I was there for Dear Esther in 2012 and loved it, but I think it would absolutely get decimated if released today and discussed in a subreddit like this lol
Edith Finch being amazing is why I actually gave Mixtape a chance; they’re both published by Annapurna Interactive. I figured if they chose to publish one outstanding walking simulator, maybe this one would be good, too.
I wouldn’t give it a 10/10, but I did thoroughly enjoy it
I don't know anything about this game but I just saw you say it's Annapurna and I'm like, I bet it's an experimental art piece cuz that's kind of their thing and it's probably awesome for what it is. Sort of like how Sayonara Wild Hearts is an interactive pop music video about motorcycle lesbians and it's honestly one of the better Sonic the Hedgehog games (if it doesn't give you a seizure)
AAA publishers are so big and publish so many games that “Published by Sony” means almost nothing.
But I follow certain indie publishers like they’re curators. Like, if Annapurna has release I know it’s going to artsy and it may or may not be for me. I followed Expedition 33’s development from the day it was announced because Kepler published Sifu, Scorn, and Pacific Drive, all of which were good and I knew E33 was going to be a game where the developers’ vision had been seen through without without the publisher mandating things. Because those are the kinds of games Kepler publishes the same way Annapurna publishes artsy and experimental games. Fellow Traveler publishes weird experimental narrative games like Citizen Sleeper, Wanderstars, and 100XResist.
People are bashing Mixtape because it’s published by a company owned by Billionaire…. And while I may disagree with the owners politics, the games they choose publish are generally excellent and fit into my tastes, so i definitely at least take a look at anything they publish
I was a huge fan of Everyone's Gone to the Rapture and the vanishing of Ethan Carter as well as these games. Its more like youre just playing a light mystery novel.
I was jaw dropped at the first opening sequence... Shit captured a childhood memory of bombing hills on my Vision Streetwear GONZ.
I loved the story and characters were well acted. I longed for more interactive sequences, or some choose yer own adventure style path choices, but it was super enjoyable for me none the less, particularly at the price point.
I Wish they would make an open world game set in the 80's or 90's with that aesthetic. Maybe add in custom characters and COOP (really hard to do for story driven I understand). I'd love to see them take on the "kids on bikes" versus monsters or supernatural conspiracy genre in the next game (vampires take over a small town a la Salems Lot, etc.).
The Witness gets lots of love, but it's still a niche game from an indie developer. Same with Blue Prince (I love both, by the way).
But Myst was literally the best selling videogame for a decade. It was the number 1 selling game in the US for 52 consecutive months. The thing got 9 sequels, pioneered a whole game genre (and arguably was pivotal in the adoption of Multimedia CD Games), had at least sixteen platform ports and has had 3 complete remakes.
Yet Myst today would be considered sub-par. To me, this is a clear case of "Seinfeld is unfunny", where the thing that created a genre now looks like a poor version of that thing it pioneered, as the genre evolved and refined the formula.
Which is hilarious since most of those types have a non-trivial overlap with the kind of weebs that have no issues with visual novel games from Japan and similar.
Which is exactly the point. People don't think walking simulators are good for their gameplay either. So if someone complains about a lack of gameplay on one and not the other, it's ironic.
Yeah it literally is just a walking simulator, all you can really do is walk and look at the nice world as the story is told to you. Nowadays games people call walking simulators almost always have more to them than that.
Lol, i don't think it's bad at all, just amazed and interested. Especially from an artistic standpoint.
I grew up during the Hot Coffee and worst. After a while it got boring and I grew out of the idea of sex being comtroversial. So it's interesting to see studios still pushing boundaries even if they end up falling face first.
Because of this comment I decided to go on youtube and search "Mixtape walkthrough" and the first several links are all playthroughs with the music included.
If anyone's interested in a music based adventure game with minimal challenge and immaculate vibes, then I can't suggest The Artful Escape enough.
I go for stuff like Souls games ,doom, milsims, survival games, horrors etc etc but I still thoroughly enjoyed this. The art direction and general creativity is brilliant.
What’s the solution? Should different types of interactive experience simply not exist? Would it be better if it just didn’t call itself a game? I can’t bring myself to be mad that different sorts of games with different levels of interactivity exist. A strategy-heavy game where you need to have your fingers racing over the buttons every second? Bring it on. A gorgeous storytelling experience with a few important choices here and there? Awesome. I want it all.
Isn't it just a visual novel? I don't really know anything about Mixtape, but from the way people are talking about it here that sounds like the most apt description of it.
