody will award DJ DeVito and DonutDroid a BAFTA for their work on Super Woden: Rally Edge, but the writer hopes the work is its own reward.
“These unsung heroes are keeping an authentic musical vernacular for video games alive: looping, complex, brash, bursting with witty pastiche and compositional skill, fizzing with energy,” the writer concludes. “David Arnold could never.”
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