The Future Sounds Familiar: Retrofuturism, Nostalgia, and Capitalism in the Music of Fallout 4, Cyberpunk 2077, and Final Fantasy VII

Abstract

The video games Fallout 4, Cyberpunk 2077, and Final Fantasy VII each feature a complex web of retrofuturist settings, nostalgia, and criticisms of unchecked capitalism. These games' soundtracks each serve to sound their retrofuturist settings as well as evoke and enhance the games' nostalgic qualities. This is done in a variety of ways, utilizing a variety of methods and musical styles. This paper analyzes the ways in which music is used to conjure nostalgia in each of these retrofuturist games, and draws connections between their settings, the way they employ and evoke nostalgia, and their shared themes, which include a general skepticism or criticism of capitalism. The works of Svetlana Boym and Mark Fisher, two authors who have written about nostalgia and its relationship to both capitalism and the future, are used to frame this analysis.