Hipster bait

I'll start of this review with an apology. I know this game is beloved, and I begrudge no one for enjoying something, but I'm gonna be honest and my opinions of this game are very low, but that does not reflect my opinion on anyone who enjoys it.

I went into this game knowing it was story driven, and knowing that it was light on gameplay, and to combat the "this just isn't the type of game for you" responses, I will be making reference to another story driven gameplay light game that I loved (dispatch) only to illustrate the point that it's not the genre that I take issue with.

Lets start with it's main focus. The story. Whether or not you enjoy the story is completely a matter of subjective tastes, but for me, the story didn't hit. The main character and her friends came off as VERY pretentious hipsters, that had this "my opinions are better than yours" attitude that really rubbed me the wrong way. It made it very hard for me to like them, especially seeing them interact with characters outside their clique. I was excited about the setting being very nostalgic for me, and it was. They did do a very good job of capturing that era and giving you those good nostalgic feelings that triggered IRL memories for me, but the insufferable attitudes of the main characters really ruined that atmosphere.

The graphics are fine, also very subjective. I think the art style and aesthetic were very good, but the "lo-fi" animation style bothered me (the kind of animation they had in the animated Miles Morales movies). I think the sound design/music may have been the best part of the game for me, but it was also sullied by pretentiousness of the game. It felt like the game was trying to hard with its "artsyness" and shoving it down your throat.

And now for the gameplay. I understand that the gameplay in this game is not the focus, but this game completely strips away any and all player agency. There are not choices to make, there are no challenges to overcome, there are no rewards or penalties for performance, and no fun to be had whatsoever. The gameplay essentially amounts to sections of the cut scenes where you can push buttons to trigger animations and nothing more.

In contrast, if you look at dispatch; The gameplay elements in dispatch have parameters, they have a goal, the choices the player makes in those game play elements effect the outcome of that minigame. The outcome of that mini game effects the overall story. The things you do in dispatch feel like a game, and provide outcomes for the input the player gives. In short, it gives the player agency. What the player is doing matters, and it is fun. None of that is true in mixtape.

At the risk of being lumped in with the "internet idiots" I have to say that in my mind this doesn't even qualify as a game. I say that because if all the gameplay elements of this game were stripped away, the experience wouldn't change at all. In fact, I think it would be better experienced as a movie where you could sit back and just watch, and not waste your time with the extremely shallow interactions this game offers.

Again, I begrudge no one for enjoying what they enjoy, but for me this was an absolute fail. I love you all, please don't ban me!