There is a stark difference between a soundtrack that serves as the backing track while you play a video game, and music that essentially plays the role of another character, interacting with the game itself. Mr. Records, developed by Glee-Cheese Studio, is very much the latter, and is the epitome of a game that lives and dies with its soundtrack. If the vast array of songs spanning a variety of genres weren’t extremely well produced and catchy, then this little indie gem about running a record shop by day and running through your records by night — in auto-scrolling platforming levels — would be dead before it even got off the ground.
Thankfully, that’s not the case. The songs in Mr. Records absolutely slap. And they’re made even better by the fact that each one is essentially a new level, with obstacles to overcome and enemies to defeat in time with the beat. As you acquire new records, completing the level is key to being able to stock it in your shop. And if you beat the hard version of a level without making any mistakes, you’ll unlock the deluxe version of that record, which earns you more money when it sells.
That’s because half of the game is about solving puzzles via the medium of selling records. You are George, an old fellow who has opened a record store in his twilight years, because music has always been his one true love. All he needs to hear are the first few notes of a song before being transported to “another world,” he explains in the game’s prologue.
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Image: Glee-Cheese Studio/Wired Productions via Polygon -
Image: Glee-Cheese Studio/Wired Productions via Polygon -
Image: Glee-Cheese Studio/Wired Productions via Polygon
As customers visit the store, it’s up to you to find the record they’re looking for. In the preview I played, which consisted of only the opening 30 minutes or so, they were fairly simple: the customer would describe the cover, and since I only had a few records in stock, it was easy to find the correct record.
Mr. Records is very similar to 2026’s other record shop management indie, Wax Heads. The latter, developed by Patattie Games, had a much heavier focus on storytelling and larger-than-life characters, where Mr. Records balances that concept with the platforming and the quality of the music itself. It isn’t shy of quirky personalities, but the encounters are more fleeting.
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Image: Glee-Cheese Studio/Wired Productions via Polygon -
Image: Glee-Cheese Studio/Wired Productions via Polygon -
Image: Glee-Cheese Studio/Wired Productions via Polygon
George is very much the focus, though, as you’ll gradually learn more about the long life this wholesome chap has led. His friend Paul keeps him on his toes with regular evening phone calls and occasional visits to the shop, while his dog, Buzz, can always be found sleeping in either a corner of the shop or upstairs in his studio apartment. Mind you, if any fur got inside a record sleeve… god forbid.
In the full game, Mr. Records will have over 40 handcrafted levels, and with a hard version of each, there’s plenty of replayability to find. While the preview didn’t have any, the Steam description also promises side activities with Buzz, along with “surreal mini-games” and “chase sequences.” Everything the game has to offer is made so much better by how polished and groovy each in-game record is. A quiet contender for one of the best original soundtracks in years, perhaps?
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