Mixtape; Ovehated piece of art! Now where's the gameplay?

[Phoenixmgs]

I played this game yesterday on my gameplay sub and I dont think I played what you guys played.

This game is awful. Im sorry. The writing is bad, the plot makes no sense, the animation hurts my eyes, I dont understand what the hell everyone is playing.

My only guess is that the music is enough to carry the game for you because that is really all Mixtape offers.

The big issue is the writing. The dialog is not written by anyone who lived through the 90s. All the dialog is very modern terminology and for a game that is trying to portray a particular era dialog is hugely important in this. There is no "Radical", "Tubular", "Sick", nothing. I mean fuck dude they dont even get the skateboarding terms right they are called Kickflips not flip tricks for gods sake.

Also Stacy's headphones are magic. There was no Bluetooth wireless headphones in the 90s. Stupid game. Stupid stupid game. Stacy is also just a twat, for no reason instantly hating Jenny who does nothing to her except not like music properly and kind of likes Slater who Stacy brushes off in the end anyway!

And thats the thing for me. The story doesnt go anywhere. The characters dont develop, they dont grow through learned experiences within the games story, they just are rock solid in who they are and that never changes throughout the game except arguably Cassandra who just rebels because....but also learns that Stacy is a twat and distances herself from her overtime. Stacy ultimately is just kind of a rotten and bad influence on Cassandra at the end of the day.

I dunno I didn't like the game and found the story uninteresting so I started to notice random annoying things like Stacy's wireless headphones and crap like that.

Video game critics are horrible at critiquing story and writing and their reviews are basically useless in that regard. The amount of games I've seen get praised for writing and have shit writing is ridiculous. Remember Adam Sessler having a hard-on for Heavy Rain back in the day saying, "If you care anything about videogames at all you must play Heavy Rain".

 

[BrawlMan]

Grifters and posers are worse, even less educated, or don't even have a degree at all, yet at like they have the answers to everything and everyone or the only solution that benefits them, and nobody else.

Adam Sessler had said it done far worse before and afterward on some dumb David Cage game, but he can fuck off too for doubling down on his racism.

 

[Old_Hunter_77]

Video game critics are horrible at critiquing story and writing and their reviews are basically useless in that regard. The amount of games I've seen get praised for writing and have shit writing is ridiculous. Remember Adam Sessler having a hard-on for Heavy Rain back in the day saying, "If you care anything about videogames at all you must play Heavy Rain".

I've yet to see a reliable consensus and clarity on what constitutes "good" story or writing from any corner of the internet. I'd trust the average critic over the average poster or commenter any day because at least they try to explain it, and not just declare "this has bad writing!" and move on.

It is illogical to declare story, narrative, and character for games that way one would passive media (i.e., movies). It is also immature to conflate a game story that doesn't affect one person as objectively "bad." It is also silly to use one example from one review of an old-ass game to condemn the entire practice of reviews.

One of- if not, the most- common game narrative structures is for the player protagonist to save the world by defeating a series of villains until defeating the master villain. On its own, this is one of the most boring, tired story structures. It is perfect for video games because it sets up a direct and tangible goal for the player. And yet I see so many criticisms of so many games about the story being "cliche."

It also seems to me that so many of the games beloved by the reactionaries shitting on games like Mixtape- i.e., Crimson Desert, Stellar Blade, Pragmata- have stories that are either full of cliches or have gotten reasonable criticism.

u/Brokencontroller offered criticism of Mixtape's story/writing that I very much disagree with but at least he explained it so I have no issue with it, just respectful disagreement.

 

[BrawlMan]

I've yet to see a reliable consensus and clarity on what constitutes "good" story or writing from any corner of the internet. I'd trust the average critic over the average poster or commenter any day because at least they try to explain it, and not just declare "this has bad writing!" and move on.

It is illogical to declare story, narrative, and character for games that way one would passive media (i.e., movies). It is also immature to conflate a game story that doesn't affect one person as objectively "bad." It is also silly to use one example from one review of an old-ass game to condemn the entire practice of reviews.

