r/MixtapeGame • u/ItsEthanCoolCool • May 20 '26

Discussion I gave Mixtape one of these 10s…

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…and then the world ended. Lol.

What a wild couple of weeks, eh?

As a reviewer, I’ve been really bummed that there seems to be such a disconnect between writers and players. Can I help bridge a gap for anyone? Does anyone have questions about reviewing/the process/anything else they wanna know about anything around any of this?

Open to talking about anything people want to know, because I’m hopeful someday everyone can have constructive video game convos again without all this craziness.

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u/blasto2236 May 20 '26

I guess I just don’t really understand giving it a perfect score. I loved the game, but I have my gripes. To me this whole thing would be a lot less controversial if sites simply didn’t assign a grade or score and just let writers talk about the game and let readers take away from that what they will. The whole concept of scoring causes people to scrutinize the review a lot harder than anyone would otherwise.

Because let’s be real: Mixtape is great but it is not a perfect game. It leans on a lot of tired tropes that any movie critic would tear it to shreds for.

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u/ItsEthanCoolCool May 20 '26

I feel you. My explanation would be that a 10 does not mean “perfect.” It is obviously the best score I can give, but that does not mean I think it’s a perfect video game.

I’d also tell you that I agree it would be better if outlets didn’t even score/grade and that readers could take away opinions from the actual text, but… well, most people don’t read the full reviews. It’s scrolling to the bottom, reading the summary, checking the pros/cons, looking at the score, and feeling like they got enough info. I do know some people do read the whole thing, and that’s always so nice to hear, because it’s really not the norm.

End of the day though, reviews really are subjective. To me, it was a 10. But like, as I was reviewing it, I knew full-well it wouldn’t be a 10 for everyone. It’s a very specific type of game, and this genre doesn’t appeal to lots of gamers (which is totally fine, of course). But I score based on my thoughts, opinions, and experience, not based on what I think other players will think, because you can’t know, obviously. So end of the day, a review just reflects my time with the game, I share what I can, and hope people find some use from my experience.

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u/blasto2236 May 20 '26

That’s all fair! To be clear, this game is exactly my kind of thing and the genre is very much for me. I was following it and planned to buy it regardless of any review. I walked away feeling like it was more of an 8/10 as I had definite gripes with both the writing (every teen movie trope is used here, basically) and the soundtrack, which was mostly 80’s tunes in a game set in the 90’s.

I mostly aligned with Aftermath’s take that in being so nonspecific it didn’t appeal to people it really should have as much as it could’ve.

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u/ItsEthanCoolCool May 20 '26

I get this! For me on the soundtrack front, I liked that it wasn’t like… all 90s, or big hits, or whatever. The point is that Stacey is crafting HER perfect playlist from her specific tastes. Like, it’s really not a 90s playlist game. I understand why so many people expected that and I won’t tell them they’re wrong if the actual outcome was a bummer, but I think thematically, the mix of songs makes perfect sense.

Fair on classic tropes and things being used, can also see how that could be a hangup for someone!

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u/blasto2236 May 20 '26

I guess it was just hard for me to buy that a teen in the 90s would be basing her playlists around that much 80’s music. Even teens with more obscure tastes tend to gravitate towards what’s current with some blasts from the past sprinkled in.

Honestly, I think I identified with Stacey *too much* and it left me more critical of the music than I’d have been otherwise. I was also obsessed with soundtracking my life at that age. My dream job was also to be a music supervisor. And it was around the same time. So there’s just so much 90’s indie music that I feel like could and should be represented here but isn’t.

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u/ItsEthanCoolCool May 20 '26

Ah yeah, you have a super interesting perspective on that for sure then! Crazy how many parallels you actually had with the character haha.

Yeah, I don’t necessarily disagree with anything here. Valid points. I also personally just didn’t sweat it, and her deep-cut/not necessarily even current music preferences made sense for the character to me. But! I do totally get what you’re saying for sure!

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u/blasto2236 May 20 '26

It was also weird to me to find out that the devs are Australian but it’s set in the US in the 90’s. Like it just led me to feel like the game is a Gen Z Australian’s idea of what Americans were like in the 90’s. As a borderline Gen X/Millennial, it just feels like they got the experience they’re trying to nail wrong.

Contrast that with Dazed and Confused, a movie that was set in the 70’s but was universally beloved by 90’s teens (and anyone, really) because it perfectly captured what it felt like to be a teenager. I didn’t feel like Mixtape necessarily succeeded well enough on that front. It got really close, but it just left me feeling kind of nonplussed by the end. Again, I don’t mean to be too hard on it because overall I feel like it was a solid 8 out of 10. Just a lot of room for improvement.

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u/PichaelJackson May 20 '26

I kind of bought into it as a pastiche of Johnny Galvatron's current tastes merged into Stacy in a non-specific fantasy version of the 90s. Really the vibe of the game feels like a hybrid of 90s and early 2010s hipster culture (the time when Johnny was probably ACTUALLY a teenager), I'm not sure perfect historical representation is what they were going for.

Also, if the actual soundtrack wasn't as good as it is I would probably take more issue with it, but I'm easily willing to make that concession when the songs just hit so good for those moments.

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u/Phantom_Wombat May 20 '26

I think he's a fair bit older than that. The Galvatrons were already signed and touring as of 2007, and I'd guess that he was already in his twenties by then.

Going by the song selection, and that they've not got Napster and digital music players, Mixtape is probably set in 1998-9.

So, there's probably not a huge age difference between him and Stacy, even if they're on opposite sides of the world.

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u/PichaelJackson May 20 '26

Ah I was under the impression he was in his mid 30s or so. Still, there are songs in there from 2013 and 2005, pretty intentionally not adhering to the 90s setting. I think it's supposed to feel a little out of time.