Video Game Review: ‘Mixtape' Is The Musical Odyssey To Make You Young Again

Remember high school? Unless you peaked at 16, it probably sucked. Your teachers were square, the other kids were either bullies or dweebs, and nobody understood you. Nobody, that is, except the composers and performers of your favorite songs. Music is the universal language, and there’s nothing like a sweet riff and a slick rhyme to cut through the monotony of life and carve directly into your heart with a timeless message of righteous truth.

Was that too dramatic? Well, when you’re a teen, everything is dramatic. Sure, eventually you grow up and learn that the things you think are important at 17 don’t actually matter, but when you’re living it, when you’re in the midst of those formative years when the world is equally terrifying and whimsical, the right song feels like the difference between life and death. Simply put, nothing short of a 1980s John Hughes movie can compete with “Mixtape” when it comes to capturing the teenage experience.

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The formula is deceptively simple. Take developer Beethoven & Dinosar’s previous title, “The Artful Escape,” mix in a little bit of “Life is Strange,” and set it in the ambiguous time period of “1990-something-but-don’t-worry-about-it,” and you have something of an idea of what “Mixtape” is aiming to achieve. And achieve it does, with every scene playing out like a beautiful music video. The main character is Stacy Rockfort, the de facto leader of a trio of rebellious teens that also includes ‘good girl’ Cassandra and ‘artistic stoner’ Slater. Together, these misfits try to enjoy their last day at home in Blue Moon Lagoon, an ‘Anytown, USA’ kind of place. Stacy is going East, to New York, to visit with her older sister and, more importantly, to pursue her dreams of becoming a Music Supervisor for the movies. However, this plan is in direct opposition to an earlier plan for the dynamic trio to go on a California road trip together. There’s a big party planned for the evening, and the game is spent with the three best friends as they navigate the day while also flashing back to integral moments in their relationship. The entire game is set to a wall-to-wall soundscape of licensed songs from some of the greatest rock artists of all time.

It would be remiss of me to spoil too much of the setlist, which manifests as Stacy’s mixtape for her final day in Blue Moon Lagoon, but some of the legendary acts featured in the game include Roxy Music, Iggy Pop, Joy Division, and more. The game opens with “That’s Good” by Devo. From there, the story proceeds at a masterful pace. Through the entire four-hour experience, you’re never more than a minute or so away from doing something new. Every song features a new gameplay scenario. Some are more interactive than others, like racing a cop car across town in a “Ferris Bueller”-inspired frantic chase, while others are more relaxed, like floating through the sky as Stacy struggles with her feelings of betrayal and her own insecurities. Others still are gamified versions of mundane experiences like mixing the perfect slushie at the local convenience store or visiting a video rental store (ask your parents, kiddos!)

The right song can empathize with a person’s feelings of joy and despair, and one of “Mixtape’s” biggest strengths is how it articulates that magical relationship between music and listeners. Stacy prides herself on knowing the perfect song for each moment, and that shines through which each of the game’s 20+ musical sequences. In between these wonderful vignettes, Stacy can talk to her friends and interact with various objects in an old-school ‘point and click adventure’ kind of way. The dialogue is always snappy and often hilarious, and the voice acting is fantastic. Particular praise has to go out to Slater’s actor, Max Korman. What could have been a one-note Ted “Theodore” Logan impression instead integrates additional layers when Slater has to interpret the feelings of his friends and play mediator when there’s risk of friction. Of course, much of the credit here also has to go to writer/director Johnny Galvatron, who clearly studied the greats, from “The Breakfast Club” to “Donnie Darko” and everything in between, though “Mixtape” never feels like a copy or imitation of those legendary movies, but a wholly unique teen story that does its own thing while paying homage to the classics.

Visually, “Mixtape” is amazing. Though it certainly owes a debt of gratitude to the animated “Spider-Verse” movies, it takes things a step further. On PlayStation 5 at least, the game runs at a smooth 60 FPS, so when characters are animated “on 2s” or even “on 3s” in the traditional animation sense, the effect is even more other-worldly when paired with the silky-smooth overall frame rate. The characters themselves are all immediately distinct, with stylized proportions that are exaggerated just enough to be charming without being gaudy. Naturally, the music video sequences are stunning, from flying sequences that showcase gorgeous vistas to fireworks scenes that showcase spectacular particle effects.

If you love music, storytelling, and just vibing with a work of art, you’re going to love “Mixtape.” If you want to get points and level up and engage in pulse-pounding gameplay sequences that test your skills, reflexes, and dexterity, this one might not be for you. There’s no points to be earned, level-ups to be gained, or rare gear to loot. This ain’t that kind of game. While it’s only a few hours long, “Mixtape” isn’t the kind of game you play just once. It’s a warm blanket on a cold night, something to keep you cozy on an emotionally uncertain evening. It’s the kind of game that you want to revisit like your favorite movie, or, indeed, like an old mixtape from a forgotten friend.

“Mixtape” is a singular experience that combines cinematic presentation and music video aesthetics with deep, granular storytelling that is custom-tailored to the medium of video games. And don’t get it twisted: this is still a full-on video game, not an interactive art installation. It’s the kind of game you’ll want to share with your friends and loved ones, to inevitably trigger discussions about their own teenage experiences. But, ahem, Most of All, it’s a one-of-a-kind sensory delight that’s a joy to play. Like they would a great rock band, expect fans of “Mixtape” to incessantly recommend the game until you have no choice but to give in and give it a shot, only to learn firsthand that they were right all along.

Newsweek Score: 9/10

Reviewed on PS5 Pro. Newsweek was given a digital code for the purposes of this review.

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This story was originally published May 7, 2026 at 11:03 AM.