One of- if not, the most- common game narrative structures is for the player protagonist to save the world by defeating a series of villains until defeating the master villain. On its own, this is one of the most boring, tired story structures. It is perfect for video games because it sets up a direct and tangible goal for the player. And yet I see so many criticisms of so many games about the story being "cliche."

It also seems to me that so many of the games beloved by the reactionaries shitting on games like Mixtape- i.e., Crimson Desert, Stellar Blade, Pragmata- have stories that are either full of cliches or have gotten reasonable criticism.

u/Brokencontroller offered criticism of Mixtape's story/writing that I very much disagree with but at least he explained it so I have no issue with it, just respectful disagreement.

 

[The Rogue Wolf]

they are going to take the site at face value and they're clearly steering people in the wrong direction when it comes to gaming choices.

Question: Who's determining what "the wrong direction" is "when it comes to gaming choices"?

Which shows that they're still full of anger and rage.And take it out on people who don't deserve it, and never learned to read a day in their life.

There are a lot of people out there desperately seeking reasons to be furious. It's the only way they can define themselves.

I've yet to see a reliable consensus and clarity on what constitutes "good" story or writing from any corner of the internet.

Oh, that's easy! If I like it, it's "good". If I don't like it, it's "bad". Because the gaming industry exists solely to cater to my preferences.

 

[Zykon TheLich]

Guys, guys, let's stop all this fussin and fighting! Why don't we do something constructive, how about posting YOUR own 90's (or relevant highschool decade if you prefer) mixtape in the good music thread?

https://forums.escapistmagazine.com/threads/some-good-music.37/

I'm old and tired and it's late so I'll do so in the morning.

 

[CriticalGaming]

Guys, guys, let's stop all this fussin and fighting! Why don't we do something constructive, how about posting YOUR own 90's (or relevant highschool decade if you prefer) mixtape in the good music thread?

https://forums.escapistmagazine.com/threads/some-good-music.37/

I'm old and tired and it's late so I'll do so in the morning.

I listened to Britney Spears and N'Sync in the 90s, my mom was a pop junkie and it was all i was allowed to listen to. I remember a friend gave me an ICP album and she lost her mind.

 

[CriticalGaming]

Question: Who's determining what "the wrong direction" is "when it comes to gaming choices"?

I mostly mean that by not spelling out the gameplay correctly you can interest people looking for something more interactive or different game type.

And it retrospect you can argue that the 10/10 for Mixtape exists in the context of walking sim movie games it being a 10/10 for only those types of games and not nessecarily a 10/10 in the context of all games as a whole media. However that isn't how reviews are framed especially in the context of scores, especially considering IGN's huge inconsistancy and other controveral takes.

I mean fuck maybe they do it on purpose so people keep talking about them, so fuck me I got fooled.

 

[NerfedFalcon]

However that isn't how reviews are framed especially in the context of scores, especially considering IGN's huge inconsistancy and other controveral takes.

What you've gotta remember is that most gaming news and review outlets, especially the 'big' ones like IGN, have multiple people writing reviews for them. The 'inconsistency' comes from the fact that reviews aren't written by the same people with the same thoughts, feelings and philosophies towards game design. The person who wrote the Imagine Party Babyz review was more inclined towards party games than the person who wrote God Hand was towards brawlers. That's literally all it was, yet people think of "IGN" as being a monolithic entity and ascribe intent to it that isn't there.

If you want to blame anyone, blame the website for not making their reviewers' bylines more obvious.

 

[Old_Hunter_77]

See what gaming sites have to do is wait for every video game to come out, then review them all, then rank them. This way every score will be seen as proper relative to every other score. Therefore, every video game review released until the end of game releases is invalid.

 

[hanselthecaretaker2]

I listened to Britney Spears and N'Sync in the 90s, my mom was a pop junkie and it was all i was allowed to listen to. I remember a friend gave me an ICP album and she lost her mind.

