Mr. Records is a delightful bite-sized rhythm game full of charm and earworms

• Feature
• Preview

Running a small business and dealing with customers has never been more chill than in this delightful rhythm game management sim.

Lexi Luddy September 16, 2026 8:00 AM Wired Productions 1

Post-Gamescom for me has mostly been a delirious sequence of delayed flights, sleeping on airport floors, catching up on game news, writing up interviews, oversleeping, and on many an occasion just mumbling to myself in a sing-song, “Oooooooh, the sausage blues.” None of those are really too surprising, bar that last one, which has wormed its way into my idle brain as I work or while I'm running errands courtesy of Glee-Cheese Studio’s upcoming game, Mr. Records.

Despite being one of the shortest demos I played at the show, Mr. Records left probably the biggest impact of anything that didn’t feature murderous leather daddies or Xenomorphs (shout-out to Hellraiser and Alien Isolation 2, respectively… obviously). The game sees you take the role of record store owner George as he navigates his late-career change into the vinyl thrifting market. Ostensibly, it's your job to wake up every morning, go downstairs, and recommend albums for your regulars based on their tastes. However, George has a secret.

Living tunes

George can experience music unlike anyone else. Every night, when he settles down and puts on an LP, he dives into the music. This takes the form of a simple two-button rhythm game along with directional inputs. George walks through these musical worlds, jumping, dashing, and sliding to the beat. While none of that sounds exceptionally exciting, Mr. Records understands that any rhythm game lives and dies by its soundtrack.

As such, the small team at Glee-Cheese, who have previously worked on musical games like Headbangers: Rhythm Royale and A Musical Story, crafted 45 original songs that chart George’s life, which he can then sell and recommend to customers. Moreover, if the three or so songs I heard at the preview are anything to go by, then Mr. Records has impeccable taste in music.

Sausage blues, baby. Sausage blues.

The highlight of this demo mixtape was by far Sausage Blues, an incredibly straight-faced old-timey blues number about the tragedy of pork stuff in pig’s skin. The accompanying rhythm level saw George sliding up and down tracks of mustard and ketchup in the desert, while kicking cactus plants out of his way. I really do just have to recommend that you listen to the devs' Day of the Devs presentation for a tease of this number, because the intonation with which one of the developers and composers says “Ooooooh, the sausage blues” has taken up full-time accommodation in my head, rent-free.

Whether the rest of the game’s soundtrack can live up to that banger remains to be seen, but I already like what I have heard of songs like poppy (and Mizaguchi-esque) “Shine” and early Beatles-inspired “Power of Imagination.” I am also curious to see more of the game’s management aspect, as I didn’t actually get to spend any time recommending recording or running my store. I will say, though, that the small details that are present – namely the noticeable wobble of George’s belly as he stops walking in his old man pajamas – are indicative of a game where subtle charm is the order of the day.

Mr. Records currently doesn’t have a release date. This is a real problem for me, because unless Glee-Cheese releases a further sample of the soundtrack, then I am stuck with just “Oooooh, the sausage blues,” rattling around in my brain during ideal moments. Well, I guess there are worse problems to have. 

This preview is based on a PC demo played at Gamescom 2026. The final product is subject to change.

Shacknews staff does not use generative artificial intelligence (AI) in their content. Shacknews strictly prohibits the use of its content for AI training or to generate text, including text in the style or format used for this publication. Shacknews reserves all rights to this work.

Lexi Luddy Contributing Editor

Lex Luddy is a freelance writer and journalist. She has written for Vice, Fanbyte, PLAY Magazine, Gayming Magazine, Push Square, startmenu and more. She can be found on BlueSky @basicallilexi.bsky.social talking about Like A Dragon, Kirby, and queer representation in media.

Filed Under

Login / Register