Summary

  • GTA veteran Leslie Benzies' new game MindsEye is getting "Mostly Negative" reviews on Steam.
  • Players complain of optimization issues, lack of polish, and bugs in MindsEye.

MindsEye, the latest project from GTA veteran Leslie Benzies, has rolled out to "Mostly Negative" user reviews on Steam. Released on June 10 across PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S, MindsEye is an action-adventure game akin to GTA.

Nearly a decade after his messy breakup with former employer Rockstar Games and its parent Take-Two Interactive, Benzies has finally marked his return to the industry with a brand-new game under his debuting studio, Build a Rocket Boy. The newly released game, MindsEye, is sort of the culmination of the Scottish developer's diverse experience, which spans across multiple GTA titles to Red Dead Redemption. From the third-person shooter gameplay to the mission-based story progression, MindsEye has some integral aspects in common with the GTA series and evidently wears the latter's influences on its sleeve. However, despite being spearheaded by Benzies as the director, MindsEye seems to be struggling to win the favor of players on Steam, where its user reviews have dipped to a disappointing low.

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On launch day, MindsEye currently has "Mostly Negative" user reviews based on the feedback of 514 Steam players. The main grievances mentioned by players seem to indicate optimization issues and a lack of polish, which even led to some of them claiming the game was "rushed." While some of these negative reviews acknowledged the quality of MindsEye's story, they simultaneously criticized its gameplay for being filled with annoying bugs. Additionally, certain players also noted the action game's performance issues that apparently persist even on powerful systems. While the IO Interactive-published game is being panned on Steam, the respective user reviews of its PS5 and Xbox Series X/S ports seem to be faring somewhat better. In the US, at the time of writing, MindsEye's PS Store page shows a rating of 3.26 out of 5 based on the input of 894 users, whereas its Xbox store counterpart has managed to garner just under 4 stars based on 127 user ratings.

MindsEye Debuts to Poor User Reviews on Steam

The underwhelming fan reception of MindsEye on Steam is understandably far from the expectations, which were reasonably high due to Benzies's strong track record in the industry. The various reported issues, particularly with the game's PC build, seem to have scuppered the momentum at launch. It's interesting to note that the presence of too many bugs in MindsEye is something that was also noted in its preview build and was remarkably shunned by Build a Rocket Boy's co-CEO, Mark Gerhard.

With poor reviews piling up, MindsEye devs apparently have plenty of work on their hands. Although a quick turnaround may seem far-fetched right now, the studio might be able to work towards it with comprehensive patches that address the major pain points affecting the players.

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MindsEye
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Action
Adventure
Third-Person Shooter
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Systems
PlayStation-1 Xbox-1 PC-1
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Top Critic Avg: 33 /100 Critics Rec: 6%
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Released
June 10, 2025
ESRB
M For Mature 17+ // Blood, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Violence
Developer(s)
Build A Rocket Boy
Publisher(s)
IO Interactive Partners A/S
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MindsEye In Game Screenshot 5
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WHERE TO PLAY

DIGITAL
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Play as Jacob Diaz, a former soldier with a mysterious neural implant who is suffering from memory loss and flashbacks. Set out on a series of dangerous covert missions to unlock the secrets of your past in a world filled with the persistent threat of artificial intelligence, high tech experimentation, corporate espionage, political corruption, and an unchecked military.

MindsEye is an immersive experience with a mind-bending complex narrative, rich environments, groundbreaking combat, future tech, and high speed chases.

Engine
Unreal Engine 5
Number of Players
Single-player
Steam Deck Compatibility
Unknown
PC Release Date
2025
Xbox Series X|S Release Date
2025
PS5 Release Date
2025
Genre(s)
Action, Adventure, Third-Person Shooter