CLASSIC SOUNDTRACK PULP FICTION

Ten retro-cool tunes from QT’s game-changer…

‘You know what they call a soundtrack in Paris? Bande sonore. With cheese’

SURF RIDER, THE LIVELY ONES

‘I think we should be leaving now…’ All sax squall, spidery guitars and low-string cool, this surfswaggering 1963 classic nails the outro duties for Quentin Tarantino’s Palme d’Or/Oscar-winner.

Morricone goes to California is the rough gist.

FLOWERS ON THE WALL, THE STATLER BROTHERS

After killing Vincent, Butch cracks a rare smile and croons along to the radio. Virginia country crew the Statlers provide the damaged-cowboy ditty, later quoted by Bruce Willis - ‘Smokin’ cigarettes and watching Captain Kangaroo’ - in Die Hard with a Vengeance.

COMANCHE, THE REVELS

‘The gimp’s sleepin’…’ Tarantino wakes him up to the Revels’ surf screeches of sax and sonic violence. He wanted The Knack’s My Sharona for its bumping rhythm – insert childish snigger – but Comanche hits the right splenetic note of spaghetti-westernised aggression.

LONESOME TOWN, RICKY NELSON

While Vincent watches askance, Mia orders a $5 shake to the tune of teen heart-throb Nelson’s crooning plaint. Baker Knight wrote the song when he was new to Hollywood, a backstory that sits neatly with Tarantino’s movie-meta mischief.

LET’S STAY TOGETHER, AL GREEN

The Rev’s soul ballad backs Marsellus’ demand that Butch throw the fight. As Marsellus spells out ‘a hard motherfucking fact of life’ to Willis’ poker-faced ‘Punchy’, Green provides the meltingly hypnotic counterpoint.

JUNGLE BOOGIE, KOOL &THE GANG

Like turning the dial to the radio station in Tarantino’s head, Kool’s funk workout budges another song out of the opening titles. Giddy horns and grooves issue a message: don’t get settled, we’re here to keep you on your toes.

GIRL, YOU’LL BE AWOMAN SOON, URGE OVERKILL

Neil Diamond initially didn’t want his song tarnished by Tarantino’s druggy escapades. But music supervisor Mary Ramos persisted, Diamond buckled and Chicago alt-rockers Urge Overkill banked a killer cover for Mia’s bob-flinging, hip-swaying mime.

SON OF APREACHER MAN, DUSTY SPRINGFIELD

Dusty’s ballad unfurls as Vincent chats to Mia over the intercom and chops out some lines. Tarantino considered cutting the scene if he couldn’t use the 1968 hit: even now, try imagining it any other way.

YOU NEVER CAN TELL, CHUCK BERRY

‘Take it away!’ As Mia and Vincent throw shapes to Tarantino’s unfettered directions (‘Watusi! Hitchhiker! Batman!’), Berry’s buoyant rock’n’roll tribute to teenage love helps bank an insouciant landmark of 90s movie cool, made from the cheesiest moves going.

MISIRLOU, DICK DALE &HIS DEL-TONES

Described by Tarantino as ‘a gauntlet’ for his film to live up to, surf-guitar radicalist Dale’s eruptive overhaul of a Mediterranean folk song sends Pulp haring out of the traps post-prologue. Fiery guitars, Morricone horns, primal hollers: now that’s getting your attention.

GAMES DRAGON’S DOGMA 2

Scaled up…

★★★★★ OUT NOW PC, PS5, XBOX SERIES X/S

Hollywood might seem overly fond of remakes/reboots, but no medium cannibalises its past to the same degree as video games. Yet from cosmetic makeovers to wholesale upgrades, the industry seldom looks beyond the established classics.

Which makes it doubly refreshing that Capcom resurrected its 2012 action-RPG - more cult fave than all-time great - with director Hideaki Itsuno again at the helm. The title screen makes the developer’s intentions plain by forgoing the titular number: this is less a sequel than a chance to use modern hardware to gleefully fulfil the ambitions of a flawed but pioneering original.

You are the Arisen, chosen by a dragon seeking a worthy foe. As such, you’ll need to prove yourself, battling goblins, harpies and golems. But you’re not alone: this is a single-player quest that feels like a multiplayer game, pairing you with allies from alt-realities to which you’ll grow strangely attached. These computer-controlled pawns balance out your weaknesses and can also be sent to other players’ worlds, returning with valuable experience that allows them to contribute to thrilling creature fights. The result is an anecdote generator par excellence, and should encourage more publishers to consider using today’s tech to realise yesterday’s dreams.

PRINCESS PEACH: SHOWTIME!

★★★★★

OUT NOW SWITCH

In recent years, Nintendo has attempted to depict the Mushroom Kingdom royal as more than a hapless damsel, but here she finally gets her first proper starring role since 2005’s Super Princess Peach. This theatrically themed adventure allows her to assume a variety of starring roles, from figure skater to ninja warrior. It compensates for low difficulty with visual brio and inventive stagecraft, providing an empowering showcase for its hero’s versatility.

UNICORN OVERLORD

★★★★★

OUT NOW PS4/5, SWITCH, XBOX SERIES X/S

The latest from Japanese boutique studio Vanillaware is a wholly absorbing tactical adventure. As an exiled prince you must assemble an army to reclaim your kingdom – forcing tough choices as you decide whether to spare wrongdoers to swell your ranks. The other big decisions are made pre-battle: instead of picking individual attacks, you must choose strategies in advance, watching the ensuing skirmishes play out in all their gorgeously hand-animated glory.

MARS AFTER MIDNIGHT

★★★★★

OUT NOW PLAYDATE

Restricted to those who own Panic’s portable device, Lucas Pope’s (Papers Please) latest initially appears to be a lighthearted take on his BAFTAwinning solo debut. You monitor the door of a community centre, screening alien visitors based on changing criteria and using a variety of tools to identify them before cleaning up after those you’ve admitted. By turns hilarious and melancholy, it builds towards a knockout ending.