The trailer comes in at just shy of a minute in length, and focuses on the main characters—three high school friends looking for the “ultimate teenage experience”. We get to see the trio go through several surreal experiences, be it flying over their neighborhoods and over creeks, or skateboarding through an exploding car.

The story of Mixtape will revolve around the three friends setting off on one final adventure together, with its core themes revolving around a variety of songs that have been described as “the soundtrack of a generation”. The narrative will focus on how each song culminates in dreamlike reenactments of the time they spent together.

Mixtape was announced all the way back in June 2024, with Beethoven and Dinosaur confirming that its soundtrack would include music by Iggy Pop, Joy Division, The Smashing Pumpkins, DEVO, Roxy Magic, Lush, Sioxsie and the Banshees, and the Cure, among others.

The first trailer for Mixtape gave us a good look at the kind of setting we will get to experience, with portable CD players, open downhill streets that players can skate down, and a general vibe of whimsy that is often associated with teenage life. Paired with other, more realistic activities, the trailer also showed off how the kids are able to partake in more outlandish ones, like floating in the air above one of their roofs, and creating fireworks just by pointing at the sky while driving over a bridge.

The title was originally announced for release in 2025. However, it would get pushed back to a 2026 window. The studio hasn’t revealed too many details about the game yet, likely in its efforts to preserve the sense of surprise when it finally comes out.

The previous game by the studio, The Artful Escape, was released all the way back in 2021. The title, available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and Nintendo Switch, revolves around Francis Vendetti and his struggles on the night of his first live performance. Since he has to contend with the legacy of his uncle – a dead folk legend – Francis sets off on a psychedelic journey to create an entirely new stage persona for himself.

Alongside gameplay that can often have players engage with a variety of gameplay genres, the storytelling is helped by the fact that it features voice performances by Michael Johnston, Caroline Kinley, Lena Headey, Jason Schwartzman, Mark Strong, and Carl Weathers.

In our review of The Artful Escape from back when it first came out, we gave it a score of 8 out of 10 thanks to its striking art style, strong writing, excellent voice and musical performance, and great gameplay. However, we criticized some of the game’s performance issues, as well as how basic the platforming sections would often feel.

With high school coming to a close, three friends go through a “perfectly curated playlist” of their memories while travelling to a party. These vignettes provide “dreamlike reenactments”, with the friends taking pictures, experiencing their first kisses, skateboarding and much more.

The soundtrack is replete with music by Iggy Pop, Joy Division, The Smashing Pumpkins, and more. Inspired by coming-of-age films, it aims to capture the joy of being a teenager with good vibes and bad. Of course, it’s also about “the bittersweet feelings brought about by growth, transformation, and moving on,” which should be interesting to experience.

Stay tuned for more details on Mixtape in the coming months, including its release date and additional gameplay. Check out our review for The Artful Escape here in the meantime.

The story centers on Francis Vendetti who’s on a journey of self-discovery before his first live performance. Following a fateful encounter with Carl Weathers, Francis seeks to discover his own identity through music and comes across various entities, including a “giant floating asymmetrical space head” (final name TBA) played by Lena Headey. Other talent includes Michael Johnston, Mark Strong and Jason Schwartzman.

The Artful Escape arrives on September 9th for Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One and PC after being in development since 2017. It will be available day one on Xbox Game Pass. For more details on the title, check out GamingBolt’s interview with Galvatron here. Stay tuned for more gameplay and updates in the coming weeks.

Francis Vendetti, nephew of legendary folk musician Johnson Vendetti, is the key focus in the story. A prodigy at his age, Francis is set to have his first live performance but sets out on a physical and spiritual journey the day before. He looks to discover himself and establish a musical identity that’s distinct from his deceased uncle.

Players will traverse through a range of distinct environments filled with memorable characters, from enormous alien beings to publicans and villagers. As you run and jump through the musical multiverse, the environments react to your movement, and Francis can use his LoudJacket to create arrangements of amplifiers and lasers.

The Artful Escape releases on September 9th for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and PC while also releasing on day one for Xbox Game Pass.

