MindsEye Becomes 2025’s Worst-Reviewed Game, Developer Vows to Fix Ongoing Issues

Image: Mindseye

The action-adventure game MindsEye, which launched on June 10, has now earned the unfortunate label of the worst-reviewed video game of 2025 so far, with players and critics alike criticizing its performance, gameplay, and polish.

According to Metacritic, MindsEye currently holds a critic score of 43, the lowest among all reviewed titles released this year. It now sits just below Ambulance Life: A Paramedic Simulator, which previously held the bottom spot with a score of 44.

The poor reception doesn’t end there. On Steam, where the third-person cinematic shooter has over 1,700 user reviews, its rating has slumped to “Mostly Negative.” From technical hiccups to repetitive missions and clunky combat, MindsEye is facing widespread disappointment from its early adopters.

The game is the first title from Build a Rocket Boy, a new studio led by Leslie Benzies, the former president of Rockstar North and a major figure behind the Grand Theft Auto series. Given his reputation and the initial hype, expectations were understandably high. Unfortunately, the final product appears to have fallen well short.

On release day, the game peaked at just 3,302 concurrent players on Steam. And just five days later, the 24-hour peak had fallen to 493 players. Many players began requesting refunds within hours of launch, with some even accusing the game of misleading customers on the Steam platform.

Comparisons are already being made to past high-profile flops. For instance, Quantum Error, released in 2023 by TeamKill Media, received a Metascore of just 40. Similarly, The Lord of the Rings: Gollum from Daedalic Entertainment fared even worse with a score of 33, ultimately pushing the developer to step away from game development.

Despite the rocky start, the developers aren’t backing down. In an official X post, Build a Rocket Boy acknowledged the backlash and announced plans for frequent updates. Several hotfixes have already been deployed, targeting stability and performance. The studio emphasized that more are on the way and assured fans that they’re listening closely to feedback.

“We know the launch of MindsEye hasn’t been without its challenges for some of you,” the development team wrote in a public statement. “Our top priority is game performance. We understand that the requirements are high and have limited the experience for many of you, and for this, we sincerely apologize.”

The message continued with a promise: “This is just the start of a long-term vision to make MindsEye the best possible game for you.”

As of now, all eyes are on Build a Rocket Boy to see whether they can pull off a redemption arc or whether MindsEye will go down as a major misstep for the promising new studio.