Mixtape Review (Beautiful Soundtrack and Graphics, But...)

By Justin D Williams

Mixtape, the newest narrative-focused adventure from Beethoven & Dinosaur and Annapurna Interactive, grabs attention right away with its style. From the first trailer, it looked like it had everything needed to stand apart: eye-catching animation, a powerful licensed soundtrack, a coming-of-age premise, and that bittersweet mood of friends dealing with the close of an important chapter. Since I enjoy story-driven experiences like Until Then, I went into Mixtape expecting something memorable.

The story centers on three best friends spending one final night together in the quiet northern California coastal town of Blue Moon Lagoon. Stacey Rockford sits at the heart of the narrative, an eighteen-year-old aspiring music supervisor preparing to head to New York the following morning. She’s been offered the chance to shadow legendary music supervisor Bella Dalton, but her sudden choice throws off plans she already made with her friends, creating tension during what was meant to be their last unforgettable night together.

From there, Mixtape plays out like a string of memories tied together through music. Across about four to five hours, the game shifts between the present and various flashbacks, allowing players to revisit key moments in the trio’s friendship through interactive scenes. Traditional gameplay clearly is not the focus here. Instead, the game aims to capture emotions: growing pains, the fear of moving on, and the complicated feelings that surface when personal dreams start pulling friends apart.

Without question, the presentation is Mixtape’s biggest strength. Visually, it’s stunning. The game uses a colorful comic-book-inspired art direction mixed with sleek animation that gives everything a distinct personality. Nostalgic details are everywhere, from cassettes and bedroom posters to the atmosphere of a small coastal town frozen within a specific cultural era. The animation carries an almost stop-motion-like energy, and the overall level of polish stays consistently impressive.

The soundtrack stands out just as much. Mixtape fully embraces its 1990s identity with licensed songs from artists such as The Cure, Iggy Pop, The Smashing Pumpkins, and others. Music does far more than fill silence. It becomes part of the emotional core of the experience. Many scenes rely heavily on the songs to establish tone and mood, and honestly, they succeed. The voice performances are excellent too, adding enough humanity to the cast that you stay engaged even when the script doesn’t always explore its characters deeply enough.

That’s also where Mixtape became a bit uneven for me. The game clearly reaches for something heartfelt, and occasionally it lands, but much of the story feels overly familiar. It leans hard into 1990s nostalgia, suburban teenage life, cassette culture, friendship, and coming-of-age drama. Players who grew up in that exact environment may feel a stronger emotional connection. As someone born in the mid-1980s who grew up in New York City, I appreciated the atmosphere and aesthetic, though I never felt personally attached to it in the same way others probably will.

The main trio works well together, but they often slip into recognizable character types. Stacey is ambitious, sharp-tongued, and intensely focused on her future, yet she frequently comes off selfish and entitled. Her dream matters, sure, but the narrative doesn’t always balance that ambition against the emotional fallout her decisions create. Van Slater fills the laid-back skater role and seems satisfied staying where he is, though the game never develops him enough. Cassandra Morino, meanwhile, ends up being the most compelling member of the group a straight, a softball player struggling with her overprotective cop father.

Cassandra’s storyline easily delivers the strongest emotional moments. Her relationship with her father gives the narrative its best dramatic material, and her internal conflict feels far more layered than what the others receive. I honestly found myself wishing she had been the main character. Her journey carries more emotional weight, and her development feels more satisfying overall. Stacey does evolve somewhat, but her arc remains limited. Van, unfortunately, feels sidelined for much of the game.

Pacing creates problems at times as well. The story constantly jumps between present-day events and memory-driven sequences, which matches the mixtape concept nicely, but those transitions sometimes weaken the emotional momentum. Just as tension begins building in the present, the game cuts away into another vignette from the past. Some of those scenes are genuinely charming. Others feel more like stylish diversions than meaningful progression.

When it comes to gameplay, Mixtape barely resembles a traditional game. It’s much closer to a walking simulator or interactive narrative with light mechanics sprinkled throughout. Players explore small environments, move through conversations, complete simple interactions, and occasionally tackle short mini-game sequences tied to music and memories. There are skateboarding sections where you cruise around pulling off easy tricks. Rhythm moments appear too, along with button prompts, handshakes, holding hands, and even an awkward first-kiss scene built around dual-stick tongue controls and braces.

That first-kiss mini-game will probably divide players more than anything else. In one sense, it absolutely captures the painfully awkward side of teenage romance. At the same time, it’s uncomfortable enough that some people may find it distracting rather than charming. That really sums up Mixtape overall. The game fully commits to recreating the messy emotions of youth, though not every creative decision lands perfectly.

Most gameplay segments are brief, usually lasting only a few minutes, and none of them are particularly demanding. Players searching for deep mechanics, major choices, or systems with replay value won’t find much here. This experience is built around atmosphere, memory, and music first. Whether that approach works depends entirely on what you expect from games like this. If you want mechanically engaging gameplay, Mixtape may disappoint. If mood and emotional presentation matter more to you, there’s still quite a lot to enjoy.

On my Power Up Bar meter, Mixtape earns a Checkpoint Reached rating. In other words, it’s enjoyable, solid, and worth playing, though enough flaws keep it from reaching the next tier. The animation looks fantastic, the performances are strong, and the soundtrack is excellent, but the short runtime, shallow gameplay, and predictable story prevent it from feeling like a masterpiece.

I can absolutely understand why some players will connect deeply with Mixtape. The game captures a very specific kind of nostalgia with style and sincerity. For me, though, the emotional impact never fully landed because the writing felt too familiar and several characters needed more depth. Cassandra’s storyline hinted at how powerful the experience could have been, and I wish more of the game reached that level.

If you enjoy coming-of-age stories, stylish visuals, and music-focused storytelling, Mixtape is definitely worth checking out. Still, if you’re uncertain or prefer deeper gameplay systems, waiting for a sale may be the better option. It’s a heartfelt experience with a clear identity, just not quite the masterpiece some players claim it is.

Mixtape is available on PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch 2.

VIDEO REVIEW

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nURdWfogrkg