Xbox weighs into Mixtape controversy in comment over ‘bad’ video games

After arguments about the newly released Mixtape turned toxic, Xbox has dispensed some advice about how ‘bad’ video games might not actually be bad.

While the gaming community loves a good argument, you often can’t predict precisely which games people will get angry about. Case in point: Mixtape.

Far from a widely publicised AAA release, Mixtape is a perfectly innocuous indie game about teens on the cusp of adulthood. Despite its charming 90s nostalgia it’s somehow the epicentre of a massive, toxic discussion online.

Many commentators have tried to avoid the furore, and it’s certainly not something you’d expect a console manufacturer to discuss, but that’s exactly what Xbox has done – even if they’re not entirely explicit about it.

Last night, in-between its usual promotional posts, the official Xbox X account randomly posted this statement: ‘Reminder: just because you’re not personally into a game, doesn’t mean it’s a bad game.’

Given the timing, there’s little else this could be referring to but Mixtape. At the very least, most people are assuming that’s what it’s about, judging by the comments.

While Xbox may not have had any involvement in Mixtape’s development, the game did launch on the Game Pass service and is something Microsoft has been promoting, so it has some cause to stick up for the game.

Regardless, Xbox’s comment is good advice in general and can be applied to a lot of other things besides video games, although the people who most need to hear this are, of course, the least likely to actually heed it.

As for why people are getting so mad about Mixtape, there seem to be various excuses, including its short length, lack of fail states, and claims that its story and three female leads aren’t relatable.

We did acknowledge in our review that anyone who didn’t grow up in the 90s won’t be as enamoured with Mixtape, and criticised how long its cut scenes could be, but it’s apparent that any genuine attempts at critiquing the game online are being drowned out by bad faith arguments.

The fact that the game features female leads is a depressingly predictable reason for the vitriol but the most confusing aspect of the controversy is why anyone cares.

The nature of the game was clearly laid out in reviews, so no one should have been surprised by what it is. And if you played it via Game Pass you’re not spending any additional money, while the short length means you’re not even wasting much of your time.

Despite the vitriol directed towards Mixtape, its user score on Metacritic hasn’t taken as severe a battering as you would’ve expected. Compared to the critic score of 85/100, it has a user score of 6.5/10, with most of the user reviews skewing positive despite an attempt to review bomb the game.

It’s having an even better showing on Steam, with only a few hundred negative user reviews compared to over 3,800 positive ones.

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