Mixtape on PS5 mixes stop-motion look with ’80s soundtrack

Mixtape is a PS5 game developed by Beethoven & Dinosaur and published by Annapurna Interactive. The story follows three friends during their last night of high school as they skateboard, seek a final party and recall shared memories.

Gameplay is organized into chapters that shift between present interactions and heightened memory sequences. Players move through short, self-contained minigames and one-off mechanics that illustrate character moments and episodes from the group’s past.

Examples of minigames include a recreated first-kiss scene and a highway chase played from a grocery cart. The game offers a chapter select feature and a trophy list that allow players to return to specific segments without replaying the entire story.

Visually, Mixtape emulates stop-motion animation by applying textured surfaces, motion cues and frame presentation on PS5 hardware. The game is set in an 1980s Northern California environment and its menus and interface reflect the title’s visual approach.

Music is licensed from 1980s artists and is integrated into the game’s structure. The soundtrack includes tracks by Devo and Joy Division and features Stan Bush’s The Touch.

A published review rated the PS5 version 9 out of 10, describing the presentation as among the platform’s most striking visuals and the soundtrack as delivering strong nostalgic tones. The review noted the main story is concise and cited the chapter select and collectible goals as reasons to revisit content. The assessment was performed on version 1.002.000 and the publisher provided a digital review copy.

Annapurna Interactive has a history of publishing indie games that emphasize visual design and curated soundtracks. Beethoven & Dinosaur’s Mixtape emphasizes short-form gameplay, character-focused scenes and a specific animation style rather than extended systems or open-ended mechanics.