Music
Basically any game with licensed real-world music or featured car brands or football clubs is in danger of eventually being delisted and removed from sale once those licenses expire, but not Mixtape, because apparently its developers paid for its surprisingly great soundtrack in perpetuity.
Mixtape is the new adventure game that follows three high schoolers in the 1990s as they spend their last hours together, fondly remembering all the small moments that made up their adolescence while trying to secure booze for a much-hyped party – and it’s all set to era-appropriate music soundtracking the coming-of-age story and its wonderfully gamey magical mini-games.
But while games like Spec Ops: The Line and Forza Horizon 4 get delisted because of licenses going off, the developer behind Mixtape and, previously, The Artful Escape already thought about that ahead of time before securing the rights to Iggy Pop and The Smashing Pumpkins.
Speaking to Kotaku, creative director Johnny Galvatron says developer Beethoven and Dinosaur paid extra to make sure Mixtape’s musical licenses wouldn’t expire, hopefully shielding it from one day being scrubbed off digital storefronts years down the line.
“We heard some people say Mixtape would be delisted due to music licenses expiring,” publisher Annapurna Interactive recently tweeted. “That was a lie. Have a great weekend, everyone.”
Mixtape’s combo of short ‘n’ sweet WarioWare-style anecdotes and banging music choices made it immediately fly up Metacritic’s list of the best-rated games of the year. GamesRadar+’s Mixtape review said, “Teenage ennui permeates but never overwhelms while Stacy and her buds try to have one last wild night before it’s splitsville in what’s ultimately a short, meaningful game that’s relatively light on mechanics.”
In the meantime, check out the 10 best games like Life is Strange that are hella good.