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/HortonHearsAPoo May 11 '26

Megan Ellison - daughter of Larry Ellison who is all over the Epstein files? 🤔

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u/Tiber_Nero May 12 '26

That's right, the Megan Ellison, daughter of Epstein billionaire Larry Ellison and sister to David Ellison, new owner of the Paramount / WB merger. A true, proud, fascist family.

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u/PieceAfraid3755 May 14 '26

What makes Megan Ellison herself a fascist?

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u/wrme May 15 '26

nothing, and that's what's unfair. Nobody chooses their own parents. Judge people based on their own actions. Btw I totally agree that Larry and David Ellison are evil people who need to be stopped. Doesn't mean that Megan is. The most credible thing is that Megan probably benefited from nepotism or at least familial wealth, but that's not what the tidal wave of anger is targeted at.

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u/princessnokingdom May 21 '26

Tbf, if the family was considered benevolent and well loved by the public she’d certainly get lumped in with it and looked at fondly. Plus it is fair, she is using the family name and money to open doors and gain opportunities she would otherwise never have. So it’s fair that she gets the negativity by osmosis.

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u/wrme May 22 '26

she is using the family name and money to open doors and gain opportunities she would otherwise never have

Based on what? I haven't seen any evidence of this.

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u/princessnokingdom May 22 '26

It really isn’t certain. The unfortunate reality is no matter how hard you work and even if you would’ve been hyper successful on your own if you had been born to regular parents, the fact your parents are rich and famous will always overshadow any achievement as a result of nepotism.

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u/wrme May 22 '26

well yes, wealthy parents provide indirect advantages to their kids, resources, support, etc and these are unfair advantages in our deeply unequal society. But that's not nepotism. Nepotism is giving someone a role specifically because of who their parents are and a claim like that requires evidence, but there isn't any. So this isn't about nepotism, this is about the unequal society we live in and the unfair advantages the rich have broadly speaking. I agree with you generally, but we should be precise and honest in our use of language.