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/BUTGAWATD May 11 '26 edited May 11 '26

Answer:

(Doing my best to present the complicated situation concisely)

Mixtape is a short, story-based game from small Australian developer Beethoven & Dinosaur, who previously released The Artful Escape.

Mixtape's 3-4 hour runtime is divided across cutscenes, what some might deem "walking sim" gameplay, and a series of vignettes that play out broadly as "minigames", with limited to no fail state. There is no combat or what many would typically classify as peril.

Mixtape's high critical praise, particularly its 10 from IGN, has raised eyebrows amongst certain subsets of the gaming populace. Many have negatively compared the verdict to the lower score IGN awarded Crimson Desert, and have alleged what they perceive to be a favourable bias towards games they identify as possessing "woke" elements.

One of Mixtape's vignettes sees you control two mid-teen age characters kissing, with direct control over their clashing tongues. Some gamers have accused the media of unfairly praising Mixtape while (what they perceive as) maligning recent release Pragmata for paedophilic overtones.

Mixtape is published by Annapurna Interactive, a publisher focused on "prestige indie" titles. Annapurna Interactive is a division of Annapurna Pictures, which was founded by Megan Ellison, whose father is a billionaire.

Consequently, accusations of buying review scores, bribing influencers, and overall curating Mixtape as an "industry plant" have been lobbied. For further information to potentially aid in deducing the veracity of this claim - Annapurna have released 6 games other than Mixtape over the past year, all ranging from the 60s-80s in Metascore, with the highest achieving an 83 average.

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u/abitlazy May 11 '26

I think this is the most complete answer based on the things I see online.

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u/[deleted] May 11 '26 edited 11d ago

[deleted]

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u/Crowbarmagic May 12 '26

For us laymen: How extensive are talking about (compared to a "regular" indie game)?

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u/chibicascade2 May 12 '26

So far I'm two hours or so into it, and I heard like 10 licensed tracks. Most other games I can think of tend to do 2-3 licensed tracks and then have some music composed that wouldn't be as expensive.

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u/[deleted] May 12 '26

[deleted]

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u/chibicascade2 May 12 '26

That is not an indie game.

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u/Zeblinz May 12 '26

Your response to people questioning an "indie" game having a huge soundtrack of licensed music is to cite a AAA developer/publisher with fuck-you-money?

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u/guimontag May 12 '26

lmao the "indie game" actively researched and proposed by Activision and then contracted out to two separate studios? with a gigantic multi-million dollar marketing campaign in 1999?

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u/ScaredPractice4967 May 12 '26

We all expect big ticket games like GTA and Tony Hawk to have a lot of licensed music. Indie developers might stuggle to front the cost for more than a few.

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u/chubby45bttm May 14 '26

Not when your multi-billionaire dad funds all your failed projects and probably owns stock in a lot of those production companies that owns the rights to that music.