Video Game / Mixtape

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Mixtape is a musical narrative adventure game developed by Beethoven & Dinosaur, the developers of The Artful Escape, and published by Annapurna Interactive. It was released for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store on May 7, 2026.

Rockford, Slater, and Cassandra are teenagers and best friends living in Blue Moon Lagoon in northern California in the 90s. On their last night of high school, the trio are making their way to a party before Rockford flies to New York to fulfill her dream of becoming a music supervisor, utilizing her skill in making the perfect playlist for every situation. The game chronicles said last day, set to Rockford's choice of music.

The game is soundtracked by several notable bands, including Devo, Iggy Pop, Joy Division, The Jesus and Mary Chain, and many others.

Previews: Summer Game Fest 2025 Reveal Trailer, Developer Feature, Release Date Trailer, Launch Trailer

TV Tropes delivers crisp, high-fidelity tropes in a readable form factor:

• The '90s: The game is set in the 90s, and uses that aesthetic throughout, with Rockford's mixtapes being on audio cassettes as well as VHS tapes.
• Artistic License – History: Downplayed. Rockford describes Stan Bush's "The Touch" as being from "the Transformers animated movie soundtrack". While that's certainly a factual statement, you wouldn't have needed to clarify the "animated" part at the time, since said film was the only one in the franchise until the live-action movie series started in 2007.
• Artistic License – Music: Near the beginning of the game, Rockford rewinds a cassette tape using a pencil. However, she does so by turning it counter clockwise, when in reality you would want to turn it clockwise. The tape itself also lacked the holes on the bottom that would've allowed a cassette player to actually read the magnetic tape and play the music.
• Breaking the Fourth Wall: Each track and artist of the titular mixtape is introduced directly to the viewer.
• Cluster F-Bomb: After Cassandra gets grounded by her father to prevent her from attending the party, Rockford and Slater angrily skate through the suburbs, imagining themselves blowing up everything in their path just by cursing at and flipping them off.
• Creative Sterility: Rockford is a massive music buff who is excellent at recalling music trivia and setting scenes to music, but eventually admits to Slater that she can't make any music herself and wishes she could. Downplayed as she's still fairly creative in other regards; she just can't find the spark to make songs or tunes of her own.
  Rockford: The music is not within me.
• Dating What Daddy Hates: A platonic version- one of the reasons Cassandra befriended Slater and Rockford in the first place was because her extremely controlling parents told her not to hang out with them.
• Enemy Mine: Upon realizing that Cassandra will get in trouble with the police if her dad finds her at Heaven 11, Rockford discards her animosity towards Jenny as she advises her to run after setting off a firework as a distraction, telling Jenny to tell others about her "bravery". Later on, during the party, they're seen cordially hanging out.
• Evolving Title Screen: The main menu before starting a new game shows Rockford sitting on a bench; starting the game immediately has the scene continue with her standing up. The subsequent main menu shows the empty bench.
• First Kiss: Subverted, somewhat: when Rockford sees the mixtape Colin gave her, she remembers that he was her first kiss, but doesn't give a lot of importance to it, seeing it as just getting it out of the way. As she plays his Mixtape of Love (comprising Alice Coltrane's "Galaxy in Turiya"), we see a flashback to the two kissing, complete with their tongues awkwardly moving near each other, before Rockford has had enough and chucks the tape out the window.
• Foil: Rockford to Cassandra's father. Both want what's best for Cassandra in opposite ways, but express it poorly: Cassandra's dad cares a lot for his daughter's future by wanting her to behave and not associate with troublemakers after her friend's shenanigans got her in trouble, even if it ends up smothering her or makes her angry at him. Stacey is meanwhile aware that all the rules and regulations are preventing Cassandra from finding herself and encourages her to rebel with her and Slater's antics in order to be happy, but is often too caught up in her own whims to realize she's giving her friend unnecessary trouble. Even Cassandra points out her friend's hypocritically controlling attitude when she shows up to the Ritz with Jenny. Though their concern may be misguided, they both are willing to risk everything to stop Cassandra from doing anything she regrets (such as Rockford lighting a firework and letting herself get arrested so that Cassandra wouldn't be caught sneaking out, and Cassandra's dad telling the trio where to escape the police when she tries to take the blame for the fire). Also, both have a surprising passion for obscure classic movies and song lyrics, as Rockford finds out when confronting him with her philosophy.
• Fourth-Wall Observer: Rockford has fairly regular conversations with the fourth wall, explaining the trio's plans and the songs she is setting their memories to.