After the Steam page for Twelve Minutes indicated a 2021 release window, publisher Annapurna Interactive has now officially confirmed that it will launch next year. It also confirmed that two other titles, The Artful Escape and Last Stop, would release in 2021. This isn’t unexpected, especially with this year coming to a close and the lack of updates for each title. The publisher noted that the three titles would release “throughout the year” and that they were currently in the polishing phase.

Twelve Minutes is developed by Luis Antonio and concerns a man trapped in a time loop. With 12 minutes of in-game time available, the player must attempt to save the man’s wife and avoid death himself, all while being confined to a single apartment. It’s genuinely interesting and has a solid voice cast with the likes of James McAvoy, Daisy Ridley and Willem Dafoe involved.

Developed by Beethoven and Dinosaur, The Artful Escape is a musical platformer that’s been in development for several years. It was confirmed for Xbox One and Apple Arcade earlier this year, and sees singer Francis Vendetti exploring vivid mind-scapes while making peace with the legacy of his uncle, a renowned folk singer. As for Last Stop, it centers on John, Meena and Donna as they deal with a “supernatural crisis” through various minigames and dialogue interactions. Stay tuned for more details on each of the titles in the coming year.

some news: you may have seen a very broad 2020 release window for The Artful Escape, 12 Minutes,
and Last Stop in trailers or on store pages in the past

so it's almost December and the end of the year

we're looking at 2021 now as they all get closer to getting ready! 🙂

— Annapurna Interactive (@A_i) November 18, 2020

they've all come together throughout the year and it's pretty much polishing at this point! make sure to follow @12minutesgame, @VariableState, and @TheArtfulEscape too

also, Steam links for your wishlist!https://t.co/Ky00qaqrgGhttps://t.co/J51OS4G9Vxhttps://t.co/IwzQJ58P5h

— Annapurna Interactive (@A_i) November 18, 2020

You might vaguely remember The Artful Escape, an indie platformer by Beethoven and Dinosaur that was about navigating a landscape of music seemingly brought to life. While it’s been rather quiet over the past few years, the title was re-revealed at X019. Check out the latest trailer (be warned: It’s still very trippy).

Not much has changed with the story. It’s still about Francis Vendetti, whose uncle was a legendary folk singer, and his struggles to reconcile with that legacy before his own performance. To do this, Francis will explore a myriad of strange landscapes within his mind for inspiration, rocking out the whole way through.

Along with Xbox One, The Artful Escape is also coming to Apple Arcade in 2020. It’s in line with other Annapurna Interactive titles like Sayonara Wild Hearts coming to Apple’s game service and should fit right in. Stay tuned for more details in the meantime and check out our interview with creator Johnny Galvatron here.

How does the team, which remains humbly small in size working on a passion project, cope with the pressure and scrutiny of so many people looking forward to their game? This, and other topics, were among the ones that we discussed with Johnny Galvatron, a former musician and the creator of the development studio Beethoven & Dinosaur, the folks working on the game. Buckle in.

The Artful Escape was one of the more standout games at Microsoft’s E3 presser, which is noteworthy given all the new announcements and other reveals. How did it feel to showcase the game on this kind of stage to the world?

In the lead up I was trying to get the teaser finished and a new iteration of the demo to show on the floor so I hadn’t given it much thought. Even on the way to the presser I was just watching LA slip by train windows. Then you’re confronted with this bastion of a stadium; press gauntlets, huge lines, blocked off streets. Suddenly you’re sitting down in a emerald laser lights and people start chanting, “PHIL! PHIL! PHIL!” and you’re sure you’ve lost your mind. It’s a spectacle. Blew my mindtank. And to see the you and your friends work displayed in that medium is surreal.

Usually when we look at music games, there’s the rhythm title like Guitar Hero, Elite Beat Agents or even Thumper. The Artful Escape seems to take music as a more tangible element to play around with. How did you come up with the concept?

Traditional music games don’t feel like playing music to me. Learning an instrument is difficult, but once you have it down a large portion of commercial, popular music isn’t difficult to play. Unless you’re reading sheet music notes aren’t flying at you; the music you play is, usually, imprinted on your brain. Playing music, I think, is most enjoyable when it’s effortless, when you feel powerful. I wanted to try and recreate that sense of power and virtuosity in the Artful Escape.

"We won’t be divulging everything about the game this early on but your guitar can move you in multiple ways, ignite the landscape and allow you to communicate with towering alien leviathans."

