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Annapurna’s Mixtape is a coming-of-age teen summer adventure with skating, romance and a banging soundtrackFrom The Artful Escape developers

From The Artful Escape developers

Image credit:Beethoven & Dinosaur

Image credit:Beethoven & Dinosaur

A character throws up their arm in a car while a firework explodes in Mixtape

The Artful Escapedevelopers Beethoven & Dinosaur are following up their musical platformer with another soundtrack-driven narrative game.Mixtapedraws on the classic tropes of coming-of-age teen flicks, adds striking stop motion-style visuals and completes the package with a soundtrack that would feel right at home in a John Hughes movie.

The story-driven adventure follows three friends on the last night of high school - of course - as they make their way to a party, reminiscing about their teenage years together growing up in North California.

Mixtape - Reveal Trailer - Xbox Games Showcase 2024Watch on YouTube

Mixtape - Reveal Trailer - Xbox Games Showcase 2024

Cover image for YouTube video

The tropes and moments here are classic teen drama - kisses, unbreakable friendships, sneaking out of the house, getting into “good” trouble with the law and so on - with familiar cinematic set pieces: standing up in the back of an open-top car while fireworks explode across a bridge, riding down a hill in a trolley with friends and skating down curving roads, along with the more surreal symbolism of floating into the night sky while lying on a roof, riding a dinosaur across a vast plain and lifting off the ground while running through wide fields.

It all looks fantastic, thanks to the pastel-y 3D models and stop-motion feel, while the cracking soundtrack features some genuine all-timers: Devo, Roxy Music, Lush, Smashing Pumpkins, Iggy Pop, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Joy Division and the like.

We’ll be waiting until sometime in 2025 for a release.

The flurry of summer games events are now underway! Hit up ourSummer Game Fest 2024 huband ourDay Of The Devs roundupfor all the news worth caring about from the shows so far.