We’re officially seven months into 2026. First of all, what the hell? I don’t know about you, but it feels like this year has absolutely whizzed by despite… not a whole lot happening. Apart from, y’know, an insane number of layoffs and the industry slowly crumbling while a giant GTA 6-shaped asteroid slowly approaches.
Critical Hit
Welcome to Critical Hit, where I (or someone else on the PC Gamer team) celebrate and lament all things videogame music, audio design, and the ways our favourite games make our ears tingle.
But in the mess and chaos, we’ve still been blessed with some pretty good videogames this year, as well as killer soundtracks to go alongside them. I’ll admit I’ve not quite been on top of my 2026 gaming this year—I’m well and truly back in my Final Fantasy 14 brainrot era, and have also discovered Project Zomboid 13 years too late. So we’re on a little retro vibe right now.
That doesn’t mean I haven’t had time to play any new releases, though. Or that I’ve not been listening to their music even when I haven’t quite gotten around to actually playing the damn thing yet. While there’s still another five months of potential videogame bangers ahead of us, I wanted to take a look and see which tracks really grabbed my attention so far in the big 2026.
If you’ve got some 2026 favourites of your own, I’d love to hear which soundtracks or specific videogame tunes have been on your radar this year. Be sure to drop a comment and let me know!
Arcade – Screamer
Milestone’s newest racer is positively dripping in vibes. It’s sporting a slick anime aesthetic with a colourful cast of characters, and the game’s music compliments the whole thing perfectly. It’s this wonderful mix of rock and electronic, but my favourite track of the bunch has to be the one that plays when you select the Arcade mode.
It’s this wonderful dynamic piece that layers the hype as you progress through each menu, an EDM explosion that gives me huge 2000s anime/rhythm game vibes. A proper bop.
Eatin’ Rats – Mewgenics
I’m yet to play Mewgenics (I know!) but I am obsessed with its soundtrack. It’s so delightfully silly, but Eatin’ Rats has to be one of my absolute favourites with lyrics like “Tasty legs and crispy thighs / On my mind! / I’m so hungry now I’m gonna /Chase ‘em, grab ‘em, fry ‘em!” It’s like a feline Guys and Dolls, and I can almost picture a gang of cats slinking their way down an alley, clicking their fingers in unison. Y’know, if they had fingers.
Lone Wolf – Crimson Desert
I’ve previously lamented that Crimson Desert’s soundtrack is a little boring, and I stand by that. But I do have a bit of a soft spot for Lone Wolf, the song that plays as you’re loading into the world of Pywel. It’s soft but with an underlayer of moodiness to it, and I’m a total sucker for a gentle choir moment like this one.
Club Arch DJ set – 007 First Light
Another game I’m yet to play, but as soon as I heard Chase & Status had a virtual DJ set inside Club Arch—which a young Bond visits during the game’s second chapter—I had to go and give it a listen. And as someone who had a huge Chase & Status phase as a teenager, it’s the epitome of grimy Britishness that I just love. The kind of thing I absolutely would have got down to after one too many £1 vodka cokes at university.
Blood Moon – Life is Strange Reunion
Life is Strange Reunion blends the curated licensed music the series has become so well-known for with a handful of original pieces, and Blood Moon is my favourite of the bunch. Super moody indie that has its ominous instrumental cut through with artist Elora’s gorgeously haunting vocals. It’s something I would half expect to hear in a Twilight movie (and as a 30-year-old woman, I mean that with full endearment).
It’s, of course, complete with lyrics that are incredibly fitting of Max and Chloe’s journey. A lovely song all round.
Inner Child – Paralives
Andrei Castañon had to know what he was doing when calling this track Inner Child. It’s part of the soundtrack for life sim Paralives and good grief, it gives me the biggest Sims 2 vibes imaginable. It opens up with a super twangy melody that reminds me so much of my favourite EA life sim, with a delicate-yet-whimsical melody layered over the top.
It takes a lot of skill to evoke such strong feelings of another game without cribbing from it too heavily, so I have to commend Castañon for giving me a real Ratatouille critic moment the second I heard this track.
In Death We’ve Just Begun – Marathon
Poppy is one of my all-time favourite artists, so imagine my delight to hear her voice in the song that features in Marathon’s opening cinematic. She’s always had this wonderfully ethereal tone which really shines alongside Son Lux’s melancholic composition.
I’ve also become so accustomed to hearing Poppy belting out heavier, rawer vocals that it’s a pleasant surprise to hear her back to the softer tones of her earlier work. It’s one of those tracks I always pop on during a quiet evening when I’m looking for a moodier atmosphere.
Cryogenic – In Falsus
Okay, technically a demo. But rhythm game In Falsus is (unsurprisingly) already filled with bangers, despite only having a tidy six tracks to play right now. It’s a mixture of pre-existing songs and originals, the latter of which includes Cryogenic by one of my favourite composers, Camellia.
It’s a fantastic track with soft, dreamy vocals punctuated with a poppy electronic beat. Hell, it’s so good that it’s already made (or making) its way into four other rhythm games—developer Lowiro’s other music game Arcaea along with CHUNITHM, maimai, and ONGEKI. Those are the big leagues, baby.
Under the Lights – People of Note
I am still criminally early into People of Note, but its soundtrack is my biggest motivator to actually get this thing played before 2026 is out. Under the Lights was one of the first tracks revealed for the game and it’s a banger. I am a sucker for a musical moment, and this song is very stereotypically movie musical but, like, in a good way. Incredibly stoked to actually experience the rest of this lovely little soundtrack.
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