Mixtape |

Publisher: Annapurna Interactive

Developer: Beethoven & Dinosaur

Release Date: 05/07/2026

Available On

There is a certain moment in our lives that everyone is always chasing or trying to recapture. We don’t know it when we’re in this moment, but it’s one of the biggest draws of nostalgia, especially for Gen X and Millennials. That moment is the first major turning point in our lives. Where we go from a teenager to an adult. It’s both exhilarating and incredibly frightening at the same time. This jarring shift happens faster than any of us want it to, and we are always trying to cling on to that childhood just a few moments longer, but for reasons we don’t understand. Maybe we don’t want to go to college; we want to pursue dreams or hobbies, or some of us just end up with the wrong crowd and can’t find a way out. That turning point is graduating high school, turning 18, and becoming an adult. A million social and economical responsibilities are thrust upon us and against our will, with many of us not ready for it or prepared for what society has to give us. This is that single fleeting moment that Mixtape is trying to capture, and this is probably the only game that I’ve played that has done it right.

Some of us may have had friends in high school, and after graduation we fell apart. Either by choice or unknowingly, just due to life and the way that current pushes us. Some may have gone away to a college in another town. Some may have got three jobs and are working constantly with no more time for fun. Some may have got into trouble and wound up in jail. Sometimes our parents move away after high school and we start a brand new life. Mixtape does a fantastic job of bringing you into this fleeting moment and the emotions behind each of those singular and granular events. From running away from a house party to finding a hangout spot and cleaning it up. Mixtape follows three high school friends, Cassandra, Stacy, and Van, as they try to prepare for the last major house party before graduation. This sounds cheesy and like something out of a mid 2000s teen movie, but it’s not that at all. That’s the end goal, but it’s everything in between that sweeps us up emotionally and keeps us glued to the screen.

The only other game I can compare this type of emotional depth to is Life is Strange. While that game is capturing a very different feeling of this age group, it’s similar in both aesthetic and tone. The game starts out with you skateboarding to a licensed track down a long hill. It seems overly long, the autumn leaves crunching under your wheels, the sun close to setting, and you don’t have a care in the world. Stacy is the main protagonist, and she breaks the fourth wall to talk to the player and introduce each track to her mixtape of life, if you will. She’s a music nerd and is trying to make her last and final mixtape to capture that fleeting moment, but she just doesn’t say it. This overly long downhill skate through a rural town in Northern California captures the first of those granular moments. You may remember doing things like this, but just the colours of the time of day, the orange and yellow leaves, the cool air, and laughing with your friends. The game overexaggerates each of these moments that Stacy is in while she’s listening to these tracks. It visually represents the feelings you have and probably remember. It’s truly magical.

Each room you end up in (each of the three friends) has objects you can examine, and Stacy will narrate with her inner voice, similar to Max in Life is Strange. There’s a similar vibe with the way sketch lines dance on screen and harsh sunlight filters through the room. The characters move in a stop-motion animated way, and this helps invoke that feeling of remembering your past. The game is set in the late 90s, so only those who grew up then will remember this specific time period. Internet was scarce, and there was no social media or smartphones yet. While I wasn’t in high school yet at the time, I was in the 4th grade when this game was set, so I have similar memories of playing outside with friends without a care in the world. Laughter echoing in my mind as I think back to those innocent days of youth where the only thing I had to worry about was how my hair looked. These are clearly also some of the only concerns with Stacy and her friends. They want to party and drink beer, and Stacy wants to be off to New York to chase down a music producer to show her a mixtape she has made to start a new career, school be damned.

When you select the orange highlighted items in each room, you will fall back to a memory. This is how each character is introduced and their personalities unfold. The developers did a fantastic job of giving us these three new characters in just a few hours and making you care about them. The writing is sharp and tight, and there isn’t a single scene wasted. The voice acting is fantastic, and I really got sucked into this game and never put it down. Each memory consists of a mini-game or some sort of simple gameplay element. That’s the only major drawback to this game. There isn’t much gameplay here. Some of the mini-games, such as flying through the air and doing jumps, can be fun, but again this is an exaggerated feeling. Maybe you’re just walking home from a friend’s house but feel so high with endorphins that it feels like you’re flying. This euphoric state is the type of emotion that is evoked from the player. Every feeling is visually represented rather than just talked about.

Most of the scenes are bonding experiences each person had with each other, but the overarching story involves trying to get to that beach party and the unaddressed feelings of Stacy leaving for New York and possibly never coming back. It’s pretty emotional and moved me quite a bit towards the end. Cassandra’s overbearing parents and Van’s underbearing mother both get thrown in, and it all just worked. I’ve played so many short indie games that just can’t do a story or character arc right in such a short time because it requires sharp writing because you can’t waste a single scene. Running through a local abandoned dinosaur exhibit and taking photos on a crappy digital camera, trying to rent videos while drunk, etc. The music is also a huge part of stirring up emotions, and it feels like each track is set just right. We’ve all heard these songs before, and I recognised most as I grew up with my parents listening to these songs. Most are set between the late 60s through the 90s, ranging from rock to post-punk and grunge metal.

Overall, Mixtape is such a nice surprise and a treat for those who grew up in the late 90s. The analogue media that floats around the game’s mechanics and vibe is something that a lot of us miss. It just reminds me how much smartphones and social media have destroyed creating intimate moments with friends and the feeling of discovery. We aren’t forced to go outside anymore and make memories but instead can create them digitally. While I understand the benefit and convenience that this tech has brought us, there is also an ugly and dark side to it that can’t be ignored. Between Mixtapes‘ fantastic visual style, licensed soundtrack, and the very specific way of invoking emotions, there’s so much crammed into this 3-hour game. The three characters are well-written and surprisingly memorable, and I feel like this game is something I might go back to someday.