Mixtape turns a summer day into a portrait of teenage friendship

Rockford, a music obsessive who hopes to become a music supervisor, spends the day with the understated Van Slater and rebellious Cassandra Morino. Their conversations range from dating and the future to songs that might play as they enter a room. Rockford also breaks the fourth wall to discuss her carefully assembled playlist, featuring Portishead, Iggy Pop and The Cure.

Much of the game involves exploring as Rockford, examining objects and hearing the trio talk about them. Some objects lead into playable memories, with scenes built around activities such as mixing slushies at a convenience store, stumbling through a video rental shop and sneaking into a dinosaur-themed amusement park to take pictures with a Game Boy Camera-like device. The slower pace recalls Life is Strange and Gone Home.

As the story develops, the friends reveal more than their teenage bravado suggests. Rockford, despite her encyclopedic music knowledge, does not play an instrument. Cassandra is pushing against her overbearing parents, while Slater’s seemingly laid-back manner masks a kind and thoughtful person. Even Cassandra’s father, a party-busting police officer and the game’s main antagonist, gets a moment of depth.

Some stretches are deliberately ordinary: one rock-skipping sequence lasts 10 minutes, a notable portion of a game completed in about four hours. That everyday quality helps ground the story, which follows three friends looking back on their time together while facing an uncertain next chapter. Mixtape is available on Nintendo Switch 2, PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X / S.