Image: Brace Yourself Games, Tic Toc Games, Klei Publishing & Mystery Skulls

Last night I was hit by a blast from the past - new DLC for Rift of the NecroDancer dropped. That's not so unusual. What is odd is that it dropped around midnight, right alongside the finale of the Mystery Skulls Animated music video series, which first blew up on Tumblr twelve years ago.

So, for those unfamiliar, Mystery Skulls is an electro-pop band headed by Luis Dubuc, with a bit of soul and funk influence. Good stuff. The Mystery Skulls animated series was the work of artist and animator Ben Mangum. A regular Halloween fixture for the Tumblr crowd back in the day, as folks adored the characters.

Take the cast of Scooby-Doo and re-design them as if they're from a Rhythm Heaven spinoff set in one of Nintendo's confusingly localized JapanAmerican universes (Phoenix Wright, Trauma Center, etc.) and you're 90% of the way there. Velma is a reincarnated ninja, Scooby is a secret Kitsune, and they've got some dark history to reckon with. Oh, don't go rolling your eyes - it's goofy, but cool. Live a little.

Over the course of twelve long years, five videos were produced, all set on one haunted night. The last one landed last night, concluding the story. And you should watch them all, because it's a half-hour of great bops and anime-tinged Halloween drama. Here's the full playlist on YouTube. Go on, enjoy yourself a little.

Done? Well, now you can see why NecroDancer DLC is a perfect fit. All five tracks from the video series are here in both clean and explicit versions (there's the occasional naughty word, but nothing too intense), and the action is accompanied by the heroine of the series, Vivi Yukino, and her new musical ghostly pals, the Deadbeats. It's adorable and nostalgic. I remember these characters being EVERYWHERE on the internet back then, and it's a perfect fit for NecroDancer's creepy-cute Halloween vibes, with funky little dancing skellingtons and googly-eyed monsters.

And of course, each of the tracks features full note charts for all difficulties, including a semi-randomized Remix mode. The pack comes with some unlockable cosmetic goodies as well, if you want to rep the Mystery Skulls characters through the rest of the game, too. It's not the biggest chunk of DLC, of course, but as the capstone for over a decade of Halloween bops, it's as perfect as I could hope.

Rift of the NecroDancer is normally £16.75/$20, but currently 75% off in the Steam Halloween sale until November 2nd, so now's a good time to get on board (it's a neat little rhythm game), and the Mystery Skulls Music Pack costs £5.59/$6, with a 10% launch discount, and a cheap bundle featuring the base game and the new music for those who want to jump straight in.