Your Fall Guys Addiction Starts With Your Ears
I think it is safe to say at this point that Fall Guys is rather popular. Mediatonic’s colorful battle-royale meets Saturday night game show is now the most downloaded PS+ game of all time as well as being one of the most successful cross-platform indie launches ever, all thanks to the blend of cute bubblegum colors and approachable gameplay. There is so much to love about Fall Guys, but the addiction doesn’t start when you win your first crown or unlock a cute costume, it starts from the moment you load the game.
When you boot the game for the first time, you are greeted with the default pink jelly bean, bright colors, and, most importantly, your first taste of Fall Guys’ deliciously catchy soundtrack. Powerful synthesized vibes melody, backed by chunky chords which hit you right in the face for maximum impact. This blend gains more and more momentum, eventually resolving itself by letting the walking bass take over the melody and allowing the previously dominant synth to sit back and pad out the rest of the sound. This is all punctuated by adorable yelps and whoops from the jelly beans (I assume our playable goons have oral capabilities…) to create a powerful aural experience that sets the whole tone of Fall Guys’ experience, all within the opening track. What composers Jukio Kallio and Daniel Hagström have crafted here goes beyond a simple backing track to become part of the very essence of Fall Guys.
We can see this in full effect if we compare the music of Fall Guys to another gargantuan battle-royale—Fortnite. Of course, Fortnite is an industry juggernaut of which we have never seen the like before and has hosted actual gigs from goliaths of the music scene such as Travis Scott and US DJ Diplo, but the game’s menu music is as bland as it comes. Fortnite boasts over 50 different types of lobby music all with varying themes, from jaunty sea shanties to trip-hop beats right through to club sax (as a saxophonist, just hearing that overly shrill and growled tenor sax line gives me PTSD). There is such a splattering of different genres that could kick in at any time, leaving the sonic identity of Fortnite ambiguous. This works in the game’s favor in some capacity, allowing Fortnite to shift the aural tone to suit whatever massive merchandising opportunity graces the live game, but it also leaves Fortnite without a clear sonic identity to match the game’s visuals.
Fall Guys has done the opposite of that. Rather than trying to incorporate different genres to suit different moods or allow for better marketing opportunities, Fall Guys doubles down on matching the music to both the visual aesthetic of the game and the chaotic gameplay. The aforementioned title track, playfully titled “Everybody Falls”, acts as a platform for the rest of the music to bounce off of. “Fall For The Team”, which as you may have surmised from the title, plays during team events, puts the drum and bass drum line front and centre whilst a very atmospheric 80s style synth sound arpeggiate chords beneath a heavily flanged bass line. This then breaks down to half-time, letting a new instrument take the lead on melody whilst the stabbing synth chords allow for more breathing room between sections. The structures, instrumentation, and overall mood of the piece fit within the scope of both what you are looking at on-screen, as well as the actions of the player in-game. “Final Fall”, the final stage music, ups the tempo significantly with the drums giving us a disco four-to-the-floor which drives the slap bass-line forward with blistering momentum, with an 8-bit inspired pad underneath acting as a touchstone for the ever elaborate key changes throughout. Even the small motif that plays when you get yeeted into the slime is an exercise in musical positivity.
What Jukio Kallio and Daniel Hagström have created with the Fall Guys soundtrack is nothing short of miraculous. All of the individual songs can stand on their own two jelly bean feet as catchy, unique, and delightful nuggets of sound whilst still perfectly slotting into the game’s mise-en-scène. The music skirts the delicate line of theme and individuality perfectly, ensuring that no matter what happens within the game, you will still want to come back for more.
Michael Leopold Weber
Michael is a freelance journalist currently living in West Japan. Though he has a degree in music from The University Of London, he still often plays out of time (shouting "it's close enough for jazz" whilst it happens). When he isn't obsessing over II-V-I's, Michael can be found digesting a whole range of video games from farming sims to FPSs. He also loves tea a little bit too much.
