It is uncommon to discover a recreation with as a lot character as Mixtape shows in its opening moments. This coming-of-age story from the developer behind The Clever Escape is fashionable and nostalgic, earnest and kooky, and possibly my favourite recreation I performed at Summer time Sport Fest this yr. As I start the opening moments of the demo, I’ve the belief each gamer craves: I’ve by no means performed something like this earlier than.
Set within the ‘90s, Mixtape is about an adolescent named Stacy Rockford, who has desires of turning into a Music Supervisor in Hollywood, due to her ardour for creating fastidiously curated mixtapes. She addresses the digital camera Ferris Bueller-style, establishing the sport’s occasions and overtly breaking the fourth wall. Earlier than you are even enjoying, characters introduce themselves with daring textual content on the display and music propelling the story ahead. Cutscenes are constructed from in-game footage and outdated inventory clips, blurring the road between cinema and recreation.
The expertise itself is a fusion of a narrative-driven journey recreation and playable music movies. Stacy walks across the setting and observes her environment within the quieter moments of the sport, however each time the motion kicks in, so does the soundtrack. Earlier than every musical sequence, of which there are a lot of, Stacy names the tune, the band, and the yr it got here out, teeing issues up completely. Like lots of the recreation’s stylistic selections, it is simply tacky sufficient that it really works.
The musical sequences I play are all assorted and fascinating. Within the intro, Stacy and her pals trip down a hill on skateboards, and there are buttons to leap and do methods, however that is only for enjoyable – there aren’t any factors concerned. As you trip, “That is Good” by DEVO performs by way of Stacy’s headphones, and all of the characters clap together with the claps within the tune.
A later tune has the three protagonists rocking out in a automobile, and you’ll press a button to make them nod their heads or play an air guitar. Because the montage follows their street journey, there are extra little methods for them to bounce alongside, like honking the horn, slapping the aspect of the automobile, or flashing the lights on and off. It is only one instance of how Mixtape is a masterclass in tone, setting such a selected, enjoyable vibe that I can not assist however dance alongside.
One other sequence is way shorter than the others, and has Stacy reminisce a few kiss she shared with a boy from her previous. It begins gradual and romantic, however then cuts to a hilarious, weird minigame the place you management every teen’s tongue within the make-out session with one of many joysticks. After about 30 seconds, I am relieved when a button labeled “That is Sufficient!” pops up, and I haven’t got to emphasize about how bizarre it seems to be to the opposite passersby at SGF.
They may also be way more concerned, like an intense chase sequence the place you keep away from police vehicles by racing down hills in a buying cart. It begins out as a basic teen journey the place they flee a celebration to keep away from getting busted and turns right into a full-on manhunt, full with helicopters and a reside information feed. After an epic, slow-mo leap off the docks and into the water, we reduce to Stacy’s good friend Slater, who says, “At the very least, that is how I bear in mind it.”
What’s maybe most spectacular about my time with Mixtape is that narrative journey video games are laborious to make into demos. I sometimes take pleasure in them probably the most in the direction of their endings when the story pays off, and it is laborious to get an introduction that does not simply really feel like flat exposition. The truth that Mixtape impressed me so totally in simply half an hour is spectacular in and of itself, and it is turn into certainly one of my most anticipated video games of the yr.
For extra of our Summer time Sport Fest protection, try what we needed to say about Resident Evil Requiem, Sword of the Sea, Ninja Gaiden 4, Pragmata, and extra.