If you grew up in small town America, then you’ve already played Mixtape. Bored out of your mind, longing for an escape, eyes set on a broader horizon. At least, this was my experience growing up in my tiny desert town in California. A town where there’s only one main road, one high school, and nothing but time on your hands. I hadn’t thought about it in years, but when I had the opportunity to finally play Mixtape, a flood of memories (some good, some bad) came rushing back. Australian studio Beethoven & Dinosaur, the creative team behind The Artful Escape, successfully scratches a nostalgic itch I never knew I needed with Mixtape. I recently had the opportunity to get roughly half an hour with it. I came away not only impressed and craving more, but in deep reflection of a life I left behind.

Press Play

I know that Mixtape won’t resonate with others as strongly as it did with me. But even those who may not have the same teenage experience I did will find joy. Its storytelling, choice of soundtrack, and minimalist gameplay add up to a worthwhile experience. Mixtape isn’t the most mechanically complex video game around, opting instead to focus on characters and music. During a joyride on the open road, our three young protagonists are jamming out to Freak by Silver Chair. For this segment, you can hit buttons to headbang in-sync with the tunes. There’s no pass or fail grade, no meter measuring your accuracy, just good old fashioned vibes.

Later on, the trio take a drunken downhill ride in a shopping cart, allowing you to spin around and maneuver around oncoming traffic. With this part, you could fail (and I did, multiple times), but the checkpoints are forgiving. It’s this sort of interaction that Mixtape offers that helped me get more immersed in the story. The quick-time event-like button presses are easy for gamers of all experience levels to get the hang of. You’ll explore and solve basic puzzles, and even input buttons to successfully perform a secret handshake. The gameplay serves the narrative well, and I was never stumped on how to proceed.

One Last Hurrah

Mixtape’s narrative is centered around Rockford, Slater, and Cassandra on their way to their final house party together. Rockford is about to embark on a perilous journey into lands unknown (New York City) to pursue her dream of becoming a music supervisor. The story is broken up into vignettes, with Rockford breaking the fourth wall to exposition dump to the player. She gives background and context to these situations, and assigns a catchy tune to accompany the playable section. And the soundtrack choices are killer. Mixtape features iconic tracks from artists like DEVO, The Cure, Iggy Pop, Smashing Pumpkins, and so much more to nail the vibe. Its stepped animation art style further adds to its highly-stylized and psychedelic vibe.

The introductory section, which had me barreling down a twisting highway with DEVO as the anthem of our current, short-lived freedom, encapsulates the step animation style beautifully. Skating felt responsive and fluid, and I was even able to do a couple tricks on my race to the bottom. But the character models’ almost stutter-like movements are a unique design choice that might take some getting used to for motion sick gamers. But as an artistic choice, this animation style works very well.

You’ll Laugh, You’ll Cry

Mixtape’s writing is rife with not only deep, edgy teenage perspectives, but littered with genuinely funny moments that help ease some of the angsty tension. The shopping cart section cut to the perspective of the news helicopter while I was still controlling it. Sure, this was a cool way for the gameplay to become more immersive. But the newscaster nailed a one liner that gave me a good chuckle; “I’ve been reporting in the field for well over 40 years now, and I’ve only seen this five or six times”. It’s a quick joke that could be easy to miss if you’re not too focused on accelerating head-first into traffic. I appreciate good comedic timing, and Mixtape has the sort of silly humor I’m looking for.

Looking to the Future

Whether you’re a fan of John Hughes comedies of the 80’s or grew up a big dreamer in a small town, Mixtape should be on your radar. It’s not afraid to get weird. It unapologetically wears its heart on its sleeve. It’ll simultaneously make you feel nostalgic for a time you may not have been around for, but it also offers a butterfly-inducing excitement for moments and memories yet to come. While we don’t quite have the release date for Mixtape yet, it’s quickly become one of my most anticipated games of 2026.