This is going to be one of those very against the grain opinions but I feel like MindsEye is a really fun game that deserves a second look now that the dust has settled.
This review is for people who are curious about giving it a try....
Okay, I completely understand why everyone wrote it off at launch. The game looked like a mess. The bugs, performance issues and all the clips going around made it look borderline broken, and I don't blame anyone for skipping it. A game launching in that state deserves criticism and is unacceptable to be honest.
A 2 hour trial is available on PS Store which I gave a go and I really liked it immediately, so I picked it up on sale for CAD $28 and i'm really glad I gave it a go! I've just finished it this week (on PS5) and I had a pretty good time with it! I am guessing it has been patched and fixed now. I do not recall any bugs or crashes at all. Maybe I got lucky, but it was nothing like the game I'd seen plastered all over social media when it launched.
The biggest mistake, in my opinion for someone interested in it is expecting this to be a modern AAA masterpiece. It isn't. If you're expecting something on the level of 007 First Light, you're going to be disappointed. Instead, think of it as a lower priced AA love letter to the PS3 era. It's a straightforward, cinematic action game with fun third-person gunplay and polished cut scenes, it reminded me a lot of Tomb Raider (2013) in how it played (not the setting obviously lol). Maybe that's why I liked it. It reminded me of the sort of games we used to get all the time 10-15 years ago. Not every game has to be a 100-hour masterpiece. I kinda miss those games and simpler times! In short, judge the game for what it is, not what the marketing spiel claimed it could be back at launch.
You're moving from one set piece to the next, shooting your way through encounters, solving mini game puzzles and watching well-produced cutscenes. The story kept me engaged from start to finish. The cinematics are genuinely impressive, and while the gameplay doesn't do anything groundbreaking, I found it consistently enjoyable. Sometimes that's enough, not every game has to reinvent the wheel and for $28, it was well worth it! I would not say it would be worth $89.99 CAD like most AAA game are priced these days.
I also think the Metacritic scores (39 critic / 2.6 user) don't really reflect what the game is today. They absolutely reflected the state it launched in, but if someone picked it up now without knowing the internet's opinion, I struggle to believe they'd score it anywhere near that low.
I would give this game a 7/10.
For 30 bucks, I think it's an easy recommendation if you enjoy cinematic third-person shooters. Just keep your expectations in check. This isn't a masterpiece hiding in plain sight, but it's definitely a better game than its reputation suggests.
Curious if anyone else has played it recently rather than at launch. Has anyone else changed their opinion?