Former Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption lead's huge flop MindsEye was never "supposed to be a GTA killer," fellow Rockstar Games veteran says, and "would have gone a lot better" if it were cheaper and less buggy

MindsEye certainly is a video game that came out in 2025. It got panned by critics and currently sits at 'Mostly Negative' reviews on Steam, but former Rockstar developer Obbe Vermeij actually seems to have quite enjoyed it.

It launched in a dire state, with tons of bugs leading to critics and players alike not having a good time. Even streamers doing sponsored posts couldn't help but laugh at it. But, one person's trash is another's treasure.

"Just finished MindsEye," Vermeij writes in a recent Tweet. "I played it despite the reviews because I know people at Build a Rocket Boy and I was curious. To my surprise I thoroughly enjoyed it. The cut-scenes, characters, story, acting, and general vibe are all top notch."

I've platinumed MindsEye, so please believe me when I say, the facial animations are pretty good and the driving is also surprisingly solid. But otherwise, the game suffered due to the high expecations we all had.

"Expectations were too high and the mention of [Leslie] Benzies, [producer and designer on GTA 5 and Red Dead Redemption] made people think it was a GTA killer," Vermeij writes.

He adds, "I don't think it was ever supposed to be a GTA killer. MindsEye is a linear story with the city as a backdrop. It's not a living breathing city like GTA."

We certainly all expected a living, breathing city, but the game isn't even open world until you beat the story. Until then, you have to go from mission to mission, and they're not even that good.

"The missions are a bit meh and code is glitchy at times," Vermeij writes. "If they'd fixed the worst bugs and released at $40 it would have gone a lot better. Maybe they can turn it around."

I did feel a bit ripped off paying full AAA price for a short, buggy campaign, but MindsEye promises a lot to come with its player-made levels. The ones made by Build a Rocket Boy are peppered throughout the story, so you know where to find them and what they are, but they're nothing to write home about.

"They focused a lot more on the game creator stuff than the game itself," Vermeij writes in response to one fan claiming the focus on that was too heavy. "Perhaps that was a mistake. We'll see."

As for bugs, Vermeij claims, "It was running fine on my one-year-old PC. There were a few stutters, but nothing to spoil the fun. Some of the videos were a lot worse."

I didn't get any of the horrifying facial glitches, but the game crashed on me a lot and the frame rate dropped consistently. It has been getting patches, so let's see if it can redeem itself like No Man's Sky or Cyberpunk 2077.

While you're here, check out all the upcoming games of 2025.