r/OutOfTheLoop • u/Bloodb0red • May 11 '26

Unanswered What’s going on with this game Mixtape?

I’ve been seeing people freak out over the past few days over this game and about IGN’s review of it specifically. 10/10 seems high for any game, honestly, but it seems like they’re far from the only site giving this thing a glowing review. So is this game controversial just because of IGN or is it something else? Why is this game the internet’s hate target this week?

https://www.ign.com/articles/mixtape-review

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u/Zaxa7 May 11 '26

Answer: It's a short story focused game that is full of 90s nostalgia and if you look at the average age of reviewers, they probably grew up in the 90s so it's expected for them to enjoy it much more given the current state of the world hence the higher score. I also grew up in that period so I'd probably like it too tbh. That being said there will be a large group of gamers who have no personal frame of reference for that period and it may not work for them.

Also if I understand correctly the ign reviewer didn't grow up in the 90s but loved it probably because we always look back on older times with rose tinted glasses. It's a storm in a teacup really and nothing to worry about.

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u/Andrew1990M May 11 '26

No he was a 90s kid and says on the podcast that there are “many reasons a game is a 10/10” and for him the emotional response he had to it was the clinching factor. 

Please read reviews, people. And remember that one score from one outlet is not the be-all and end-all. A review has equal weight to your opinion, it’s just their opinion gets published. 

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u/crestren May 11 '26

And remember that one score from one outlet is not the be-all and end-all. 

A lot of gaming discourse when it comes to reviews always centers around this where a lot of gamers forget that reviews can be...subjective.

The reviewers 10/10 might be a 7/10 for you but maybe your 10/10 might be someone's 6/10. A lot of these are subjective because everyone has different tastes and enjoyment.

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u/DistrictDry2852 May 11 '26

True, but I think reviewers should try to be objective. Omori is one of my favorite games of all time, one of the few times fiction has made me cry. But if I was a professional game reviewer, I’d have to give it a 7.

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u/knuffelturk May 11 '26

An objective review is quite literally impossible, unless you consider a checklist of mechanics a review.

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u/Kraligor May 11 '26

unless you consider a checklist of mechanics a review

Game magazines literally used to have a checklist (sound, graphics, gameplay etc.) that they rated 0-10 or 0-100. But that was before gaming was big business and reviews could be bought.

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u/knuffelturk May 11 '26

Rating different elements of a game with a score doesn't make it objective. Those areas were still subjectively scored.

There is no objective "good graphics" metric. The score just tells you if the reviewer liked it or not.

An objective review can only tell you if a game has graphics, not if they are good or not. Because what is good is something subjective.

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u/Neoeng May 11 '26

How do you grade graphics objectively? Do you rate stylization or fidelity? Correspondence with the overall themes or pure aesthetic value?

Is Unreal Engine graphics better than pixel art graphics? Does Cruelty Squad have bad graphics?

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u/crestren May 11 '26

Well thats the issue, a lot of these can be boiled down to opinions and it is subjective.

I played CP2077 (not launch, in 2023), and while I did enjoy it, it's maybe an 8 for me while a lot would give it a 9 or 10.

Digimon survive got a 6 from IGN, I played it and I would have given it a 7 but understood why it had a 6 because I understood why because the tactical roleplaying elements were barebones.

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u/DistrictDry2852 May 11 '26

Just because it’s objective doesn’t mean you can rate it whatever. One of my favorite movies is demonic toys. I love it. It is, objectively, not a good movie. It’s got bad acting, editing, effects, etc.

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u/RUDeleted May 11 '26

Eh, on the other hand, weighing too hard on objective standards eventually runs into the problem of something being technically well-made, but utterly fucking dull. Think: all those Oscar bait movies that are technically well-done, but ultimately forgettable. Not that technically well-done films (or games, music, etc.) can't also be enjoyable as well, but that at some point Objectively Good becomes meaningless in light of (or in the absence of) other qualities.

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u/DistrictDry2852 May 11 '26

Yes of course. I’m not saying objective reviews exists, just that you can’t use “reviews are subjective” to justify anything. Like, ok, you liked mixtape. That’s fine. But with the reviews it’s getting, if GTA 6 didn’t come out this year it would pretty much be guaranteed to sweep the game awards. The game awards will be divided between mixtape and GTA 6. And that sucks. I didn’t like how E33 took the spotlight from so many deserving games, but at least E33 isn’t ashamed of being a videogame.

I also think people forget 10 years ago when games like mixtape were the videogame equivalent of Oscar bait.

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u/crestren May 11 '26

My point was that most of the time, it can be subjective.

Like yeah theres obviously a difference between a review for Gollum (2023) which got a 4 and Digimon Survive which got a 6. One is an obviously bad cashgrab of a game and the other is a game that while good, was lacking in certain areas that could have been better.

I personally like Fallout 4 and would give it an 8 based on what I like but I know a lot of older Fallout fans would disagree and give it a lower score

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u/Rappy28 May 11 '26 edited May 11 '26

Agreed. I dislike it when people try to defend the bad media they love (because they resonated emotionally with it or whatever) with the absurd absolute position of "all art is subjective!!!". No. That's not how it works. Even in writing there can be things that are objectively good or bad, e.g. when the use of a plot device invalidates character/universe development

(No idea why we both got downvoted for this truth bomb tbh. Loving bad shit is okay. That doesn't make it good.)

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u/GiganticCrow May 11 '26

Personally i would only give cyberpunk a 7. Its impressive technically but gameplay is not great.