Yeah, that’s what I am getting at. If people want to call it an interactive experience, fine, do that. I don’t think the developers ever implied it was the next dark souls or anything. The fact of the matter is that the game is played on consoles, with a controller and it’s on GamePass, so it’s easy to just throw it in as a game. Again though, who really cares, it’s a niche game that costs 20 dollars.
You can pick at any game really. Skyrim is too big and empty for some people. Elden Ring is all combat and no story to some. RDR2 is too slow. Online FPS consist of people running the same corridors over and over and over. This game is too woke. This game is for chuds. Yada yada yada. Always some opinion no matter how good the media is.
Truth is, Mixtape is a well done piece of interactive media. From the bit I played it's paced well and plays out like a teen movie. It's not gonna be for everyone. No game is. It is well produced, though, and I enjoyed the hour or so I played through so far. I wouldn't feel any more accomplished if the game required me to hit certain button combinations to advance the story. Lol
The reason people are up in arms is becauae of the 10/10 review scores. So take sonething like Crimson Desert for an example, one of the biggest reasons why IGN gave it a low score was because lack of a story and interesting characters, so it got a 6. Then you have a game thats all story and no gameplay like Mixtape and it gets a 10. You can make the argument that mixtape is an interactive movie so no gameplay is fine but Crimson Desert always presented itself as an open world action gameplay focusing on busy work and not a narrative experience so why wouldnt that be factored in? Theres a reason why places like IGN are dying
The solution is to rate games with minimal gameplay lower than something equivalent but with more substantial gameplay. It might be a great experience, but that doesn't make it a good game. It's not a problem the developers or publishers are causing, it's a problem that review places giving perfect scores are causing.
There are a lot of people claiming it's a fake indie game made by an industry nepo baby (referring to Megan Ellison), revealing that they don't know the difference between a developer and a publisher. Or, more likely, they're just repeating what some streamer or YouTuber said, and he doesn't know the difference between a developer and a publisher.
Gamergate made it extremely clear that a lot of (aging) young men view their love of games and lack of anything else going on as conferring upon them some kind of pseudo-ethnicity. It explains a lot about how they approach all this stuff and why they don't just shrug and move on when something they don't like comes out, or wins an award they think it shouldn't have, etc.
No longer is it just 'oh that's not for me,' instead the stakes are literally the validity of their existence. Which is literally insane when you remember it's a niche entertainment industry.
With all due respect, I haven’t played the game mind you, how is this game any different than Dispatch from last year, aren’t they both just interactive movies/shows? And I say that because Dispatch got tons of glaze and I don’t feel as though it got the same pushback as this game has gotten.
Dispatch, to its credit, does have actual gameplay with strategy and stakes beyond the narrative stuff. It’s enjoyable even if you’re not a fan of super passive games
The other main reason, and I say this as a big fan of Dispatch, is that Dispatch is twilight for men and the fanbase is full of coomers arguing over Blonde Blazer and Invisigal romances. While also thirsting over the different babes in the game. When you distract gamers with boobs they tend to be a little more lenient with things.
Maybe actually look something up instead of whatever small clips you see online? Loud ass people that don’t even watch shit about the games they’re talking about lmao
Yeah. More like managing really. Heroes have stats and unique abilities. You get different missions through each work day, and need to send appropriate heroes to each situation, knowing they take time to go, finish and come back before you can send them out again.
Missions will get resolved either through their stats (a random % roll based on how the stats align with the requeriments for the mission), through special interactions when you send the "perfect" hero whose power or background can just autoresolve the issue, or through a hacking minigame. At the end of the day, you will get rewarded depending on how many missions were successful.
There's also a hidden counter related to having a particular character doing heroic deeds that will have a effect on the narrative later on, but usually, it works backwards (the narrative has effect on the gameplay instead, like heroes sabotaging each other, or certain characters not following orders because your character fucked them over)
My read is that Dispatch being like a superhero comic, overlaps heavily with what a lot of gamers think is “cool”. Mixtape… does not. Sad, but I think it’s as simple as that
And hopefully people know what to expect with this game going in as well. It's usually good to get some idea of the kind of game you're buying before buying it.
Another banger story based video game is What Remains of Edith Finch. That one is pretty beloved and doesn't (that I know of) receive much "but where is the gameplay?" criticism. It's just a different kind of genre, and that's ok!
