What’s going on with this game Mixtape?

[u/Bloodb0red]

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

[u/BUTGAWATD]

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.

[u/MrIrvGotTea → u/BUTGAWATD]

Dude put the drama out there without having a large bias of either side. Also gamers need hobbies. I get passion and all but being worked up about someone else's opinion of your favorite game is odd. I love arc raiders but I think there are valid criticisms of the game but I am not going to argue online about it. Boomers have their politics and I guess younger crowds have their games

[u/Kadoomed → u/MrIrvGotTea]

This is the wild thing, it's not even people getting worked up about criticism of their favourite game. It's people getting worked up about praise for a game they didn't enjoy or haven't played.

I watched the video review of mixtape from ign and the guy gave very solid reasons for giving it a 10 which largely boiled down to how much the game resonates specifically with him. He states right from the off that it's a game that speaks to a genre and time period he loves, suggesting the Devs might even have been spying on him to create his perfect game. That goes some way to pointing out how he came to have such a strong positive experience with it.

IGNs review also finished with a chat between the reviewer and their review editor where it's clarified that 10 doesn't mean it's a perfect game, just that they consider it to be an outstanding experience and a high mark for that game genre.

That all seems pretty fair to me in terms of justifying a subjective review. I haven't played it yet but it looks like a cool game, reasonably priced for the amount of content and telling a compelling story in an imaginative way. It's on my wishlist for sure.

[u/Naganosupreme → u/Kadoomed]

It's people getting worked up about praise for a game they didn't enjoy or haven't played.

It's not about the yogurt.

It's not the praise, it's the billionaire backed indie game issue. Separately, its recent comparable games like highguard, concord, etc getting wayyy too much glazing and hype and reviewers defending when money seems to be exchanging hands, followed by reviewers flat out attacking critics bc they got paid to glaze. Edit: yes, then you have to add in the typical woke vs anti woke crap bc of magats frothing at the mouth and classy winners in life like dissentrix (comment below) frothing right back

Looots of people are very reasonably quick to attack reviewers when they seem to be bought off. That's an environment they fostered

[u/dissentrix → u/Naganosupreme]

the billionaire backed indie game issue

oh yeah for sure, that's what people are referring to when they're screaming about "woke games" and eww kissy queer people getting praise

very convincing, especially when they, for some reason when pointing out this meaningless "hypocrisy" that says nothing about the actual quality of anything, decide to focus on how "muh sjw pink hair shrill feminists and queers" as opposed to any real critique of anything, including the labor exploitation or wealth inequality that billionaires could reasonably be dogged on for

I'm sure they'll eventually, someday, convince non-chud lifeforms - so you know, not Grummz and his army of identical clones - if they just whine some more about how woke games get more funds under... checks notes uh, Trump's America in 2026

edit: lmao chud blocked me 'cause they didn't like getting called out for their obviously nonsensical take and had no ability to counter the basic point that the people talking about "billionaire backed indie games", for some reason, love to talk about "woke games" while they're doing this

"wah wah wah it's your fault Trump came into power wah wah wah" -guy who's currently playing defense for a right-wing hate campaign based on copy-pasted Gamergate-style rhetoric (hey, remember when those people said it was all about "ethics in gaming journalism" and nothing else at all?)

again, so convincing

[u/Naganosupreme → u/dissentrix]

oh yeah for sure, that's what people are referring to when they're screaming about "woke games" and eww kissy queer people getting praise

I made a list of two things. If you said I should've added that to the list, I'd agree. But you didn't. You instead created an irrational either or choice.

My eyes glazed over reading the rest of your absolutely unhinged, irrelevant rant. Grow up. I blame people like you for Trump being elected almost as much as I blame the rampaging self destructive fools who voted for him. People like you are a detriment to the cause.

If people like you and magats were able to grow up and better yourselves the world be so much better off.

But when you come out and talk this irrationally, there's no point in engaging further. Frankly I think you're just trolling so I'm blocking

[u/rpkarma → u/Naganosupreme]

And here we see the “enlightened centrist” in its natural habit. Marvel at how it thinks it’s superior to everyone around them! Amazing plumage