WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for A Hat in Time

In last week’s comparison piece between A Hat in Time & Yooka-Laylee, I briefly touched upon how good the former’s music was and I figured why not actually provide an example of said quality with a VG Music Pick? However, I found myself with the unique problem of struggling to pick only one. Seriously, I was surprised by how difficult it was. In the end, I settled on this boss theme from the third world of the game.

You’re finally up against the Snatcher, the creepy-ass demon guy that’s been making you do his dirty work. Despite doing everything he’s asked of you, he decides to cut you loose, leading to one of the most intense boss fights in the game, and this music perfectly fits that.

Fighting the boss alone is enough to make you tense, but the heavy guitars help accentuate that feeling, complete with a mixture of ominous organs which suit the Snatcher and his outlandish but threatening personality. It never slows down, creating the sense that the Snatcher is completely in control of the fight… and he is.

But at one point, the much more upbeat chiptune theme breaks through, as if representing Hat Kid turning the tide of the battle and, in a way, encouraging you to do the same and fight back instead of constantly running from his attacks.

A Hat in Time‘s soundtrack is stellar in general but, for me at least, this is a stand-out. Alone the track is fantastic. Combined with the boss itself, it becomes borderline perfect. Not that I won’t pick some other tracks for potential future Music Picks, though.