In the first fifteen minutes of Mixtape, I’d already heard one of my favourite songs from my favourite movie, and another from my most loved band of all time. Not a bad start at all. The thing is, these moments were complimented by such joyous and simple gameplay that I knew this wasn’t going to be something I’d forget in a while. It may be no longer than three hours, but I’m still thinking about it’s impact on me. Youth is a time we all experienced differently, but those feelings of finding our place in the world is something everyone can relate to.
The story follows three friends as they spend their last night together before one of them leaves for New York to follow her dreams. Stacey Rockford wants to be a music supervisor, someone who build song playlists for a living, but her youth and her friends behind proves more difficult as you relive important memories through short vignettes. All the while, she provides songs that act as the soundtrack to Mixtape, commenting on the artists as someone who not only loves music but knows the power and importance records can have on us.
We all have songs that take us back to integral moments of our lives. Music is such a powerful tool to ground and empower us. We use it to get through difficult times and to lift us out of the darkness. It makes us smile and laugh, and it makes us think. Whether we’re aficionados or just lovers of a good tune, there truly is nothing more important than music. Beethoven & Dinosaur knows this, and every song plays an important role in showing us these snippets of Stacey, Slater, and Cassandra’s life together.
Everyone will get something different from Mixtape. It reminded me of hanging out with my friends after school and college, drinking and playing in my band. I thought about putting on Silverchair‘s Neon Ballroom in my sixth form building and wondering what the hell I was going to do with my life. Spending time on the top floor of car park at three in the morning with friends; playing football down the park; old romantic encounters and unrequited love; playing video games and bitching about life and how hard it all seemed back then.
It provides a deeply reflective experience. Mixtape also reminds you just how invincible you felt as a teenager. The world is yours for the taking but it’s also a battlefield. Emotions are felt for the first time, your friends are everything, and the future seems like the scariest thing you were going to face. We were free, ready to face whatever, but we would do it with those we cared deeply about. We can look back fondly and know that those were some of the greatest times of our lives. Anyway, enough lamenting now.
Spending time in Mixtape is comprised of wandering around bedrooms and other important places until a certain object triggers a memory. Through these memories we learn about all three of the main characters. Getting to experience snippets of their friendship and what made them so close is one of things I loved the most. It also gives you a chance to play memories that include building the ultimate slushy; flying through a field; setting off fireworks from the back of a car; drunkenly picking movies at a VHS store; and teepeeing a teacher’s house.
These segments often only last for a few minutes, but they enhance the story by making you a part of it. Choosing different poses for photo opportunities in a photobooth at the mall and finding two parts of a ripped gig ticket might seem small on their own, yet each one brings importance to the friendship at the core of Mixtape. It also helps to keep the gameplay feeling fresh and snappy throughout the short runtime. By the time you finish the last interactive moment, you feel like you’ve fully lived the lives of the three friends.
The animation is dreamlike and beautiful. Sometimes you’re grounded in reality, while other times you’re flying through the air in a black and white filter or exploding cars and trashcans with the snap of your fingers. It reflects the invulnerability we feel growing up and the freedom we feel when we’re young without a care in the world. All the while we’re given the greatest video game soundtrack of all time. Joy Division, The Smashing Pumpkins, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and David Gray are just some of the artists that provide the music to Mixtape.
Honestly, it’s better to just experience Mixtape for yourselves. It’s a coming-of-age tale that lingers long after the credits roll. The gamey sections are short but perfectly crafted. Music is not only fantastic through actual songs but the score itself. Stacey, Slater, and Cassandra all play important roles in each other’s lives, and the lengths each will go to to help each other is heartwarming. Like Gone Home and Journey, this is one of those short games that leaves a lasting impact that will be felt for a long time to come.
