When I first saw Mixtape during the Xbox Games Showcase 2024, I knew I not only wanted it but needed it injected into my veins. I’ve spoken before about how fatigued the industry (myself included) had become with Interactive Narrative games, so any games seeking to revive the genre needed to do something special. Thankfully, for the most part, a lot of them have been.
I expected to like Mixtape, but I was not expecting to be FLOORED by it. I’ve used the term “Art as Video Games” before to describe art pieces that use the medium of video games as interactive experiences, but kind of falter as games. On its face, it almost feels like a negative explanation, so let me say, without a doubt, Mixtape is THE BEST example of “Art as Video Games” I have ever experienced.
The story involves three friends—Stacy Rockford, Slater, and Cassandra—celebrating their last day of summer and their final year of high school together. In the span of a day, the three need to figure out how to get to the coolest girl in school’s party, while also navigating the complex emotions of their first real period of being apart as a group.
“I expected to like Mixtape, but I was not expecting to be FLOORED by it.”
Without giving too much away, it’s an absolute roller coaster of moods, emotions and moments. True to its name, it really is a Mixtape of these three characters—a greatest-hits compilation of their time as friends. Players experience the vast majority of Mixtape through Stacy; however, they get brief moments as the other two through little memories they experience alongside the main plot.
Mixtape’s story is one of the best I’ve ever experienced in a game like this, due in large part to its substance, but even more so because of its structure. It’s very much a “slice-of-life” experience, where the drama and stakes are more personal. We’re not really trying to save the day or fix a friendship; just to experience what it’s like for a group of teens with big dreams to live in a small town, and what happens when things that stayed the same suddenly have to change.
The story is largely told through Stacy; she provides much of the expository dialogue in the interactions. However, it’s not remotely obnoxious because she doesn’t spend every waking moment commenting on obvious things the player could infer. Instead, she’s constantly adding little bits of flavour to the world by providing her own unique perspective.
Not only that, but the dialogue is some of the best I’ve experienced in a game because it feels like it’s written to be spoken, and not read. Conversations feel more natural because they’re meant to be a bit snarky and a bit glib—like characters talking to each other and not voice actors reading potential responses to player-selected lines.
And it’s definitely helped by the fact that these are three of the most likable characters I’ve spent time with in a video game. All three feel incredibly earnest while still allowing some playful silliness, and when they get real and express their feelings, you definitely connect with them in a genuine way. On top of this, Stacy constantly breaks the fourth wall in cutscenes, which creates a much stronger sense of a story told through the lens of teenage fancy.
I’ve talked a lot about the story and not really the gameplay, because it’s so perfectly interwoven into the gameplay that it’s hard to disassociate the two. Unlike a lot of Narrative Games that usually have long moments of examination, usually followed by dialogue choice cutscenes and maybe some QTEs, Mixtape is mainly a diverse collection of “minigames” that are used to emphasize that moment in the plot. Players will go from skateboarding down a hill, to using the joysticks to move tongues during a terribly awkward first kiss, to skipping rocks, to flying through a field in a matter of moments.
“Mixtape has virtually no fat, with very few gameplay moments that do not perfectly continue the narrative, segueing into the next cutscene that continues the story.”
Mixtape has virtually no fat, with very few gameplay moments that do not perfectly continue the narrative, segueing into the next cutscene that continues the story. It is hands-on, hands-off storytelling in the most seamless way I have ever seen in a narrative game like this. While it does have some small investigation moments where Stacy reminisces about the past with her friends, these moments are perfectly placed, giving players time to take in the atmosphere and appreciate the characters.
It feels a bit like an interactive movie, in that gameplay is not exactly necessary for how it moves and tells its story. But encouraging players to be active participants connects them to it in a much more interesting way. It is also a genuine love letter not just to the music and movies of the ’80s and ’90s, keen-eyed players will definitely get the references to Wayne’s World and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, but to music itself and how it can shape or punctuate those special moments in our lives.
Visually, Mixtape is an absolute cornucopia of styles, themes and motifs that come together in so many amazing ways that it is hard to label it as one thing. Its main visual hook of using 60 fps while characters have reduced framerates, similar to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, gives it a unique animated-movie vibe, while its bright colours and realistic lighting make the whole thing feel fun while still being grounded.
In fact, special mention should be given to the whole team at Beethoven & Dinosaur. Their understanding of cinematography, rigging and staging makes every cutscene deeply complex and genuinely captivating. Seriously, they probably could have made Mixtape into a movie, and it would have dominated the festival circuit.
And, of course, there is the game’s soundtrack, which is so unbelievably well curated to fit every moment of the game that it is genuinely part of the plot. The use of real music makes the game feel so believable and helps reinforce that connection to our own memories of youth. In addition, Bella DeLong, Max Korman and Jessica Ma do an incredible job as Stacy, Slater and Cass. Their delivery of every line is so sincere; they add so much personality to each character and make them feel believable and honest.
Mixtape is the best game I have experienced all year. It made me laugh, it made me cry, and it made me want to play it a second time immediately after I finished it. In an industry that has been so mired in turbulence and stagnation, this game stands as a stark reminder that it’s still capable of true works of art.
