Mixtape

Stacey Rockford, Cassandra Morino and Van Slater are three friends who have just graduated from high school and are about to embark on the next stage of their lives. But before their paths diverge, there's one last day and one last party. This forms the basis for Mixtape, in which the player controls Stacey on her last day before leaving. She still has a few things to take care of and comes across things in her surroundings that remind her of past moments. As might be expected, music plays a major role here, with licensed songs from artists such as Devo, Roxy Music, Lush, The Smashing Pumpkins, Iggy Pop, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Joy Division and The Cure capturing the mood of the '80s and '90s and evoking nostalgia. They provide an exceptional backdrop to the memories and emotions associated with them, albeit occasionally a little heavy-handed.

Memories then spark a series of varied mini-games. One moment it's skating, the next it's sneaking, dancing or playing baseball, or putting on a fireworks show from the back seat of a car - but sometimes also dreamily exaggerated. These create a flow of playable memories and character-driven moments in a distinctive art style reminiscent of stop-motion animation, like in the Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse movies. However, the choppy animation style does take some getting used to, especially compared to the detailed surroundings. The game feels like an interactive movie or album of memories, but it's important to realise that there is virtually no gameplay challenge. This has sparked yet another debate on social media platforms about what constitutes a game and what merely an interactive movie is.

Players can take as much time as they want in the game. This coming-of-age narrative adventure focuses not only on the nostalgic atmosphere of adolescence, but also on universal themes such as aimlessness, mischief, friendship, and growing up. It explores the bittersweet feelings associated with growth, transformation and moving on. Some characters can be rebellious and exhausting at times, though. Nevertheless, the conversations between the characters are mostly genuine and heartfelt, without being overly sentimental. Given the low replay value, don't expect to play for more than four hours.

Mixtape was developed by Melbourne-based Australian studio Beethoven & Dinosaur. Their previous game was The Artful Escape (2021), a combination of platformer, rhythm game and narrative game. The publisher, Annapurna Interactive, is an independent multi-platform media company and content studio founded in 2016. Its portfolio includes Stray, Outer Wilds, Neon White, What Remains of Edith Finch, People of Note, and the upcoming titles Silent Hill: Townfall, The Lost Wild and We Kill Monsters, among others. The company is a division of Annapurna Pictures.

Mixtape was released on 7 May 2026 for $19.99/€18.99 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch 2 and PC via Steam (Steam Deck verified) and the Epic Games Store. It is also available through Xbox Game Pass.

Conclusion

Mixtape is a nostalgic narrative adventure which skilfully captures a way of life through music and memories. In terms of gameplay, however, it is basic.

Features

• Narrative coming-of-age adventure
• Nostalgic trip with a great cast and music
• Emotionally genuine