Mixtape

"Mixtape is an immersive game as you follow Rockford, Slater, and Cass on the last night of High School. Spanning the highs and lows of the evening, the game’s Mixtape includes music from Devo, Iggy Pop, Lush, The Cure, and …"

"You know that sequence everyone talks about from Alan Wake 2? The one that was so acclaimed it was partly performed IRL at The Game Awards? Mixtape has ten of those. It never stops surprising, innovating, stirring the pot and …"

"You won’t find a challenge in Mixtape, just a superbly directed adventure in which teenage fears, stunts and drama intertwine with dreamlike imagination and pure, unbridled fun, all carried by one of the best video game soundtracks of the year. …"

"Mixtape, through its expertly curated catalogue of songs, pulls together a genuinely heartfelt and nostalgic story about all of the friends we make, and invariably lose, in our formative years. As a cross-section between music and wasted youth, Beethoven and …"

"Mixtape has an incredible atmosphere, and like my favorite coming-of-age stories, makes me nostalgic for a life I never lived."

"Mixtape, from The Artful Escape studio Beethoven &a; Dinosaur, is a delight. It&s;s a celebration of teenage life that makes its point, aptly, just as a teenager would."

"Mixtape&s;s style, soundtrack and unique storytelling flair all combine to elicit feelings both new and long forgotten. Simple moments make you appreciate life for what it is: a continuous evolution rather than a static state of being. Our adolescent selves …"

"One should never underestimate the power of music in video games. After all, anyone who played Saints Row: The Third remembers the belting Bonnie Tyl..."

"Mixtape is the best kind of adolescence."

"Mixtape is incredible. An indie narrative adventure that&s;s part game, part movie, part album, it captures the end of teenage life, of friendship and family, all while looking to the possibilities and unknowable potential of the future. It is, in …"

"When I rolled credits on Mixtape, I was sad that it was over so soon. But then, I was immediately excited at the prospect of multiple future playthroughs where I could toy with all of the quirky minigames and their …"

"Mixtape is a coming of age tale that hits all the right notes from beginning to end. While it&s;s a short game that you might only play once, that does not take away from how special the journey is along …"

"Lovely, beautiful, heartwarming, and unable to convince me it needed my input as a player at all."

"For a game I was so excited for, it didn’t deliver what I was expecting or hoping for at all. What I felt with Mixtape wasn’t blissful nostalgia brought about by a poignant narrative. What I felt was complete and …"

"Mixtape invites us into Stacey’s final day with her friends in town. Set to popular tracks from the &s;80s and &s;90s, it explores the character&s;s unique humor, the spirit of youth, and teenage struggles from a surface-level yet touching perspective. …"

"Mixtape takes players through a journey to a rebel adolescence and the last day enjoying it with friends."

"Mixtape sets a new bar for cinematic experiences. Taking inspiration from the legendary work of John Hughes and combining it with the sensibilities of modern animation, Beethoven &a; Dinosaur manages to create something that feels fresh and distinct. Through its …"

"Mixtape is a greatest hits of gameplay, storytelling, music and animation. Its a true work of art that would be a crime not to experience."

"Mixtape is a tribute to "the best years of your life." It combines authentic nostalgia for being young, with witty commentary on how life doesn&s;t actually end just because you didn&s;t have a Hollywood-style last night in town. The game&s;s …"

"As a narrative adventure game, Mixtape manages to establish its own identity compared to other games in the same genre, avoiding it being a simple copycat. It succeeds in clearly laying out what interactions end a scene, while allowing for …"

"Through utterly superb set-pieces, gorgeous visual design, and an impactful soundtrack, Mixtape crafts one of the most meaningful story games in a long time. It&s;s beautiful to look at, a joy to listen to, and so enjoyable to play - …"

"Mixtape knows what it wants to be and succeeds with enough frequency to make it recommendable. Beethoven &a; Dinosaur constructs a small but sincere work, where the music doesn&s;t accompany the story but generates it. The character development is honest, …"

"So what does this short but intense album, Mixtape, leave us with? Perhaps, just like its protagonists, a sense of lightness and tenderness tinged with melancholy and sadness. An experience that&s;s not perfect, but definitely capable of tugging at the …"

"Music can make us feel incredibly powerful or cathartically vulnerable. And when the right song hits at the right moment, it may just send a happy shiver down your spine, which is how I spent much of my time with …"

"Mixtape is an adventure specifically for those of us who grew up in the angsty 90s. For those players, the top-tier soundtrack selection and unpacking themes you may have been avoiding for a few decades is going to hit very …"

"Mixtape feels like a gift made specifically for millennials who still remember what life was like before it went completely digital. A game about friendship, music, goodbyes, and that painful feeling of realizing that certain phases end without asking permission."

"Mixtape&s;s greatest accomplishment is that it more than lives up to its name. This is a thoughtfully curated collection of music, sure, but before that, it&s;s an exciting, sentimental, funny game. Rather than simply twiddling your thumbs while the licensed …"

"The vibes are immaculate here even if you&s;ve never heard the term "shoegaze" before in your life."

"A musical delight from start to finish, Mixtape sets a new standard for coming-of-age stories in video games and does so with a masterful sense of style."

"Despite the limited gameplay and slightly repetitive nature of wandering around rooms to click on objects, Mixtape is an experience I’ll remember for a long while. The sharp dialogue that feels real and stays the right side of grating, easy-going …"

"Mixtape is grunge and punk, hopeful and foolish, ultra cool and super nerdy, confident and insecure in equal measure. Simply put, this is one you need to experience for yourself."

"Beethoven &a; Dinosaur has crafted the finest example of a narrative driven, interactive experience, melding elements from both film and video games as art forms, with a killer soundtrack at its core, Mixtape is a smash hit."

"The drunken antics and first kisses of a trio of tenacious teens make for silly yet undeniably enjoyable gameplay, framed by a playlist of bona fide bangers"

"With some of the most beautiful visuals you’ll see on PS5 and a rocking soundtrack full of nostalgic vibes, Mixtape is a meaningful coming-of-age story that is a blast to play through."

"While much of the industry seems intent on recycling formulas and chasing after others&s; successes, games like Mixtape remind us of something essential: that there are still video games capable of making us feel something different. Of moving us. Of …"

"Mixtape nails its presentation and story, making it a music-focused adventure that takes you back to simpler times."

"A heartwarming adventure about growing up, packed full of imagination and 90s snark, but its main strength is the way in which it manages to expertly capture what it feels like to be a young, bored teen on the verge …"

"Mixtape is one of those games that will either captivate you from the very first frame and leave you with a genuine sense of admiration, or come across as a boring project with minimal interactivity that doesn&s;t deserve the press&s;s …"