MindsEye, the upcoming game from Build a Rocket Boy studio, aims to bring back the tightly crafted, narrative-driven gaming experience. The studio, founded by former Rockstar North president Leslie Benzies, recently unveiled the official story trailer titled “Welcome to Redrock.”
Set in a super-heated near-future desert metropolis called Redrock City, MindsEye immerses players in a world where consumer robots handle most manual tasks and an omnipresent algorithm connects various devices. The story centers on Jacob Diaz, the protagonist, as he searches for answers about his troubled past amidst the volatile relationship between eccentric tech genius Marco Silva and ambitious Redrock City Mayor Shiva Vega.
Speaking with Adam Whiting, assistant game director at Build a Rocket Boy, it’s clear that the team is focused on delivering a densely packed, cinematic narrative experience. “Ultimately, games are great mechanisms to tell really meaningful and powerful stories that players can immerse themselves in because they’re interactive,” Whiting said. “You’re not passively viewing it, you’re engaging with the characters and the narrative in a way that movies and TV shows can’t replicate.”
MindsEye aims to provide a shorter, but well-crafted, narrative experience, clocking in around 15 hours.
Despite what the team has described as a form of “faux open world” elsewhere, the game remains fundamentally linear.
new cinematic narrative gaming experience
This dedication to narrative quality comes from a deliberate focus on cinematic techniques.
“Years ago, there was this idea of trying to chase movies, trying to make things feel like films because that was seen as a more ‘legitimate’ art form,” Whiting explained. “I think now we’ve gone too far in the other direction. While it’s always amazing when a great cinema auteur does something crazy with the camera, games sometimes go too far and lose that sense of grounded realism.”
MindsEye’s thematic elements, like crime, corruption, and a near-future dystopia, were inspired by real-world issues and intriguing societal developments.
“We started building this many years ago, and at the time, some of the themes that are now front and center in the game were bordering on science fiction,” Whiting said. “Themes of AI, technology, greed, and corruption are universal stories.”
The game is scheduled for release on June 10, 2025, and will be available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam. Players can pre-purchase the game on Steam for $60/£55/€60, with a free “deluxe edition upgrade” that includes cosmetics and a premium pass offering additional missions and challenges expected to release throughout 2025 and early 2026.
Whether MindsEye will carve out its own distinct identity or remain reminiscent of the Grand Theft Auto series, its release is highly anticipated by fans eager to see what Benzies and his new studio have created.
Photo by; Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash
