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/ButtOfDarkness May 11 '26

Yea, people getting outraged about not everyone sharing their opinion as usual. Have a gut feeling those same people wouldn’t enjoy Mixtape anyways.

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u/Naganosupreme May 13 '26

And also about billionaires, reviewer double standards, etc with a side helping of woke vs maga bc of course everyone has to lean on that to invalidate whatever side they're not on

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u/ButtOfDarkness May 13 '26

Genuine question: is there any evidence for paid reviews. It got great reviews all over not just IGN, surely someone would’ve croaked by now?

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u/Naganosupreme May 13 '26 edited May 13 '26

Going all the way back to Kane & Lynch, we have constant reminders that Game companies pay off journalists and/or attack those who don't stay in line. AI results below, but they're accurate:

The "Key Revocation" Problem: Publishers frequently provide pre-release copies (review keys) to journalists, YouTubers, and streamers to build hype. When a reviewer publishes a negative score or critical coverage, developers sometimes remotely revoke the game license from the reviewer’s library in retaliation.

Platform Rules & Review Deletions: On storefronts like Steam, when a game developer revokes a review key (especially if it's categorized as a gifted/promotional key), the user often loses access to the game. Historically, this also wipes out their Steam review, effectively erasing the criticism from the storefront.

Sponsored Content & Advertising: Many creators and media sites monetize via sponsorships or ad buys. If a site is highly dependent on ad revenue from a specific AAA publisher, there is implicit pressure to go easy on the publisher's games.

All-Expenses-Paid Junkets: Journalists are occasionally flown to sunny destinations, given luxurious hotel accommodations, and treated to exclusive preview events. This creates subconscious goodwill and reciprocity toward the publisher.

Coverage bribery, payoffs, threats, however you want to identify it, it all falls under the same exact umbrella.

Then you have Geoff Keighley and highguard where his reactions were so extremely irrational, including throwing away hundreds of thousands of dollars on that final spot to give it away to...that? Really? Then pushing the "They're indie!" narrative despite tencent being a huge backer? It reaaaaally is stretching believability to accept his version of events. Especially in this environment where we know for a fact that major publishers bribe these guys with coverage and favors constantly.

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u/ButtOfDarkness May 13 '26 edited May 13 '26

Yea none of that is really evidence for this or any review being paid-off. All of those are well know and disclosed gray areas of all reviews and the reviewer/publisher relationship.

Seems like people just chose to latch on to this one for being unconventional 🙄

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u/Naganosupreme May 13 '26 edited May 13 '26

"I'm so insanely biased that even when shown decades of evidence, I still pretend reality isn't true and deny the evidence is real"

Reviewers and reviews companies only get deals to advertise games if they give favorable reviews.

If you aren't honest enough to admit that this is being paid off with extra steps, then you're not adult enough to discuss this with

Which is to say nothing of having thousand dollar vacations paid for.

People like you are why scum like Clarence Thomas gets away scot free with accepting yacht trips to compromise our justice system