‘Mixtape’, one of 2026’s best-reviewed games, faces player backlash over runtime

Mixtape is one of the best-reviewed games of 2026 despite some players slating the game on social media.

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Created by indie game developers Beethoven & Dinosaur, Mixtape tells the story of three friends embarking on their final night together after finishing school. The adventure game was inspired by coming-of-age John Hughes films and has a soundtrack featuring plenty of ‘80s and ‘90s legends including The Smashing Pumpkins and The Cure .

However some players have taken to social media to criticise the fact the game can be completed in around three hours , and that a majority of that time is spent watching cutscenes. There are also no branching storylines with Mixtape , so many fans have compared it to a visual novel rather than a video game. A kissing minigame where you control a character’s tongue has also inspired backlash.

> They're advertising this part because this is the most gameplay you get in mixtape. https://t.co/nQLnm9Vtq9 — Kaizen (@Kaikuzen0) May 13, 2026

Despite the vocal criticism around Mixtape , it remains one of the best-reviewed games of 2026. The title has a “ very positive ” user-review score on game marketplace Steam and a “ generally favourable ” critic review score of 86 per cent on aggregate site Metacritic . This makes it one of the best-reviewed games of 2026 so far .

The best-reviewed games of 2026, according to Metacritic:

- Forza Horizon 6 (92)

- Pokemon Pokopia

- Resident Evil Requiem (89)

- Mewgenics (88)

- Saros (87)

- Hermit & Pig (87)

- Cult Of The Lamb: Woolhaven (86)

- Perfect Tides: Station To Station (86)

- OPUS: Prism Peak (86)

- Nioh 3 (86)

- Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection (86)

- Mixtape (86)

- Waxheads (86)

- Cairn (86)

- Timberborn (85)

Mixtape is being review bombed by some Metacritic users which has dragged its average user-review score down to 6.3 out of 10. “Fake reviews and bribed critics, no other way to explain this…” reads one 0 star review. “Worst game I’ve ever seen in my life. Story is just bloated with nostalgia bs, and doesn’t have any actual enjoyable gameplay. Nostalgia isn’t a substitute for an actual story,” reads another.

In other news, Kylie Jenner has revealed she’s a huge fan of  The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild , calling it “ one of the best games ever ”.

The post ‘Mixtape’ is one of the best-reviewed games of 2026 despite player backlash appeared first on NME .

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