Mixtape hands-on preview — a perfectly nostalgic slice of life

When Mixtape was showcased at Summer Game Fest 2024, literally everyone from the GamingTrend team there with me looked at me and pointed, inferring this would be a game for me. I was already excited by that trailer alone. From the animation, to the time period, to the absolute legendary soundtrack lineup, Mixtape shaped up to be the game I needed. This year at Summer Game Fest 2025, I had a chance to sit down with Annapurna Interactive and actually play a solid 25-30 minutes of Mixtape, and it is… ICONIC. 

Your main cast is Rockford, Slater, Cassandra, and the narrator. Rockford will continuously break the fourth wall to tell us little tidbits about what we’re seeing, but for the most part, we’re seeing the last night of high school for a trio of friends who are about to embark on their new lives outside of their school days. From a conversation I had in-game, Rockford is seemingly heading to the big city to try for a music career planning the soundtrack lineups for different projects. Similar to what we’re seeing in the game itself. 

From the jump we have DEVO blasting in our ears as the trio skate down a wonderfully beautiful road with a lake, trees, and yes, cars, all around. The attention to detail is what I appreciated the most as the trio would clap on cue to the music, yell “car” anytime one was coming into view, and I performed tricks using the different controller buttons. This was a calm ride down the hill leading to a cutscene to move us to the next moment. 

We then jumped to a scene explaining some of the main story and the trio made their way to Rockford’s room. This is a great spot to discuss the Stepping Animation that makes this game feel so fluid and unique. Similar in style to movies like Into the Spider-verse, the characters move with an interesting stutter similar to key frames of traditional 2D animation, but extremely fun. After talking with the team, this is something they worked extremely hard on to make look natural in each and every cutscene and gameplay movement. 

Inside Rockford’s room were collectibles, memories, and conversations to be had with Slater and Cass. Just like a real-life hang, you can do as much or as little as you want, with the progression point listed in the objectives. I tried to do everything I could in the room and got to learn more about the trio and how they lived their high school lives. 

We then moved to one of the coolest moments in the trailer, the chase as the trio attempts to escape the cops in a shopping cart to make sure Cassandra doesn’t get in trouble for being wasted. This chase is insanely fun and ends with such a great moment I won't spoil. At least, that’s how Slater remembers that night. 

From the soundtrack (featuring bands like the Cure, the Banshees, The Smashing Pumpkins, Lush, DEVO, and more) to the animation and gameplay, Mixtape is going to hit HARD for a solid group of gamers, reminding them of days gone past or letting them live out childhoods they never experienced the way they wish they did. 

I gave them one of my Best of Summer Game Fest Awards for 2025. This game was already on my radar, but after playing it, it’s on my “inject this into my veins” list. 

Mixtape, coming soon, will be available on Steam, PlayStation, and Xbox.