These write-ups will be shorter, and I hope y’all are okay with that: I’m not much of a music critic ^^; I do like music, though. And this year had some bangers.
The Winner
Paradise (Stay Forever) (Paradise Killer)
Take a shot for every time in our discussion Jen referred to the singer as “belting it.” She’s not wrong, though: the vocalist is REALLY going for it. So is every part of this song, and that’s why it works. A pop-y, jazzy tune that hypes you up to solve murders on an island full of shitty immortal assholes. Bring sunglasses, and maybe enjoy the beach while you’re there.
The Runners-Up
It’s Dangerous to Go Alone (Cook Serve Delicious 3)
Overall I appear to be an outlier in that I prefer the soundtrack of CSD2 to 3. That said, It’s Dangerous to Go Alone might be the single best song from the entire series. It’s chill, fun, smooth, and hey are those lyrics about driving through an active war zone?
J.E.N.O.V.A Quickening (Final Fantasy VII Remake)
The standout hit from the excellent FF7R soundtrack, an excellent mix of strings and synth echo familiar and haunting themes with an evolution of music throughout the duration of a long but satisfying battle. It had a real shot at the crown, but you can’t argue with vocals.
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This category is about individual songs, but don’t sleep on game soundtracks as a whole from this year. Hades of course had some great tunes, and if you don’t enjoy a good Animal Crossing song I dunno what’s wrong with you (JEN). If you’re wondering how we came to these winners, don’t forget to listen to the discussion of the category over on the Scanline Talks podcast feed! One more category left… Game of the Year. Let’s do it.
A big thank you to Zwimmy (@zwimmy on Twitter) for our Game of the Year art!