Mixtape Review – Rock The Ages

I think all of us have a moment that, in retrospect, is when we became individuals. Whether it was when you got a car at 16, went off to college at 18, or finally got your own place at 20 – there’s a night that was the last night of your childhood. You didn’t know it at the time, but that night was the last night that you were who you were born as. The next day, you were who you chose to be.

Mixtape catches the feeling of that night, distills it down into a moment, and guides you through a four hour odyssey set to the perfect soundtrack manifesting the moment into characters, sights, and sounds. I know it all sounds pretentious, but it’s impossible to properly describe the masterpiece that Beethoven and Dinosaur Studio has put together without getting poetic.

It is the last night before 18 year old Stacy Rockford gets on a plane out of her backwoods North California town. It’s nebulously the 1990s, with the entirety of the decade’s culture captured neatly in the clothing, language, food, music, and pop culture. She’s leaving this small town behind so hard that pop punk bands would be jealous

Stacy and her two best friends, Slater and Cassandra, have formed an inseparable bond over the past year. Slater is a sensitive, non-confrontational stoner that has known Stacy since they were children; Cassandra is a strong-minded daughter of two abusive, controlling parents who is unsure who she is. Stacy seems to know exactly who she is – she’s going to be a music supervisor in New York, and create the perfect soundtrack to all of life’s moments.

Structurally, the most similar game to Mixtape is probably publisher Annapurna Interactive’s debut title, What Remains of Edith Finch. As Stacy, you’ll live through the last night the three of you have together, the final moment of innocence, finding objects that trigger memories along the way. Each memory is its own experience; I hesitate to call them mini-games, because there isn’t much game to some of them. Think of them as vignettes.

Each of these vignettes so masterfully shows a little more about each of these characters, each of these moments, with some of the best character building I’ve ever seen in a video game. While the real world is grounded very much in reality, each vignette is a world of magical realism. Flying cars, riding dinosaurs, you name it – the reality of the memories is not the point.

Living through those moments, whether it’s skateboarding away from the cops or trying to find a video to rent, feels like a memory feels. It’s foggy, and bubbly, and not 100% correct. But there’s music. Stacy, ever the petulant director, knows there is a perfect song for every moment. She knows she is the only one in the world who can see it, in that universally self-absorbed way only a teenager can manage.

Stacy, narrating the story directly by breaking the fourth wall, introduces each of the 30 songs on her mixtape with a quick blurb about the song. Maybe something about the artist, or the album, or why the song works for this moment. She is a girl who believes she can direct life’s precious moments becoming a woman who learns she cannot.

The writing, voice acting, and presentation of Mixtape is pretty unparalleled. I don’t quite understand how I’ve managed to understand and fall in love with these characters to this degree in such a short time. To reveal any more about how it’s done would spoil the experience, something I wouldn’t wish on anyone.

The art is so beautiful, finding a place between stop motion and painting. My fiancee described it as “fluffy”, which I think is the most apt description I can find. It’s truly unique in its visuals, but the use of the visuals with the licensed soundtrack is so purposeful and directed some of our greatest film directors could take a few notes. Each licensed song matches not the lyrics to the actions, but the sound to the moment. It’s perfect.

There is not much more I can write about Mixtape: with its short runtime and incredible story, it would be a disservice to the art. The developers recommended that Mixtape be played in a single night, preferably in one sitting. They are correct, and I implore you to wait until you can set aside four hours one evening to feel this ultimate coming of age journey.

I was brought to tears three separate times during Mixtape, but strangely enough I never stopped smiling from ear to ear. Tears of happiness, perhaps, or tears of reminiscence. I’m not sure. I wish there was more, but I’m so glad there is not. The beauty of this night is fleeting, the last night of childhood. You don’t get it back. You don’t get a replay. And the soundtrack that you so carefully planned will never be the one that plays. In that, there is peace, understanding, and acceptance.

Nirav reviewed Mixtape on PlayStation 5 with a provided review code. This review is based on the version of the game available at the time of writing and our score will not be changed.