Anyone who games a lot will probably know that it's a fairly rare experience to play a whole game through in one sitting. There are a bunch of reasons for that, too – not least because few games are short enough to make it remotely possible. That said, even a short game still needs to be compelling enough to make you stick with it for a few hours.
Compelling is exactly the word I'd use to describe Mixtape, which launched a few weeks ago to really strong reviews, and caused a stir among internet weirdos who somehow disbelieved those scores. I played the game through in one go a couple of weeks ago on a holiday, and after a busy Computex 2026 in Taipei I'm only just getting around to reflecting on it.
Even before its content, Mixtape showcases a great deal about gaming in 2026, because while it came out on PC and the PS5 and Xbox, I played it on the Switch 2. We're back in an era where every console can get releases on the same day if developers and publishers so choose, which is really nice.
While I'm sure Mixtape looks marginally sharper on other platforms, I thought it looked great on the Switch 2, and I played the whole thing in handheld mode without any issues or complaints. The game sees you take control of the ringleader of a trio of teenage friends in the 1990s as they prepare for their last ever high school party.
They're about to enter the next stage of life, bidding goodbye to each other in some ways, and the game is structured as a series of needle drops, arrange by the protagonist Stacey Rockford, who's music obsessed. As these tracks play, you control a bunch of small experimental-feeling gameplay segments.
Those segments range from downhill skate sessions to dreamy sprints across meadows, and they're interspersed with moments of downtime as you explore locations that have been meaningful for the trio of friends. As their last afternoon together unfolds, you'll learn more about what's bonded them, and what's eating away at that bond.
The story beats are far from innovative, but they're sincere and nicely wrought. If you can get your head around the idea that Stacey might not be a flawless narrator, you'll have a much better time, and I liked the neat little story the game told.
That said, its visuals were the standout for me. The game employs a lovely, almost cel-shaded look that has some painterly touches, and when it gets more out-there with its gameplay (like a soaring night-time flight sequence, or player-controlled fireworks display) it really can be gorgeous.
Its animations are super characterful, too, as is the voice acting, and the roughly three-and-a-half hours it took for me to play Mixtape through was a really pleasant time. I'm not even American, so some of its nostalgia was more perceived than lived for me, but it still hit home nicely enough.
At £16 in the UK and $20 in the US, this is a lovely little bit of interactive fiction, and if you're in the market for something that won't take up your whole life for weeks, I can vouch for it. More short games, please – and on Switch 2, too.
