Mixtape

A gorgeous, nostalgic interactive story with an incredible soundtrack

Mixtape is a short, sweet, and very cosy trip back to the 90s. Released day one on Xbox Game Pass, it is easy to recommend if you want something stylish, emotional, and low-pressure after bedtime. Just go in with the right expectation: this feels much more like an interactive story or movie than a traditional game.

That is not automatically a bad thing. There is a place for experiences like this, especially when they are this confident in mood and presentation. But it does make the wave of perfect scores feel a little hard for me to understand. As a piece of vibes-first interactive storytelling, Mixtape is lovely. As a game, it is much lighter than those scores might suggest.

Art, Nostalgia & Soundtrack

The art style is incredible. The stop-motion look gives everything a handmade texture that fits beautifully against the 90s school-life backdrop. It has that slightly fuzzy, memory-like quality where the whole thing feels more remembered than recreated.

For older players who grew up around this era of school, music, and technology, the nostalgia hits hard. Not in a cheap "remember this?" way, but in a cosy, familiar way. It captures the feeling of being young, dramatic, bored, excited, and convinced that every tiny moment means everything.

The soundtrack is the real knockout. The fully licensed music lands again and again, and it does a lot of emotional heavy lifting. There are moments where the visuals, music, and memory-soaked tone all line up perfectly, and in those moments Mixtape absolutely works.

Story or Movie?

The story is sweet and emotional, and the characters are mostly great. They feel like people you might remember from your own past: the friend who was always too intense, the one trying to act cooler than they were, the one who made ordinary days feel bigger than they actually were.

That said, Stacy sometimes feels written in a slightly try-hard way. I understand the kind of character the game is going for, but there were moments where it pushed a bit too hard and became off-putting instead of charming.

My bigger hesitation is simply that there is not much game here. Mixtape is more about moving through scenes, soaking up music, and watching these characters bounce off each other than it is about meaningful mechanics or challenge. If that sounds appealing, great. If you are expecting something with real gameplay depth, this probably will not scratch that itch.

Controls & Dad-Friendly Play

Use a controller. This is one of those games where the whole thing feels built around sitting back with a controller in hand, and the keyboard experience feels rubbish by comparison. It is playable, but it does not feel natural.

As an after-bedtime game, though, Mixtape works well. It is short, easy to settle into, and never asks too much from you. You do not need to flex your brain capacity much, which can be exactly what you want at the end of a long day.

The 3-4 hour length also helps. It does not overstay its welcome, and because it is on Game Pass, it is an easy low-risk recommendation for anyone curious about the mood, music, and nostalgia.

Final Dad Verdict

Mixtape is fun, beautiful, emotional, and absolutely worth checking out for a cosy evening or two. The stop-motion art style is stunning, the 90s atmosphere is warm and familiar, and the soundtrack repeatedly hits the mark.

I just cannot put it in the same category as a 10/10 game. It is too light mechanically, too close to an interactive movie, and occasionally a little too forced in its writing for that. But as a stylish, nostalgic, low-effort Game Pass experience, it does what it sets out to do very well.

Recommended, as long as you know what you are getting.

Overall Dad Score: 7/10