Mixtape Reviews
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 & Dinosaur manages to create something that feels fresh and distinct. Through its heartwarming and emotional story, you quickly form a connection with each character, leading to a memorable experience that will resonate long after the journey ends.
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 beautiful to look at, a joy to listen to, and so enjoyable to play - altogether, Mixtape is a sensational achievement.
Mixtape frequently makes that flight not just fully interactive but literal—youthful freedom lighting up the world with a euphoric player-controlled fireworks display while sailing through the air in a caravan of convertibles.
Of course, Mixtape is a short, highly narrative game with gameplay that takes a bit of a back seat. That said, it's a moving and captivating story that grabs you from the very first track. Beethoven & Dinosaur once again demonstrates its storytelling prowess and its ability to create characters that are as believable as they are endearing. They also unleash all their aesthetic creativity and perfectly capture what it's like to always have the perfect song to accompany every moment. A real treat, in short, that fully delivers on its promise, ensuring it remains one of the highlights of 2026.
Review in French | Read full review
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 not perfect, but definitely capable of tugging at the heartstrings.
Review in Italian | Read full review
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 more. A full game you can complete in a 4-6 hour span with an hilarious, emotional story that will leave many in tears. If you’re a fan of 80s and 90s nostalgia, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off-style cutaways, and an ode to outcasts, you’ll enjoy Mixtape.
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 nails its presentation and story, making it a music-focused adventure that takes you back to simpler times.
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 Dinosaur’s sophomore title is undeniably special. It’s an ode to the importance of music, how it shapes us and reminds us of who we are, all wrapped up in a bow and delivered through playable vignettes that are all killer, no filler, and a stark reminder of how fucking fun it was to be a kid.
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. And that’s quite enough for me; as someone who remembers rewinding a cassette tape with a pencil, I had a brilliant time.
Review in Polish | Read full review
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 hard. For others, the rose-tinted glasses and hammy dialogue may feel distant or indulgent. Just like an actual mixtape someone makes for you, not every track lands. But it’s so clearly made with love, and the tracks that do will stay with you long after it’s over.
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.
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.
Beethoven & Dinosaur's latest is better at musically capturing perfect moments than narratively or mechanically, which means those highs dissipate when the track stops.
Mixtape knows what it wants to be and succeeds with enough frequency to make it recommendable. Beethoven & Dinosaur constructs a small but sincere work, where the music doesn't accompany the story but generates it. The character development is honest, the visual design is coherent and successful, and the '90s vibe never slips into the wax museum of cheap nostalgia.
Review in Italian | Read full review
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 freedom in exploration.
Mixtape'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 relished in that freedom, and Mixtape seeks to recapture the magic.
To call Mixtape a ride is a little one-dimensional, as there are so many feelings to be had on the way. A ‘joyride’ fits Mixtape slightly better. A joyride with a tailor-made Greatest Hits tape playing along.
Mixtape is a beautiful, musical, and deeply nostalgic story for one evening, brilliantly combining visuals, soundtrack, and memories of the end of youth.
Review in Polish | Read full review
Mixtape is not a strong game in the traditional sense, as its interactivity is limited and most of its short chapters require very little effort from the player. However, it works much better as a nostalgic cinematic experience about growing up, friendship, music and the bittersweet feeling of leaving youth behind. Its 90s atmosphere, emotional tone and carefully chosen soundtrack carry the whole journey, even when the gameplay itself remains very simple.
Review in Slovak | Read full review