You poor, poor soul. At least Britney’s videos were…nice to watch.

 

[BrawlMan]

You poor, poor soul. At least Britney’s videos were…nice to watch.

Meh, I can stand either, and I am glad our parents didn't force us to listen to that shit. Much better R&B artist came before, during, and after either did. My mom did have a soft spot for NSync somewhat, but nobody could stand Spears music.

 

[Zykon TheLich]

I listened to Britney Spears and N'Sync in the 90s, my mom was a pop junkie and it was all i was allowed to listen to. I remember a friend gave me an ICP album and she lost her mind.

So, maybe start at the point you got the ICP album and not before.

 

[Phoenixmgs]

I've yet to see a reliable consensus and clarity on what constitutes "good" story or writing from any corner of the internet. I'd trust the average critic over the average poster or commenter any day because at least they try to explain it, and not just declare "this has bad writing!" and move on.

It is illogical to declare story, narrative, and character for games that way one would passive media (i.e., movies). It is also immature to conflate a game story that doesn't affect one person as objectively "bad." It is also silly to use one example from one review of an old-ass game to condemn the entire practice of reviews.

One of- if not, the most- common game narrative structures is for the player protagonist to save the world by defeating a series of villains until defeating the master villain. On its own, this is one of the most boring, tired story structures. It is perfect for video games because it sets up a direct and tangible goal for the player. And yet I see so many criticisms of so many games about the story being "cliche."

It also seems to me that so many of the games beloved by the reactionaries shitting on games like Mixtape- i.e., Crimson Desert, Stellar Blade, Pragmata- have stories that are either full of cliches or have gotten reasonable criticism.

u/Brokencontroller offered criticism of Mixtape's story/writing that I very much disagree with but at least he explained it so I have no issue with it, just respectful disagreement.

Writing is extremely subjective so there can't be a consensus for what constitutes a good story, there isn't for books or movies or TV shows. I do think some things are objectively true. For example, I feel that an open world game that has the main plot line be time sensitive while the game wanting you to do a bunch of sides quests/activities is objectively bad and at odds with itself. Not that that makes the story objectively bad because you could still think the characters and plot are great, but it still would be a valid objective criticism. The basic plot of a story being cliche isn't really a problem in itself, if the characters are great and you connect with them, then the story being cliche isn't that big of a deal. I bet a bunch of your favorite stories (books, movies, TV, games, etc.), the plot itself isn't anything unique or original. Then, of course, if that was true, slice-of-life stories would be objectively bad and that's not the case.

Video game critics are just horrible at critiquing writing because that's really not their job and they probably never studied media criticism either. I'm sure we all feel we are good at analyzing writing and we know when we read/see something good. However, I fully realize, I'm pretty horrible at communicating to others why I loved or hated something.

 

[BrawlMan]

Why Is Annapurna’s Mixtape Getting So Much Backlash Despite Perfect Review Scores?

Despite receiving glowing reviews from critics, Annapurna's Mixtape is getting backlash from some players. Here is why it's so divisive.

www.vice.com

I can see both sides in the Mixtape controversy argument - Reader's Feature

Indie game Mixtape has become one of the most talked about games of the year, but a reader agues that while it doesn’t deserve the hate it’s had it is a flawed experience.

metro.co.uk

This was never going to win GOTY 2026. If it did, I wouldn't care personally, but we already know people would spend too much time bitching and moaning over nothing, and claiming how they won't watch the VGAs, only do so again next year.

Mixtape was a legit GOTY contender. Then it became too toxic

Will the jury want to stand by it now?

www.polygon.com

 

[hanselthecaretaker2]

The wild discourse around a game called Mixtape…seems to check out.

