I understand a lot of critics and gamers have been praising the release of Mixtape. Now there is nothing wrong with people liking this game whatsoever, but it sadly wasn’t a game that clicked for me.
The primary reason I struggled with it is the total lack of conflict. Usually, when you play a story-driven game, there is a central problem to solve or a villain to overcome. For instance, Heavy Rain is a decision-based game where your goal is to solve a series of murders. It offers high stakes and significant replay value because your choices lead to vastly different outcomes.
Even games without violence usually feature conflict. A lesser-known title like Aphelion still presents a problem: the characters must find a way to terraform a hostile, uninhabitable planet to save humanity.
In Mixtape, there is no real struggle. It’s simply a group of teenagers reminiscing about their lives before they enter adulthood. The only minor tension occurs when the police try to shut down a party in the woods, and that’s about it. Because there are no consequences, the gameplay segments lack weight. If you crash your skateboard into a car, there’s no “Game Over”—the game simply rewinds a few seconds and lets you try again.
This lack of stakes persists throughout. During a sequence where the main character is running to warn a friend about a police bust, she effortlessly clears obstacles even if the player does nothing. The dream-like flying sequences are visually “fun,” but they feel ultimately pointless because there is no challenge to meet or failure state to avoid.
I’m also not a player who needs characters to be “relatable” to enjoy a story. Living in New Zealand, I’m used to media set in other cultures, but I can still cheer for the protagonists if they have a clear mission. I didn’t live through the ’80s in America, but I enjoyed Stranger Things because the characters were trying to save the world. Similarly, I like Spider-Man because he’s a hero struggling with poverty while trying to do the right thing.
The characters in Mixtape didn’t appeal to me because they didn’t have problems worth cheering for. Aside from Cassandra, who deals with a strict father, I found it difficult to sympathize with the cast.
Ultimately, while others may love it, Mixtape isn’t a 10/10 for me. It’s too short, and the lack of a traditional narrative arc made the experience feel uninteresting. On a side note, if you’re looking for a period-accurate vibe, I feel the Grand Theft Auto series did it better—Vice City and San Andreas remain the gold standards for ’80s and ’90s soundtracks.
