A GTA veteran and a former Rockstar Games employee, Obbe Vermeij, has shared a surprisingly positive review of MindsEye, one of the lowest-rated titles released in 2025. Developed under the supervision of another ex-GTA lead, Leslie Benzies, MindsEye is an action-adventure game that came out in June across PC and consoles.
Being a game directed by Benzies—an industry veteran of nearly three decades—at his independent studio called Build a Rocket Boy, there were certain expectations from MindsEye and for good reason. However, when the third-person shooter finally rolled out after a lackluster marketing period, it was panned by players and critics alike for its buggy launch state. Owing to the negative momentum, MindsEye eventually ended up among the worst-rated games in recent memory. While the consensus on Benzies’s first project since leaving Rockstar Games remains grim, not everyone apparently shares this opinion.
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On Twitter, Obbe Vermeij revealed that he played through the entirety of MindsEye despite the negative reviews. In an unusual take, he stated that he “thoroughly enjoyed” the experience. The former GTA lead heaped praise on the game’s story, characters, cutscenes, acting, and its “general vibe,” saying that all these aspects were “top notch [sic].” On the other hand, Vermeij criticized MindsEye‘s missions for being “a bit meh” and pointed out that the game’s underlying code was “glitchy” on occasions. Moreover, he opined that things would have gone “a lot better” for the Leslie Benzies-led game, if the “worst bugs” were fixed on time and if it came out priced at USD 40 instead of USD 60. Replying to the comments on his post, the experienced dev noted that the communication in the build-up to MindsEye‘s launch “wasn’t great” and that the focus on Benzies might have unintentionally touted the game as a “GTA killer.”
MindsEye Gets a Positive Review from Former GTA Dev
The noticeably encouraging review from Vermeij somewhat echoes the few bright points mentioned by certain Steam users in their otherwise glum MindsEye reviews back at the time of launch. Since the Dutch-born veteran apparently isn’t alone here, there are chances that it might be the case of a game being hurt by its optimization issues more than any major failings in other areas. Hopefully, most of these things will get resolved in the future MindsEye updates lined up by Build a Rocket Boy.
Meanwhile, there have been reports suggesting that the Scottish studio might be aiming to go on a Cyberpunk 2077-esque redemption arc of its own. Concurrently, some rumors also state that work on a MindsEye sequel might be underway as well. Between these two, it seems that going down the first route might be more beneficial in the long term, as it would not only help MindsEye but also make sure more people look forward to its rumored follow-up.
MindsEye
- Released
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June 10, 2025
- ESRB
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Rating Pending
- Developer(s)
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Build A Rocket Boy
- Publisher(s)
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IO Interactive Partners A/S
- Engine
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Unreal Engine 5
- Number of Players
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Single-player
- Steam Deck Compatibility
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Unknown
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