 

[Casual Shinji]

Meanwhile this game could've just been a blip, even with some of the scores. I'm seeing "astroturf" and "industry plant" thrown around, but there was maybe one day during its release when I saw a trailer for it, and Playstation didn't even have this game on its homepage on the store, I had to look it up when I went to buy it. This could've come and gone the same way What Remains of Edith Finch did; gotten some positive coverage, sold okay-ish, and then left whatever public consciousness it even possessed. Mixtape wasn't eating anyone's lunch by having positive review scores, certainly not Pragmata's or Crimson Desert 's, those games reviewed well enough and sold even better. But just the mere fact that Mixtape was viewed positively at all was so infuriating to certain (ironically loud and obnoxious) people that they couldn't let it fall into the relative obscurity it was destined for.

Gamers suck and I hate 'm.

 

[Agema]

I've yet to see a reliable consensus and clarity on what constitutes "good" story or writing from any corner of the internet. I'd trust the average critic over the average poster or commenter any day because at least they try to explain it, and not just declare "this has bad writing!" and move on.

In a way, I'd hope there's little consensus: "good" is subjective!

What I would suggest is that most critics are very superficial. They don't have much to offer except their variation on "I (don't) like it". They don't give you any insight into what makes a story. One thing I quite enjoy is watching videos from people who've properly studied literature, and can talk about a lot more the technical aspects of storytelling. I remember reading an author brought in to help a dev team write the story for the game, and fulminating at how little they understood of how to make a good story. Although that said, just because something might be technically adept doesn't mean people will like it.

 

[Zykon TheLich]

I guess because I searched the music on YouTube, got a few video recommendations to my feed that were titled something along the lines of "why this is a terrible game for LOSERS!" I usually ignore pointless internet drama, but curiosity got the better of me.

What followed was the funniest 'bitter nerd who never quite got over highschool' rant I have ever seen.
Most of the critique went along the lines of "this is clearly fanfiction by some sad nerds about how they wished their highschool days had gone, instead of growing up to be a bunch of loser nerd game developers fantasising about being the cool kids. But the people in their fantasies are losers too! So they're double losers! I am in no way bitter about my own teenage years."

I mean sure it looks pretty tropey rose tinted teen nostalgia, but holy shit dude, you're telling us more about yourself than the game here.

 

[BrawlMan]

I guess because I searched the music on YouTube, got a few video recommendations to my feed that were titled something along the lines of "why this is a terrible game for LOSERS!" I usually ignore pointless internet drama, but curiosity got the better of me.

What followed was the funniest 'bitter nerd who never quite got over highschool' rant I have ever seen.
Most of the critique went along the lines of "this is clearly fanfiction by some sad nerds about how they wished their highschool days had gone, instead of growing up to be a bunch of loser nerd game developers fantasising about being the cool kids. But the people in their fantasies are losers too! So they're double losers! I am in no way bitter about my own teenage years."

I mean sure it looks pretty tropey rose tinted teen nostalgia, but holy shit dude, you're telling us more about yourself than the game here.

This butt fuck clearly got his ass kicked in high school. I had to deal with some bullies in high school during freshman year at least, but I at least got them to fuck off. Though they did to themselves mainly, and by the time of my junior year, most of the got kicked out or got moved to another school. Anyone else I had problems we either got along, or learned to stay out of each other's way.

Your description also reminds me of several assholes claiming to be Devil May Cry fans, while going all in on the hatred for DMC Netflix Season 2, and can't stand the fact it's reviewing high like first season. They keep calling it "fanfiction DMC", but nearly everything they're complaining about sounds like a writing decisions they would have done in high-school or college. I thought the first season as an okay 6/10, and this season is a major improvement. Not perfect, but much more enjoyable and acts more like the franchise proper. These people just rages about Adri's "overly liberal politics" or project their insecurities as (fake) DMC fans. The guy does need to learn to shut up and not be so combative with certain people (which he at least seemed to do with the release of Season 2), but it's not his fault people or critics are enjoying the show you fuck heads. If I didn't like the show, I would not go out of my way to constantly post and insult others on YT/Twitter for enjoying it.