Mixtape spooling up for 2025 release

• Announcements by Jack Allin
• Published:

Musical teen adventure coming to PC, PlayStation and Xbox consoles from the creators of The Artful Escape

Music is such a powerful memory trigger. How many of us can fondly recall important periods of our lives through the tunes we listened to at the time? Beethoven & Dinosaur, the BAFTA-winning creators of The Artful Escape, understand this crucial emotional connection and plan to explore the "soundtrack of a generation" in the upcoming narrative adventure Mixtape.

It's the last night of high school for three teenaged friends, who will soon be leaving their hometown in northern California. And so, on their way to one last party together, a "perfectly curated playlist draws them into dreamlike reenactments of the pivotal moments that shaped them." Through a series of narrative vignettes representing the "greatest hits of teenage friendship, from the first kiss to the last dance," the titular mixtape will lead players through a variety of "joyful gameplay, from skateboarding and flying to taking photos after hours at an abandoned theme park, hitting baseballs, and putting on a fireworks show from the backseat of a car."

Inspired by classic coming-of-age movies and presented in stylish third-person 3D, Mixtape isn't a traditional adventure by any means. Instead of puzzle-based obstacles to overcome, the game will favour free-flowing narrative exploration of the "teenaged wasteland" as the protagonists "skate, party, avoid the law, make out, sneak out, hang out and more." Of course, the music is the real highlight here, with licensed tracks from artists like DEVO, Roxy Music, Lush, The Smashing Pumpkins, Iggy Pop, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and Joy Division, among others. Whether we come from the same generation or not, players are sure to find themselves identifying with the timeless teen experience of "aimlessness, mischief, music, the highs and lows of adolescence, and the bittersweet feelings brought about by growth, transformation, and moving on." 

There is no target release date for Mixtape just yet, but the game is due to be published by Annapurna Interactive sometime next year on Steam for Windows PC, along with console versions for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S through Game Pass. 

• Advertisement
• Help support AGH by advertising with us