Verdict
Mixtape is a heartfelt coming-of-age adventure that captures the fleeting magic of youth, blending nostalgia, music, and friendship into one unforgettable final night. Its authentic vibes, sharp writing, and standout voice performances will have you smiling from ear to ear, while the perfectly curated soundtrack will linger in your head for weeks to come.
At some point in your life, you'll realize things are still changing. Your childhood friends may have moved away, your favorite place to eat is gone, and that band you pined over as a kid has broken up. But there's always that one night or summer you'll remember forever, where for one moment, there wasn't a care in the world. Mixtape channels all of those feelings into a charming indie odyssey to have one last night of youthful abandon, giving way to one of the best Nintendo Switch 2 games I've played this year.
I'm a sucker for coming-of-age stories, especially in cinema. Dazed and Confused, Adventureland, The Way Way Back, The Breakfast Club, Rushmore, About a Boy - to name a few. We may not like to admit it, but as human beings, we're yearners. We long for melancholia, nostalgia, and comfort. So, when I felt these things emanating from Mixtape's initial reveal in 2024, I had a hunch that Beethoven & Dinosaur were onto something special. Set in the 1990s, it's Stacey Rockford's last day in town before she jetsets off to New York City in hopes of becoming a music supervisor.
It's all she's ever wanted since she was eight years old, to provide people with that ultimate setlist of tracks across the media they consume. Her friends, Slater and Cassandra, don't quite have things figured out yet. Slater dabbles with recording songs in his spare time, but wouldn't dare let you hear them. Cassandra is looking for independence and, more importantly, some trust from her father. But today, the most important thing in all of their lives is securing a stash of beers and attending the last major high school party before things change forever.
There's a tricky thing about games that try to emulate the sensation of watching movies. It's hard to find that balance between offering immersion and drawing inspiration from cinematic greats. Mixtape rides this line masterfully. With ample flourishes of John Hughes, Amy Heckerling, and Rob Reiner, the opening moment set to Devo's That's Good affirms that you're in a good set of hands. Mixtape tells its five-hour story across one day, switching between gameplay formats at the drop of a hat.
Its introduction sends you at full speed downhill on Stacey's skateboard, narrowly avoiding cars and scrapes as you pass through the town to her house. It didn't take me more than a minute to start grinning at Mixtape's gleeful tone. Kickflipping my way to Stacey's house is an absolute blast, making me feel like Marty McFly on his way to Hill Valley High School in Back to the Future. And yeah, the cast of this new Switch game is just as drippy as Michael J. Fox's time-traveling hero.
There's an immaculate sense of detail across Mixtape. From the influence of Seattle's grunge explosion on our cast's clothing, CDs dethroning vinyl, to the fuzzy feeling of entering a Blockbuster - this is nostalgia done right. It isn't the key-jangling version of it you see in Stranger Things. You can tell it's coming from developers who are clearly teeming with excitement to recap their younger days.
It all bleeds into the game's environments, whether I'm picking through Stacey's belongings or observing the minutiae of Slater's makeshift recording studio at his mother's house. The crux of each chapter is triggered by interacting with objects, from old Polaroid photos to a map of California for a proposed road trip. Recounting notable memories in their lives, it sets up the emotional heft of the day ahead. The one last hurrah.
That's where Mixtape's astounding use of music presents itself. I think that Beethoven & Dinosaur truly get music like no other developer out there. When I listen to certain songs or artists, I feel like I'm floating. It's a euphoric wave that washes over me, strong enough to make the hairs on my arms stand up. We tie music to memories, to events, to people, no matter what the mood is. Mixtape recognizes the value in not just using it to celebrate the good, but to overscore the sadder times, too.
Admit it, we've all had that main-character energy, listening to a sad song and reflecting on something trivial in the long run. Want me to share one of those times? Alright, yes, I kept listening to The Raconteurs' You Don't Understand Me as a moody teenager just because of a mild argument with my parents about staying out too late. I know, so dark and brooding. I love that Mixtape encapsulates this youthful, naive way of thinking in some of its standout moments.
I spent at least 20 minutes on one chapter, skipping rocks over a lake, purely because it's fun. Oh, and there might be a few secrets to it, if you're persistent. Other moments turn Stacey into a ragtag photographer, capturing a night of exploration in a closed theme park. It's the simpler touches that sing, like prompts to execute the perfect handshake or headbang while cruising for fast food.
With the notion of hopes and dreams central to Mixtape, Beethoven & Dinosaur tap into the one thing that makes them work: your imagination. The game is full of creative sparks that visualize the power of dreams, hanging onto them, and seeing past your surroundings. Be that Cassandra's hidden baseball talents or Slater's surprising knowledge about architecture, how you play out these aspects is nothing short of brilliant. There are parts in Mixtape that perfectly hold you between tears of unbridled joy and the hesitancy to let go. I can't tell you how much of a gutpunch the game's final seconds are, not because of the context, but in how you're actively part of this bittersweet conclusion.
It's overscored by an all-timer needle drop, but I won't spoil exactly what it is. You'll have seen that the likes of Roxy Music, Smashing Pumpkins, Iggy Pop, and more feature on the game's soundtrack. Even if you're not partial to alt-rock, grunge, or dream-pop, Mixtape's deployment of every track is guaranteed to hit differently. Thinking about these moments makes me want to fly out of my chair while writing this.
It doesn't work without the game's superb voice cast. Bella DeLong, Jessica Ma, and Max Korman are a delight as Stacey, Cassandra, and Slater. Their performances bounce between Bill and Ted-level bodcaiousness, Wayne World's laughs, and sincerity ripped straight out of a Richard Linklater movie. I played through Mixtape in one sitting, with only a break to eat, and I didn't want to be apart from them that long. But you know, sometimes, it's alright to let go.
Mixtape is a heart-rending symphony for the good times, the bad, and the future. Packed full of authenticity, sensational performances, and ace tunes, this is no B-side. It's one of the greatest hits of 2026.