For every 5/5 game we review, there’s always a 1/5—or worse—that makes you wonder: why, how, seriously? Skull Island: Rise of Kong, The Lord of the Rings: Gollum, and The Walking Dead: Destinies all spring to mind. Six months into 2025, we have a strong contender for this year’s stinkiest release. Enter MindsEye, a game memed into oblivion, featured in countless WTF videos and TikToks. But just how bad is bad?
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Developed by Edinburgh-based Build a Rocket Boy, co-led by Leslie Benzies. Yes, the same Leslie from the GTA team, so he knows a thing or two about games.
Everywhere and Nowhere
But before diving in, it’s worth mentioning that MindsEye wasn’t meant to be the studio’s first title. That honour was supposed to go to Everywhere, an ambitious project that aimed to be all things to all gamers. It promised the world, but still hasn’t surfaced.
It’s rumoured MindsEye was made to raise funds for Everywhere when Build a Rocket Boy’s budget started running dry. And you can tell MindsEye was built in the Everywhere engine.
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User-generated content tools from Everywhere are included, letting you shape parts of MindsEye’s world on PC. But, it just feels like they handed you a half-built sandcastle and a bucket to finish it. And all for £49.99/€59.99.
That shapes my view: MindsEye was never the real goal, just a stopgap that backfired. Leslie stirred the pot with hype and digs at rivals, only to leave a mess.
Still a Game Underneath
The game itself is a linear third-person action-adventure with a pseudo-open world à la Mafia. Redrock City, very much a “we have Vegas at home”, sets the scene in a near-future backdrop, where you play Jacob Diaz, a former drone operator with a chip stuck in his neck.
After leaving the military, the implant scrambles your memory, and you’re chasing answers I couldn’t care less about. It’s dull and derivative. Watch Dogs did it better years ago.
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It’s dull, but pretty. Cutscenes are surprisingly well-made, likely the budget sink, and were used heavily in trailers, since there was barely any gameplay shown before release.
The Mess
And that’s the good part. The rest? It’s a barebones cover shooter with the occasional drone flight and padded-out driving missions. There is no melee combat at all, which is wild.
So you drive somewhere, shoot a few enemies, answer your phone, and try not to fall asleep. The world feels like set dressing – like that fake town in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull built to test a nuke. That’s MindsEye: good-looking, totally lifeless.
And don’t get me started. You can’t even jump into random cars, only those dictated by the mission. Seriously, why?
In one mission, you get a flying car but there’s no height limit. So I flew up, and kept going… until I saw the full build area. It’s tiny. And I kept climbing, hoping I’d land in a better game. Still climbing.
Worse than No Game
MindsEye exists like a steaming hot dog turd exists. No one asked for it, no one wanted it, and it’s left a mess. But the smell? That’s hard to ignore.
If there’s one thing to take away: MindsEye is a weak tech demo for Everywhere. Asking £49.99/€59.99 for the privilege of discovering that is a joke.
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