There's a special place in my heart for director John Hughes' movies, particularly his earlier projects that truly set the foundations for what we now regard as a "coming-of-age" story. The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, Ferris Bueller's Day Off... These are iconic films that continue to stand out for their sheer charisma and heart, and the reason why I'm bringing this up to begin my review of Mixtape is because Beethoven & Dinosaur's latest project feels like a John Hughes' story in every sense of the word.
What the team who made The Artful Escape has cooked up with Mixtape is a lovely and passionate story that follows three teenagers as they go on one final adventure. We're not talking about saving the world or a grand road trip crossing continents, this is one story that happens over the course of one day while set in one town and following three incredibly well-written young adults. It's down-to-earth and honest, sweet and nostalgic, and it hits and evokes all of those emotions you get when watching a John Hughes film.
The premise of the adventure is basically to prepare for one final blow out party before the summer comes to an end and the beloved friends head their separate ways to start their adult lives. Achieving such a goal means ticking off many challenges that all teenagers have to deal with, including securing booze despite being underage, evading trouble, dealing with new emotions, you get the gist. And all of this is set to an amazing soundtrack where each song plays its part and effectively defines the 'chapter' of the story you are experiencing, which could be an event in the present day or a brief memory providing a bit of narrative exposition for why we don't like a certain character, Jenny 'freakin' Goodspeed, for example.
This idea of marrying plot points and music and doing so effectively is one of the elements that makes Mixtape stand out from the competition as this game simply breathes personality and charm. Every single scene feels authentic and charismatic, even important to the wider story, and perhaps this works so wonderfully because Mixtape also doesn't waste your time as a player. This game is a few hours long at best, but it's so intricately and purposefully put together that nothing feels out of place and you will become lost and entranced by the wider story.
The trio of leading characters are also excellently sculpted, with each individual, be it protagonist Stacy or her two close friends Slater and Cassandra, standing out as personas who simply could be real. Again, they feel like characters taken directly out of a John Hughes film, as though either of the three could be dropped into The Breakfast Club and feel like they belong. They're flawed and irresponsible, caring and passionate - they are three people who you'd like to meet and join in on their wacky hijinks.
And speaking of 'wacky hijinks', Mixtape has plenty for fans to enjoy. You can see the inspiration from where Beethoven & Dinosaur has done its research, as we find chase sequences through the town and neighbourhood backyards that feel authentically Ferris Bueller, all while chaotic shopping cart escapes provide a more unique flair that still feels as though it belongs in this genre. The wonderful part about these more action-oriented gameplay sequences is that they don't drown out the wider story, they simply stand out as stunning set pieces while still leaving ample space for the moments where the pace slows down and you get to enjoy good company and skip rocks on an isolated lake. Mixtape never reaches a break-neck pace where you struggle to hold on, but it does have highs and lows that Beethoven & Dinosaur effortlessly navigate to create a story you won't want to put down or step away from.
So yes, as you can probably infer, Mixtape is a mostly narrative-geared experience where you get to follow the core story and essentially serve as a passenger in this coming-of-age tale. But there are plenty of moments where you take control, be that in more relaxing scenes where you choose how to paint the door of your hideout or instead when skateboarding around the local town, simply basking in its artistic beauty as you duck and weave around oncoming traffic.
This is a game, which while not particularly mechanically complex, has been crafted with such a clear creative vision that it's hard to fault. Every part of Mixtape feels as though it belongs, be it the stop-motion-like animated characters, the picturesque and colourful artistic direction, the straightforward but refined narrative premise, the incredible use of music that has been expertly curated. Mixtape is a movie brought to life in a way few can rival and while it may be over in a flash, what Beethoven & Dinosaur has presented with this game will leave a noticeable impression on you long after the credits roll. Seriously, go and play Mixtape. You won't be disappointed.