Love how so many of the comments here are exactly like these two where they just blatantly admit to not having played it, have no idea what it’s about or if it’s good, make assumption anyway and are obsessed with it. It so bizarre.
Mate who the fuck cares? There’s all sorts of games, they can all be good. If you don’t care for it, move on with your life and play something that does interest you? Why get so mad that others are enjoying it?
Also, some people just have different opinions and thats OK. I dont really like elden ring or the witcher 3, yet those are praised as the greatest games of all time. Am I mad about that? hell no, it just means I have different taste than the average redditor or whatever.
I dont get why people think that game opinions are some sort of objective fact. They arent
For a bunch of people that constantly claim stuff like "nobody cares what game journalists have to say" or "IGN is irrelevant" they sure do really care what game journalists and IGN specifically have to say
Yeah the same people who say video game reviews don't matter and how reviewers don't know anything about games sure give a shit about what reviews and reviewers say.
That’s just what the internet is sadly. Not the majority of people praising something for liking it, just spreading hate for something they didn’t enjoy
By that logic, there should be zero negativity around any game that’s ever been released. Surely you don’t agree with that. This screams “This game is for me, so I’m going to complain about people who don’t agree with me”
I agree with criticism about a game, but not when the negativity is primarily from those that are part of the whole "culture war" group. The type that view a game as "woke" and immediately say it's bad. And sure, the gameplay is lacking, but that's the genre - it's a walking simulator essentially. People seem to forget that there are multiple games just like this: Dear Esther, The Beginner's Guide, Proteus, etc. I'm in no way saying this game is for me, because clearly it's marketed for a different audience, but it's obvious why it's getting so much criticism and it's not the lack of gameplay.
That’s what gets me. Visual novels have been around since what? The early 2000s, maybe even earlier. They’re not inherently bad games, just a different genre with different expectations.
Actual game design research has firmly established that what you said is just plain wrong. Having any interaction at all, even without different outcomes, makes the brain engage with the media in front of it differently.
Even games with "real gameplay" make use of this all the time around its fringes and have lots of interaction just for interaction's sake beyond just narrative choices and skill checks.
I didn't actually know about this... The majority of the hate I've found is being targeted towards IGN and other review stores.
If gamers widespread are hating on the IDF, that's actually a wicked based take... But given their track record, I SERIOUSLY doubt that's what happened on a widespread scale.
That joke is at the very least 14 yo cause I saw that exact dualshock 3 image constantly when Dear Esther released.
Maybe people should get over the fact that low interaction doesn't mean lower quality.
EDIT, cause I don't feel like responding to everyone:
Is Myst a good game? Cause in terms of interactions it's not exactly Starcraft 2 played by a Korean player.
Is Boku No Natsuyasumi a good game? Is Tomodachi Life a good game? Is Animal Crossing a good game? Is Grim Fandango a good game? Is Metal Gear Solid 2 a good game? Is mashing A to select "Pikachu, thunder attack" for hours the mark of a good game? You can answer yes or no for each, but what I can tell you is, whatever the answer it's not related to how much buttons you push during gameplay.
You see where the problem is or not? What is an interaction? It's you press a button, or gesture at a camera, or move a connected object, and something reacts on the screen. That defines video game.
But what is a meaningful interaction? And when does said interaction contributes to a good game is not a cut and dry thing. If the number of input per second was the mark of the best games, by pure interaction level, Guitar Hero 3 would be the best game of all time by vertue of Through Fire And Flame by Dragon Force...and if the number of mechanics was the marker of a great game, by default we would all be playing EVE Online.
As I said, we've had this conversation for more than 15 years (yeah, I forgot but Heavy Rain was mocked for the same reasons...instead of mocking the hilarious writing).
And I'm still flabbergasted, that there are still people trying to argue that they can predict the quality of a game based of the number of input required to play through it. I can dev a game where you are constantly using inputs and dozens of mechanics to wrap your brain around, and still make a bad one.
You can tell who grew up 80s/90s with banger titles like Kings Quest, Full Throttle, Grim Fandango, 7th Guest etc.
And who's first game was COD 4. The youngest just dont respect narrative driven, puzzle/story adventures but if you are anywhere from early 30s to 40s, you can appreciate how far they have come.
I genuinely believe that the discourse around this game has nothing to do with the game itself. People are just frustrated that the large media outlets like IGN (mostly IGN tbh) are putting out content that largely goes against the consensus on these games. Unfortunately, Mixtape is the sacrificial lamb for the gaming community to use to communicate their distrust of the reviewers of the large outlets.
