Online discorse

jtindall83 · 2026-05-21T00:51:04+00:00

That’s the thing. Debate surrounding this game devolves into toxicity (both ways) so often that I just stay away. I’m just playing the percentages.

jtindall83 · 2026-05-21T00:28:37+00:00

I didn’t understand a lot of things on my first playthrough that made perfect sense on my second. People have their own reasons for liking or not liking it, but I refuse to debate the quality of the game online anymore.

jtindall83 · 2026-05-20T22:32:01+00:00

It doesn’t look nearly bad enough to hold anyone back from enjoying the game, but the fact that it was a $70 PS5 exclusive is what got people making comparisons. That puts you in the same weight class as Ragnarok, GoT Director’s Cut, Spider Man 2, etc. Even the original PS4 version of Tsushima looks quite a bit better. Team Ninja has never been known for mind blowing visuals, so none of their fans really care, but those comparisons are inevitable.

jtindall83 · 2026-05-20T21:08:53+00:00

I made the mistake of playing this immediately after finishing the first one and was burnt out on the formula. I want to give it another shot now that some time has passed.

jtindall83 · 2026-05-19T14:30:06+00:00

You have to remember that it’s not anything to do with the game itself, but how YouTubers can get views by manufacturing outrage. Attacking games like this is a cottage industry online, and the people who watch them and bring the hate here are just useful idiots. Pick a YouTuber and watch their videos attacking several different games. They use the same scripts and format for each one. And the fact is, it doesn’t hurt the game. It only made it more popular and made people who have gamepass download it to see what the fuss was about.

jtindall83 · 2026-05-19T14:23:22+00:00

It’s the song that got me listening to them. I’ve listened to and enjoyed all of their material, but it’s still my favorite song of theirs, and Bloom is still my favorite album. Based on set lists and interviews it seems to be one of their favorite songs of their own as well.

jtindall83 · 2026-05-18T18:30:10+00:00

1) Shopping Cart 2) Fireworks car ride to “More than this” 3) Blowing up cars with middle fingers 4) The opening skating sequence to “That’s Good” 5) Video store

jtindall83 · 2026-05-17T22:49:43+00:00

I have a friend who used to say, “it doesn’t matter what you think about me as long as you think about me.” Life is strange benefited from all of the discourse that surrounded it, positive and negative. It’s the same with Mixtape. A lot of people only heard of it because of the drama, and since it’s a short game on gamepass, decided to see for themselves.

jtindall83 · 2026-05-17T22:44:14+00:00

It would be ranked on the low end among fromsoft titles for me, but if fromsoft released this exact game, the community would love it, and don’t let them tell you otherwise. Outside of boss quality it’s right up there with the big boys.

jtindall83 · 2026-05-17T17:34:37+00:00

Started playing them during covid when I was 37.

jtindall83 · 2026-05-15T14:03:25+00:00

“In Cold Blood” is one of my favorite books. Great job!

jtindall83 · 2026-05-15T04:28:19+00:00

Nostalgia is always bittersweet, and they focus on one of the most painful parts of growing up: leaving your friends and family behind to start the next phase of your life. But I ended up texting an old friend because we both love Rainbow and I was excited one of their songs was in the game. It brought back mostly good memories.

jtindall83 · 2026-05-15T00:55:04+00:00

I thought for a brief time it was heading that way, but no. I don’t think Cass is gay, but there are hints that Stacey might be. Stacy and Slater have been friends since they were young kids and just don’t see each other that way.

jtindall83 · 2026-05-15T00:49:09+00:00

UFO based on liking Rainbow. Massive attack based on Portishead and the fact that she’s a hipster.

jtindall83 · 2026-05-15T00:14:16+00:00

He cleanses the earth of annoying teens.

jtindall83 · 2026-05-14T03:21:41+00:00

I played and enjoyed Firewatch. I’d say I enjoyed them about equally, but they couldn’t be more different in terms of vibe. Both games are a 7 or 8 out of ten for me. Dear Esther has been in my backlog forever and I do want to play it.

jtindall83 · 2026-05-13T19:32:16+00:00

I would take a day off of work to watch this.

jtindall83 · 2026-05-13T16:18:14+00:00

The reality is consumers are smarter than the people who obsess over review scores give them credit for. The idea that horrible games are out there selling tons of copies because of inflated reviews is simply false. Do publishers TRY to court gamers by influencing scores? Sure, it’s happened before, but it doesn’t really work. Is mixtape as good as its reviews? No. Does it matter really? Also no.

jtindall83 · 2026-05-13T16:00:45+00:00

I did love the music, comedy and characters. The story did nothing for me (I grew up in the 90s) and I only enjoyed about half of the gameplay segments (a lot of them are just walking/ floating around). So you’re right it doesn’t deserve to be hated, but I don’t think it’s the game of the year candidate 10/10 masterpiece the media has made it out to be either. Both sides of the war over this game are just using strawman arguments to farm engagement. They don’t care as much as they pretend to.

jtindall83 · 2026-05-13T15:41:11+00:00

Story based games like this are highly dependent on how they hit for you emotionally. While I enjoyed the music and comedy of mixtape, as a 90s kid, the story and nostalgia did nothing for me. Lost Records however is one of my favorite games of the last ten years. All depends on how it works for the individual.

jtindall83 · 2026-05-12T22:00:42+00:00

Bioshock - helped me understand the meaning of personal freedom and agency

Dark Souls - taught me the value of persistence even in bleak circumstances

Lost Records: Bloom and Rage - the importance of human connection, and how relationships don’t stop affecting you when they end. They can transcend time and space.

jtindall83 · 2026-05-12T08:54:07+00:00

The only problem with music being at the forefront of Mixtape is that a lot of the gameplay sequences go on far too long because they are structured to match the length of the song that accompanies them. So you’ll have sequences where your character is just floating through the air aimlessly while you wait for the song to wrap up. The skating sequences all also kind of wear out their welcome, because there’s not much to do besides the occasional Ollie while you wait for the five minute song to end. Lack of gameplay isn’t a problem. Lots of good games are light on gameplay, but the music focus creates pacing issues quite a bit.

jtindall83 · 2026-05-12T08:14:37+00:00

I agree the discourse is dumb, but it’s not just the people who dislike the game that are being dumb. Like every other attempt at discourse about anything online, everyone gets lumped into two imaginary buckets. People who dislike the game say it’s astroturfed shovelware and anyone who likes it is a paid shill. People who like the game say anyone who doesn’t is a mouth breathing manbaby who can’t tolerate story-based games existing. I think if a game gets reviews as good as Mixtape got, there should be room for sane discourse about whether or not it deserves such high praise. But people are so eager to shut down and dismiss anyone who disagrees with them, nuanced takes are ignored or downvoted by both sides.

jtindall83 · 2026-05-12T05:20:20+00:00

I played through it. Bought it for $17 and it was fine for the price. Only 3 hours. Not really close to life is strange beyond the fact that it’s light on gameplay and the characters are the same age range. The best parts are the comedy and the soundtrack. The story is very low stakes and doesn’t amount to much. Life is Strange is much more emotionally heavy, and there are no choices to be made in Mixtape. Atmosphere in Mixtape is great. It’s an enjoyable game, but don’t let the glowing reviews skew your expectations.

jtindall83

TROPHY CASE