You cited influences like David Bowie, Steven Spielberg, Wes Anderson and so on as instrumental for the game. What did you feel was the common thread that linked these influences together for The Artful Escape?

I don’t think there’s a common thread. You draw inspiration from concepts and necessity and these starting points blend and harmonize and clash. The story draws inspiration from musicians with stage personas; Bowie, Daft Punk, Gorillaz, but the game itself is a 2.5D Platformer, and that’s where the Spielberg, Wes Anderson inspiration tangoes onto the stage. We wanted to approach the camera of the platformer in a cinematic light. We watched a ton of films with great oners and elaborate tracking shots; Wes Anderson and Spielbergio have some of the best.

The story is especially intriguing because it focuses on familial relationships but also the weight of having a famous icon as a relative. How did you weave all these complex emotions into the game?

I wouldn’t approach a story with the objective of weaving in emotional moments or themes; all that derives from the characters you devine. Give them enough complexity, give them goals and desires and fears and other characters to challenge those traits and the moments should emerge, by themselves, on the long road.

In The Artful Escape, players can use the guitar given for different purposes like making platforms. What other uses will music have and how much depends on the player’s ingenuity?

We won’t be divulging everything about the game this early on but your guitar can move you in multiple ways, ignite the landscape and allow you to communicate with towering alien leviathans.

"After seeing it play at 4k on the [Xbox One X] dev kit. Can’t go back after that."

How many levels are there in the game? What kinds of bosses do players encounter?

How intuitive are the controls? What kinds of challenges have you faced when it came to level design, the placement of enemies, boss encounter design and so on?

The challenges with a game where enjoyment is derived from making the player feel virtuosic and powerful rather than difficulty is that you need to compose your levels with the correct pacing, like the dynamics of a song. Use one mechanic too long and the illusion starts to fall apart.

Can you tell us more about the ability to create one’s own soundtrack from the sound samples discovered in-game? Does this kind of discovery and eventual creativity sort of run parallel with the protagonist’s own journey of self-discovery?

This was a feature we spoke about during our Kickstarter. Now that the game has moved on from its unsuccessful Kickstarter and signed with publishers Annapurna, many aspects of the game have changed from that early vision of the Artful Escape. There are still some elements of sample playback but it plays a smaller role.

Why did you opt to make The Artful Escape a console exclusive on Xbox One?

After seeing it play at 4k on the dev kit. Can’t go back after that.

"I do see them using the full potential of the One X. I think it’s going to used primarily for texture size, effects, stuff like that. You can make a great game for the Xbox One, but it’s going to look amazing on the One X."

When can we expect the game to release? Is there any future content in the back of your mind that you would like to implement?

No release date yet.

The game will be receiving Xbox One X support. Is native 4K and 60 frames per second on the cards?

Sure, it’s on the cards.

Do you see games using the full potential of the Xbox One X, especially given that developers also need to support the older Xbox One?

I do see them using the full potential of the One X. I think it’s going to used primarily for texture size, effects, stuff like that. You can make a great game for the Xbox One, but it’s going to look amazing on the One X.

Is anything else you want to tell us about the game?

That’s about it! Thanks for asking me some great questions!

Of the many games seen during Microsoft’s E3 2017 presentation, Beethoven and Dinosaur’s The Artful Escape is perhaps one of the more aesthetically pleasing. It’s theme has roots in music as you take on the role of Francis Vendetti, the nephew of a music legend, as he undertakes a journey to find his own path. That journey just so happens to transcend the physical plain.

However, at E3 2017, The Artful Escape creator Johnny Galvatron had truly transcended from music to game development. As the lead guitarist for The Galvatrons, he decided to bring his game to consoles via the Xbox One and Xbox One. Of course, it’s coming to PC as well but why not other platforms?

GamingBolt spoke to Galvatron about the same and he said that he made the decision, “After seeing it play at 4K on the dev kit. Can’t go back after that.”

He also noted that the platformer would be receiving Xbox One X support and that native 4K and 60 frames per second were on the cards. Which is a good thing because The Artful Escape already looks pretty amazing. Imagine what it would look like in 4K/60 FPS.

Sadly, we’re going to have to wait to see since the game has no release date. Stay tuned for more information on the same though.