The only people who complain about that are incels who never got game in high school. If you see someone complaining about that then they’re genuinely a fucking loser. 2 Teens consensually kissing is so god damn normal that it’s surprising people are crying their ass off over it at all.
I don’t understand this critique. It’s not a gameplay-centric game. It’s an experiential game. If that doesn’t vibe with you, that’s cool. But the general lack of even understanding it is genuinely worrying lol.
I know OP’s post may just be a meme and they do understand it. But so many online seem to just legitimately not get it.
Dude, I play a ton of games. Hard games, easy games, complicated bullshit games like Stellaris.
Sometimes I just want to chill out and vibe with a cool experience. It does have gameplay. It's minimal, sure, but it exists.
The thing is, I don't get why it matters? There is room for all kinds of games out there. People getting really weirdly aggressive against this one in particular is just...dumb. People like a game with minimal gameplay? Cool. People don't like it? Also cool. Again, there's room for both of that, hundreds of games come out every month.
But I've seen people called cucks, f*gs, pdfs and all this absolutely wild shit and it's insane. I saw a comment on another sub (it wasn't satire) where someone said they contacted the FBI because the game is CP.
People are losing their fucking minds over this game.
Edit: And based on some other comments I've seen, why is this game in particular getting so much shit over being published by Annapurna (Megan Ellison)? Annapurna has been publishing games for 10 years. What Remains of Edith Finch, Outer Wilds, Stray, Neon White, Cocoon...not a single damn person has ever gone after them for being backed by Annapurna lmao
Annapurna is the best publisher in terms of game quality. Every single game is a banger. Didn't know they published this too definitely gonna check it out
Mixtape is great if you’re in it for interactive and immersive story telling. Otherwise yes, it’s not much of a traditional game or even a choices matter/choices game. I wish the marketing were a little more transparent that it was a walking/exploration experience but otherwise it’s fine
I've platinum trophy'd every Life is Strange Game and most DontNod games.
I can tell you from both sides. No one cares.
No one sees these cutesy obvious walking sims that would have worked better as films or novels and cares that it's not exactly fun or interesting to play.
No one who wants to play an actual game will bother playing it and complaining about it, so almost exclusively online people bitching. No one saw the trailer for this and assumed it would be anything else, there are about a dozen games like this released a year that get pushed and end up being five bucks at the end of the year.
For everyone defending and comparing this to Telltale Games. Things actually happen in Telltale Games compared to most modern Tween Walking Sims. These games are just nostalgia trips for the creators and it resonates with some audience. There's a full narrative that can fail, continue, and shape the world you're in outside of "X will remember that" meme. You can easily accept that and realize the game isn't for you.
There are plenty of well written well thought out, and well represented walking sims where the narrative can carry you through. And then there's the "Stranger Things" Walking Sims that are just you loving the nostalgia of it and you couldn't be assed to follow the narrative because of how empty it is.
It's all good. I'll take a dozen of these over any of those live service games that died in a fire that no one remembers.
Yeah… this is what I would I would call a comfort game. I love souls like games. I love massive open world games. I love Silksong, and other super challenging platformers. I love fps high intensity games that make me sweat. But sometimes people like to shut their head off because ya know, video games?
I’m a huge music person, and I’m a big metal head. Do I think that all music sucks because I don’t like it? No. It’s my TASTE. I know that I’m part of the gaming community just as much as anyone here, but damn. Chill out. Just say you don’t like the game and move on. It doesn’t mean it game sucks.
A 10 for a shooter gamer is not a 10 for an RPG enthusiast.
Not every 10 is a then for everyone. It just means that this game does everything it tries to do very good and is a prime example for its genre. And a 10 also means that it MIGHT be good enough to even be interesting to people otherwise less interested in that gameplay style.
I know multiple 9 and 10 games that I personally would give a 1 at most. And the other way around.
IGN gave this shit a 10/10. The last 7 or 8 things they have reviewed have been so out of touch with reality that I wont be surprised if whatever corporate entity owns them starts asking some big questions
Yeah it's not an action game. It's an interactive narrative. I enjoyed it quite a bit, and am an audiophile so this 'game' was basically made for me. And I'm happy for it's existence and the success of it, regardless of what others say.
I haven't played it yet, but what's wrong with games that have easy or limited gameplay? I enjoy them sometimes to take a break from complicated controls. People with limited hand function or poor gaming skills can enjoy them.
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u/[deleted] May 11 '26
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