‘Mixtape’ Review (Xbox): The Perfect Soundtrack For Growing Up

InnovationGaming‘Mixtape’ Review (Xbox): The Perfect Soundtrack For Growing UpByMatt Gardner,Senior Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. A British writer who specializes in indie gaming and LEGO.Follow AuthorMay 07, 2026, 10:59am EDT--:-- / --:--This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.'Mixtape' is a reminder that some of the best pleasures in life are the simplest — even if it proves this in some of the weirdest ways possible.Beethoven & DinosaurMixtape gives you shivers from the start, but it’s an Annapurna Interactive game, so that’s no huge surprise. It’s also the follow-up to The Artful Escape, which is as brilliant as indie games have been in the last five years.Still, I didn’t expect Mixtape to hit me in the way it did. If anything, I expected to be let down. The Artful Escape was almost too different; a weird anomaly that tapped into my psyche with the most batshit ideas and execution, becoming the best indie game of 2021 in the process.Mixtape somehow carries that torch, despite reversing its predecessor’s approach: rather than relying on a fantastical universe to transform an introvert, it uses introverts to transform a perfectly normal town into a weird and wonderful experience, with immaculate direction, excellent voice acting, meaningful emotions, and the perfect soundtrack.The single biggest problem I have with Mixtape is having to review it without giving anything away — this is the one you can’t spoil for yourself, to the degree that it needs to go to the top of your backlog of shame.MORE FOR YOUA tale as old as timeMixtape focuses on three friends reminiscing about their shared past as they enter their final days of high school senior year in Blue Moon Lagoon, on the Northern California coast. As everyone plans to go their separate ways, one last huge party is planned to celebrate. You play the role of Stacey Rockford, a slight...