Everything was primed for a game some touted as the 'new GTA' to be a success, yet following a slate of staggeringly bad reviews, the game has crashed and burned as 2025's worst game.
Games are understandably difficult to make, and development become even harder under the weight of expectation - and there's perhaps no worse association to find yourself with than Grand Theft Auto.
Of course, being likened to arguably the biggest gaming series ever isn't necessarily a bad thing, especially as many fans are desperate for something to tide them over following GTA 6's frustrating delay.
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However, it can still come with monumental expectations that can be challenging, if not impossible, to truly match. We've seen it with games like the original Watch Dogs in the past, and it appears to have claimed another victim.
What game were people calling the 'new GTA'?
MindsEye, which released on June 10, had both the privilege and curse of being branded the 'new GTA' by some, and a large part of it comes from a key member of developer Build a Rocket Boy's staff.
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Leslie Benzies was the former president of Rockstar North and main producer of the Grand Theft Auto series between 3 and 5, yet after departing from the development giant he started his own studio.
Much of the attention paid to Benzies' Build a Rocket Boy revolved around 'Everywhere' - a new multi-experience concept that seemed to incorporate many games in one - but the company's first title would be MindsEye.
While MindsEye is not open world and isn't that similar to the Grand Theft Auto series overall, the Benzies connection led many to become intrigued, with lofty expectations laid upon the title.
Is MindsEye the worst game of 2025?
If you go by critics reviews, MindsEye is now officially considered the worst game released in 2025 so far, boasting a Metacritic rating of just 37 across eight different reviews, as reported by TheGamer.
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The user score is equally horrific too, coming in at a staggeringly low 2.5/10 from 339 players, indicating that MindsEye has flopped with both sets of audiences.
Eurogamer gave it the lowest possible score (1/5), illustrating that while the game did have some promising signs early on, it's tanked by a 'ridiculous story' and 'utterly atrocious combat' - two things that would be a death knell for most games out there.
What also likely didn't help is that it appears as if Build a Rocket Boy didn't elect to send early copies to the press for review - likely fearing the scores that the game was eventually landed with - and most gamers see this as a tell-tale sign of a game's quality ahead of release.
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MindsEye is still quite a way off the lowest Metacritic rating of all time, which is currently held by Family Party: 30 Great Games Obstacle Arcade with a score of just 11, but it is the 9th lowest of the decade so far, sharing a hall of shame spot with The Lord of the Rings - Gollum.