• Genre Throwback: To Coming of Age films of the late 20th century, such as Dazed and Confused, Empire Records, and the teen movies of John Hughes.
• Hidden Depths: Cassandra's seemingly extremely straight-laced cop dad is actually able to match one of Rockford's philosophical music quotes with one of his own from Leonard Cohen. Rockford is reduced to Stunned Silence that he, of all people, has similar interests to her.
• It's All About Me: Rockford is hyper-focused on her perfect last night of high school before she flies out to New York to become a music supervisor, all while ignoring how crushed Cassandra and Slater are that she cancelled their road trip and brushed it off as a minor disagreement. She even seems more furious about Cassandra's dad ruining her mixtape plans than his forcing Cassandra to go to a closer college so he can control her better. She treats her own father pretty badly too, shouting at him to not control her life (i.e, do anything at all) when he just asks her something out of basic concern. It takes Cassandra giving her a huge The Reason You Suck speech to make Rockford realize how self-centered she's been and how she's been neglecting her best friends' feelings.
• Jerkass Has a Point: Cassandra's father may be a strict, controlling parent to her, but he does raise a point that Rockford and Slater tend to get her in legal trouble, such as when she took the fall for Rockford's idea to TP the principal's house.
• Jerkass Realization: Upon escaping arrest, Rockford apologizes to Cassandra for her attitude, realizing she's been insensitive to the fact her friends are hurting and might not see her again, too focused on her dreams of becoming a renowned music supervisor to realize how much their road trip plans meant. Cassandra seemingly forgives her, acknowledging her own attitude and putting an end to the conversation before their apologies become insincere.
• Last-Name Basis: Stacey Rockford and Van Slater are primarily referred to by their last names only.
• Medium Blending: The game uses both 3D animation and live-action footage, particularly in cutscenes, such as the one where Rockford explains what a music supervisor is.
• Mickey Mousing: Given how integral the game's score is to its events, it's not surprising. Most notably, while the trio skate downhill towards Rockford's house in Track 1, set to Devo's "That's Good", they all clap their hands during the claps in the song.
• The Movie Buff: Rockford is this to a tee, though she's much more interested in the soundtracks than in the movies themselves (which is what initially set off her hatred of Jenny Goodspeed). To her surprise, Cassandra's father turns out to share comparable interest in movies as she does in songs, being able to quote a classic film in the same way she usually quotes her interests while arresting her.
• Plot-Mandated Friendship Failure: The trio's reunion after Cassandra's dad grounds her is ruined by the presence of Jenny "Fucking" Goodspeed, Rockford's Sitcom Arch-Nemesis. Once Rockford calls Cassandra out on bringing her to their special place, Cassandra hits her Rage Breaking Point and calls Rockford out on her hypocrisy due to her planning to abandon them the very next day, and leaves with Jenny to get ready for the party somewhere else, causing Rockford to fall into a Heroic BSoD.
• Pursue the Dream Job: The reason Rockford is leaving for New York is to fulfill her dream of becoming a Music Supervisor, a dream she has had since she was in eighth grade: her plan is to meet Bella Deltone, the greatest music supervisor in the world, and show her her mixtape and ask to become her protegée.
• Seen It All: When a news broadcaster is commenting on the Unconventional Vehicle Chase, he says in all his years, he has only seen this happen around five times, indicating it’s pretty common.
• Secret Handshake: Rockford and Cassandra have a secret handshake, which they use at the end of Track 1.
• Shout-Out: Each chapter is set to a song which plays throughout it, and said song names the chapter it is playing in. Apart from that:
  • As the trio are skating downhill in Track 1, Slater yells, "Kenneth! Kenneth! What's the frequency, Kenneth!"
  • When Rockford opens her sister's cupboard while searching for booze, the false bottom shines gold as she opens it, as in Pulp Fiction.
  • Among the artistic alterations Slater has made to the California state flag in his room is a second head for the bear.
• Sitcom Arch-Nemesis: Jenny Goodspeed. The only indication as to what Stacey might have against her is a brief flashback where Jenny seems disinterested in Stacey's gushing about music.
• Toilet Paper Prank: Track 11 ("Zebra Crossing" by The Eye Gougers) has the trio TP Principal Rose's house after he gave Slater's whole class detention. When Rose emerges from his house threatening to expel Stacey, Cassandra takes the blame instead.
• Unconventional Vehicle Chase: During Track 4, set to Rainbow's "Sensitive to Light", the cops arrive to shut down a party the trio are at while Cassandra is completely wasted, and the three run away from them in a shopping cart (placing Cassandra in the trolley). The section ends when the three crash, either into another vehicle or into the ocean.