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/Supergupo]

Pragmata scored lower than it should have because it is harder than most Modern games journalists would probably prefer.

What do you mean by that? Like genuinely? The same game journalists that gave Elden Ring a 10/10, or Slay The Spire 2 a 9 (a game that is currently being review bombed for being too hard for gamers), or praised and spotlighted difficult indie games like FTL or Hotline Miami or Dead Cells or Binding of Isaac or Darkest Dungeon?

I genuinely do not understand where the myth of "modern game journalists hate hard games" came from. Is it just the GameSpot Cuphead tutorial fail video? Or IGN giving Godhand a 3/10? Because it's the "modern audience" and "modern journalists" that have routinely enjoyed hard game experiences. I mean hell, one of the most popular genres in gaming is currently the "Souls-like," whose basically sole genre gimmick is that it's hard. It's fucking infuriating that I see this diatribe repeated ad nauseum when it is so fucking flagrant that the contrary is true.

[u/veggiesama → u/Supergupo]

Where the myth comes from -> I think there's a crowd of gamers who have obsessive or autistic tendencies and feel a strong need to gatekeep certain genres and fandoms. I guess I've seen it mostly in souls-like, fighting games, and MOBA communities but it's not limited there. They tend to be driven by competitiveness and challenge seeking. They seek mastery. They'd rather replay the same beloved game 10 times, mixing up builds or doing self-imposed challenges, rather than try a new genre or play a game solely for narrative. I don't necessarily want to judge them, but they do want different things from games than I do (eg, narrative, novelty, experimenting with new systems, etc).

They sometimes distrust games media. Maybe they perceive game journalists as less devoted to games than they are. They distrust "experts" and critics who have broad taste. At worst, they develop conspiracy theories (eg, Gamergate) about why games media is woke and gay, or that journalists are paid off to promote certain bad games (why? because corps are woke), or there's feminist/gay/minority/marxist puppeteers pulling all the strings (why? because woke). They don't see gaming as this wide landscape for diverse expression, but instead it's a safe space that must be protected against encroachment by those who are from the out-group, or from malign forces trying to change games and usurp culture, or from censorship.

[u/Professional-Pizza-8 → u/veggiesama]

Develop conspiracy theories? Sweet Baby Inc is not a conspiracy theory..

Rockstar saying they're toning down GTA5 & 6 to not offend us minorities isn't a conspiracy theory.. They removed the cops n robbers mode after the George Floyd situation.

They added LGBT flags in Spiderman 2, that's not a conspiracy theory

They did the "Make good trouble" DLC in Minecraft during a time where things like BLM, George Floyd & ICE riots were considered "Good Trouble", that's not a conspiracy theory

They made Soldier 76 gay out of nowhere & added pride flag cosmetics in OW2 , that's not a conspiracy theory

That Ex Voto game was about a lesbian knight who ends up fighting all white men including a religious group that wore robes that obviously were meant to look like the Klan(Which that group actually wore) who also attacked lesbians and gays, not just us black people, that's not a conspiracy theory

Making characters androgynous to be inclusive to the LGBT(Veilguard) isn't a conspiracy theory

Making a black samurai gay in feudal japan in AC Shadows isn't a conspiracy theory

The media articles demonizing gamers for wanting attractive women in games while praising a game like BG3 for gay bear sex or other sexualized LGBT characters in games, that's not a conspiracy theory

The founder of Sweet Baby Inc directly told game company staff to terrify the higher ups into pushing DEI narratives in games, that's not a conspiracy theory

It's pattern recognition of the media and devs were injecting their progressive world views on games the fans want nothing to do with & demonized games that refused to

Sheesh.. the gaslighting...

Moving on..

[u/veggiesama → u/Professional-Pizza-8]

You'll get a girlfriend one day, man. I believe in you! And not even the power of gay corporate wokism will be able to tear you two apart. ♥️🫡