Time Travel to the ‘90s With This Nostalgic Narrative Game on Switch 2
The beauty of gaming is that it can fit so many different needs. Some people want to take out their frustration with a fighting game or a shooter. Others want to have fun with friends with a party favorite or a sports title.
Then there's the type of game that allows the player to reflect on their own life, relax, and escape to a time that may not exist anymore. Mixtape is surely that type of experience. This indie game from developer Beethovan & Dinosaur came out today, May 7, and invites '90s kids to take a trek back to simpler times.
Nintendo's website gives a poignant summary of the game's story.
"On their last night together, three friends embark on one final adventure. Play through a mixtape of memories, set to the soundtrack of a generation.
En route to their final party together, a perfectly curated playlist draws three friends into dreamlike reenactments of their formative memories. Experience a variety of narrative vignettes exploring the pivotal moments that shaped them. Players will immerse themselves in the teenage wasteland by playing through a mixtape of joyful gameplay, from skateboarding and flying to taking photos after hours at an abandoned theme park, hitting baseballs, and putting on a fireworks show from the backseat of a car. It's the greatest hits of the teenage experience, from the first kiss to the last dance."
Music is clearly the crux of the experience here. The game ties the characters' memories to specific songs and gives meaning to those moments with the musical backing of some well-known artists from the 1990s.
The early reviews for the game indicate Mixtape is fantastic. The Nintendo Switch 2 version of the game has a 88/100 on Metacritic as of this writing. Dominic L of The Sixth Axis says the game is one of the best coming-of-age narratives in recent entertainment history.
"Mixtape is incredible. An indie narrative adventure that's part game, part movie, part album, it captures the end of teenage life, of friendship and family, all while looking to the possibilities and unknowable potential of the future. It is, in a word, essential."
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The game is available on Switch 2, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and Windows.
This story was originally published by Men's Journal on May 8, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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This story was originally published May 7, 2026 at 9:16 PM.