Mixtape is a musical portrait of teenage life

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FollowSee All Games ReviewMixtape is a musical portrait of teenage lifeAt times, it’s mundane, but that’s kind of the point. At times, it’s mundane, but that’s kind of the point. by Jay Peters Jay PetersSenior ReporterPosts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.

Technical Details

FollowSee All by Jay PetersMay 16, 2026, 12:00 PM UTC Image: Annapurna InteractivePart OfThe best indie games we’re playing right nowsee all updates Jay Peters Jay PetersPosts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. FollowSee All by Jay Peters is a senior reporter covering technology, gaming, and more. He joined The Verge in 2019 after nearly two years at Techmeme.

Playing Mixtape is like playing a video game version of a high school movie. Kids banter about the meaning of life and the theme songs that would play when they walk in a room. They’re worried about looking cool at a big party.

They’re obsessed with finding booze. But under all of those tropes is a meaningful story about nostalgia, friendship, and teenage angst — and it’s all backed by a great soundtrack packed with classic hits. Mixtape takes place over the course of a summer day.

Industry Implications

You play as Stacey Rockford, a music obsessive and recent high school graduate. Rockford is leaving her sleepy California suburb for New York City the next morning on a quest to become a music supervisor, and she and her two best friends — the low-key Van Slater and the rebellious Cassandra Morino — are whiling away the day before a big party in the evening. Image: Annapurna InteractiveRockford, Slater, and Cassandra really feel like a trio of teenagers.

For one thing, a lot of the game is spent hanging out in their bedrooms and lazing around. They bullshit with each other about music and life, their futures and dating, and whatever else is on their minds, all with the inflated self-confidence of teenagers who also know they have no idea what the hell they’re doing. Rockford in particular likes to show off just how much she knows about music, frequently breaking the fourth wall to directly address the camera about the current song choice for her meticulous playlist for the day (which includes tracks from legends like Portishead, Iggy Pop, and The Cure).

The meat of Mixtape is wandering as Rockford and looking at various objects, like a CD or a map of a planned road trip, and listening to the trio’s commentary. Think of nostalgic games with a slower pace like Life is Strange or Gone Home — Mixtape has a similar speed.

This advance offers important signals about the future of the sector, and the tech world is watching closely.