Not to sound like a broken record, but Mixtape is really good.
It’s almost hard to believe that the Annapurna Interactive-published adventure game Mixtape is finally in the wild. The game was first announced in 2024 via a trailer dripping with captivating 80s vibes, after which it practically disappeared for long lengths of time. Silksong this is not; and yet, every year I would look to the big annual game showcases like Summer Game Fest and Gamescom, and wonder–where the dickens did that promising Life is Strange-looking game go?
Time passes, the year is 2026, and I have now beaten Mixtape. It has lived up to the wait. Recency bias aside, it is, in fact, one of my favourite video games in years. It might not be for everyone–its slow-paced adventure gameplay lacks the action and stakes of a save-the-world story, for example–but it feels perfectly tailored to my tastes: a gorgeously cinematic musical adventure that takes players back to their last night of high school, where they must simultaneously celebrate and grieve the act of growing up.
Mixtape
Release date: 7 May, 2026
Platforms: PC, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch 2, Xbox Series X|S
Developer: Beethoven & Dinosaur
Price: US$19.99
What is Mixtape about?
Mixtape, developed by The Artful Escape maker Beethoven & Dinosaur, follows a trio of young teenagers in the 1990s: Rockford, Slater, and Cassandra. For all intents and purposes, Rockford is the central protagonist of this story–though the game does render both Slater and Cassandra occasionally playable, and all three of their arcs are tightly intertwined throughout. It’s a tough balancing act for Slater and Cassandra to shine next to Rockford, who boasts a loud and rather refractory personality, with grand ambitions of making it big in the music industry.
Cassandra is a newer addition to the group, joining Slater and Rockford on their acts of teenage rebellion after living a restrictive but unblemished life carved out by her domineering parents. Slater himself is largely uncomplicated by comparison, too occupied by wholesome whimsy and a somewhat wan desire to create art, to be driven into action by angst alone. Rockford is the ostensible glue that connects the trio, but the story begins with a moment of unspoken tension threatening to drive a wedge between them.
You see, Rockford is leaving town after their last day of high school. She has plans to pursue a career in the music industry rather than go on an originally all-planned-out road trip with her friends, and thus the trio find themselves in the awkward position of kicking off one last hang together without directly addressing that it is, in fact, their one last hang together.
Teenagers aren’t known for their expertise at good communication. They’re known for having dreams and wants that go beyond the pale, and for railing against their circumstances in constant dispute, rather than languishing under them. Mixtape illustrates the full spectrum perfectly with this trio, painting a tapestry of youth with all its blemishes; all the bad decisions and awkward hang-ups, but also the simmering excitement of imminent adulthood and, of course, the many friends we made along the way.
It’s a short-but-sweet playthrough, roughly the length of three hours in total. However, I simply can’t imagine it going longer without running out of steam–the game is paced much like a movie, and offers such a vibrant journey within that runtime. Its story, that of high school coming-of-age shenanigans, is nothing new. However, the cast behind this trio brings their roles to life superbly, furnishing each walk-and-talk or extended cinematic with a believable sense of intimacy. Even if they each fall into tried-and-true story archetypes, from the rebellious teen to the lackadaisical Bill & Ted stereotype, they stand apart thanks to their natural chemistry and the game’s overall witty writing.
The entire story is imbued with a John Hughes-like coming-of-age vibe, nigh-shamelessly presented as a fitting complement to movies like Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (which gets a fantastic and obvious homage here), Fast Times at Ridgemont High, and Heathers, with a far less restrained touch of the latter’s absurdity.
It’s a very sweet journey that this trio goes on, and one can’t help but be endeared by their streak of bad decisions and wanton rebellion. At the same time, this is a video game–so what is it like to play?
What is Mixtape’s musical gameplay like?
Mixtape is the Baby Driver of video games. Let me explain: just as Baby Driver portrayed the crime-ridden adventures of its titular protagonist via a carefully-constructed playlist of jams, Mixtape unfolds similarly through one long… well, mixtape. The story is orchestrated by Rockford’s own mixtape, with songs like Devo’s That’s Good, and Siouxsie and the Banshee’s Hong Kong Garden playing over each and every one of its chapters.
As the story builds towards Rockford, Slater, and Cassandra’s final night of high school together, you’ll hear the music build, soften, and swell–deftly matching the pace of their winding emotional journey. To help keep things fresh, the narrative is told in non-linearly. We enter the story at a specific time in Rockford’s life, and memories told via flashbacks help fill in the details we have missed.
Rockford and her friends are egregiously unreliable narrators. These playable flashbacks often veer into the realm of Looney Tunes-like cartoonish insanity, breaking up the pace of the game’s more Life is Strange-like laidback object inspection gameplay. From uncomfortably close imagery of tongues sticking to and drooling on one another to flipping the bird at cars to make them explode, Mixtape uses these sequences effectively to inject action and kineticism into its otherwise grounded story.
This is saying nothing of the game’s unique aesthetic, stocked with lush environments and character designs that bask in its fantastic lighting systems. Even the most inert sequences, like walking around Rockford’s room and inspecting her personals, feel so vibrant and full of life due to Mixtape’s painted-on artstyle. Characters move in a lower frame rate than their surroundings, much like the Spider-Verse movies, which can be jarring at first, but quickly becomes charming.
Verdict
Mixtape is an unmissable and utterly cinematic follow-up to The Artful Escape, bringing developer Beethoven & Dinosaur to new heights of melomania. Its central protagonists–Rockford, Slater, and Cassandra–are an endearing showcase of youthful aspiration, and their collective journey will provide relatable highs and lows to anyone who’s had to endure a long goodbye.
Even now, after the credits roll, I find myself itching for another playthrough. After all, what’s a mixtape good for if you’ve only heard it once?
