"MindsEye," the debut action title from Build a Rocket Boy—the Edinburgh studio led by former "Grand Theft Auto" senior producer Leslie Benzies—launched simultaneously for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S on June 11, 2025. However, the game's release has been met with disappointment from players and the industry alike, quickly sinking into a "Mostly Negative" review status on Steam.
"MindsEye" is a third-person action-adventure shooter with a mission-driven narrative. The game's design is heavily influenced by Benzies' past work on multiple "Grand Theft Auto" titles and "Red Dead Redemption," clearly echoing the style of classic open-world games.
However, following its PC launch, the game has drawn heavy criticism from players for poor optimization, stuttering, instability, and a plethora of bugs and glitches. This has resulted in a "Mixed" review standing on Steam, with an overall positive rating of only around 42%.
▼ NPCs are barely seen taking any action
Players widely reported performance issues, with stuttering persisting even on high-end hardware. Some felt the game was "rushed out the door" without necessary polish and bug fixes. While a few negative reviews conceded that the story quality was decent, the frequent errors and instability made it difficult for players to get immersed. Some have noted that the console versions are comparatively more stable, with the PlayStation Store showing a rating of 3.24 out of 5 and the Xbox Store at 3 stars, though the overall reception remains lackluster.
In response to the feedback, developer Build a Rocket Boy issued a statement on the game's subreddit, stating that the team is working "around the clock" to improve performance on mainstream hardware and consoles by integrating optimizations from Unreal Engine 5.6. The studio also promised to announce a release window for a patch containing these performance improvements within 24 hours.
The situation was further complicated when studio co-CEO Mark Gerhard claimed in the official Discord that some of the negative reviews were "paid for," sparking controversy. He later clarified his statement, saying he meant there were "a large number of bot accounts posting negative reviews and downvotes," but the remark still drew skepticism.
The launch of "MindsEye" has clearly fallen short of player and industry expectations, with the PC version's bugs and performance problems severely hampering its market competitiveness. Faced with a flood of negative reviews, the development team must now race to deliver fixes to win back player confidence and improve the overall experience. Whether the studio can salvage the game's reputation through continuous updates will be the key factor in determining the ultimate fate of "MindsEye."