Mixtape is one of those games that instantly understands a universal truth about growing up. And that’s that the memories which stick with us forever are often the messy, awkward, and chaotic ones.
This is the latest title from Australian developer Beethoven & Dinosaur, the studio behind The Artful Escape, but this time around they have traded cosmic rock-opera weirdness for something far more grounded and personal, with very strong John Hughes vibes. Think The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, and Pretty in Pink.
Cutting Through the Noise
Now, going off all the talk around the game, you likely expecting this review to go one of two ways. Where I say that Mixtape is a brave 10/10 and the indisputible Game of the Year. Or, I slam it with a 0/10 and throw around terms like ‘woke’ and ‘nepo baby’.
However, and *spoiler alert*, it’s not going either of those ways, I am afraid.
I personally really enjoy games like Road 96, The Artful Escape, and Sayonara Wild Hearts – games that walk extremely close to the “is it really a game?” line but pull off some truly memorable moments. How memorable, you may ask? Well, each of those games was on my respective Game of the Year list for its year.
Read More: Road 96: Mile 0 review – Lost Highway
Mixtape fits perfectly in this genre, as it’s all about what I am told by the cool kids is… the vibes more than the destination, or even the journey. Though it’s also not a 10/10 game by a long shot, falling short of almost every title I mention above in one way or another.
Classic Coming of Age
At its core, Mixtape is a coming-of-age tale that unfolds through memories, music, and the strange feeling of standing on the edge of entering adulthood. The tale follows three friends on their final night together before life pulls them in different directions.
What unfolds is a “playable” eh, mixtape of memories, as the trio relives the highs, heartbreaks, and dumb decisions, – the moments that shaped their friendship.
Read More: Dustborn review – Trying Too Hard
Mixtape constantly blurs the line between reality and teenage imaginations. One moment you’re skating down streets as the sun sets, avoiding traffic to the beat of a classic track, the next you’re lost in a dreamlike retelling of a teenage disaster that feels equal parts hilarious and emotionally raw.
To be fair, it does a good job at capturing the feelings situations like those had on me, even though my youth wasn’t yesterday, where every embarrassing moment felt world-ending and every victory felt like an epic scene from a movie.
Still a Game
Things get a bit more sticky on the gameplay front, as it’s extremely light, very much sitting in that narrative-driven ‘experience’ lane. You’ll spend most of your time exploring memories, interacting with objects, talking, and taking part in mini-games that range from riding a shopping trolley downhill to picking a video from the rental store while you’re high (we’ve all been there).
Mechanically, none of it is deep, but that’s never really the point. Mixtape lives or dies on its writing, presentation, and ultimately emotional resonance. And thankfully it nails those aspects.
Capturing the Vibe
For me, anyway, but it’s a big BUT, as I am a kid of the early ’90s and I 100% remember a lot of what it’s selling, even though I grew up in rain-soaked Scotland and not sun-kissed California. But that’s me, and your mileage, depending on your age, will vastly differ, I feel.
As I feel that’s where so much of the hate for the game has come from, in that the Johnny Galvatron (sure, a made-up second name – it’s a Transformer) is trying to tell a tale of a life he wishes he had lived and not one he actually had.
As a man in his mid-to-late 40s, he’s a bit older than me, and again I don’t see this hitting with younger gamers who have no cultural reference points, and in ways it’s maybe an overly indulgent project that could have been edited a bit tighter.
Culturally Immersive
What really elevates the game however is its soundtrack. Again, this will land with you or not, and if it doesn’t, I can totally understand you not enjoying things. Music isn’t just background noise here; it’s the whole backbone of the entire game.
Every song feels carefully chosen to frame a specific emotional beat, whether it’s youthful rebellion, first love, or the fear of change creeping in as adulthood looms closer. The soundtrack truly becomes another character in itself.
Featuring tracks from DEVO, Stan Bush, The Smashing Pumpkins, The Cure, Joy Division, and Roxy Music, to name but a few. If an indie title it has a LOT of licensed music.
Stylised
Visually, the game is stunning throughout. Its art style mixes warm nostalgia with vibrant dreamlike imagery, constantly shifting between grounded suburban realism and fantasy sequences. There’s an almost scrapbook-like, somewhat Life is Strange quality to the whole thing.
Mixtape is heartfelt, funny, and at times painfully relatable. It understands that growing up is exciting, terrifying, and also bittersweet all at once. It just isn’t as stylish as Sayonara Wild Hearts, as epic as The Artful Escape, or as thought-provoking as Road 96.
Much like an actual mixtape, it’s messy in places, deeply personal, and likely to have a track or two that everyone can enjoy.
- Mixtape review – Vibes-Based Mixing
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- Life is Strange: Reunion review – Second Life
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