damage

When a new game is released, it’s typical for publishers to partner with gaming personalities to promote their game. Mindseye, the debut narrative game by the studio formed by the ex-president of Rockstar North, Leslie Benzies, was no different in this regard — Twitch streamers teased playthroughs on social media for launch day, June 10. Some of these influencers showcased the game and its high-stakes AI adventure as planned. But as negative reception to the game spread, others were jerked away from their planned livestreams without any heads-up.

For those who haven’t been keeping up with Mindseye, it’s a third-person shooter that sounds like one part GTA and two parts sci-fi. In it, players try to stop an uprising of sentient robots wielded by the military. While the game isn’t open world, the DNA of Rockstar’s genre-defining blockbuster is evident throughout, from the cinematic-level animations with impressively accurate facial expressions to wacky NPC dialogue, and plenty of driving involving cool fast cars. Except now there’s also drones and microchips.

However, what began as a promising game with an impeccable pedigree soon devolved into a wreck. Most of what’s floating around regarding Mindseye is the weirdness around the launch, hundreds of negative reviews on Steam, and footage of widespread glitches and dull gameplay.

At the center of this mess are Twitch streamers, who were paid to show the game off. Presumably, many of these influencers were given contracts that stipulate conditions for livestreams. These can be anything from ensuring that specific elements of the game are mentioned to, at worst, preventing the streamer from mentioning negative elements about the game. While we don’t know what the clauses were for sponsored Mindseye streams, whatever they said couldn’t prevent streamers from losing composure while talking about the game.

In one clip that’s gone viral, a livestreamer called DarkViperAu ended his stream by encouraging viewers to check out the game on major storefronts, but with the stilted diction that gave the impression he was either reading from a script or forcing himself to say the words amid laughs. The streamer did not respond to a request for comment. In the full three-hour video where he goes through the game, the personality repeatedly grabs his face and wildly gesticulates while trying to make sense of the story and dialogue. There are also plenty of incredulous turns to look straight into the camera, as if he were playing a part in The Office.

Another popular clip is from streamer ExtraEmily, who dies after getting stuck in the game without any recourse.

Curiously, despite what was a pre-planned rollout, screenshots of the official Mindseye account show it pleading with players not to livestream the game at all, despite being available for purchase. Twitch does work with publishers to prevent game leaks by ensuring that high-profile games can only be shared on the platform when they’re released, but preventing people from livestreaming a game that is already out in their territory is unusual, especially when the game in question had such an intense marketing rollout. Ads for the cinematically inclined game have been spotted in movie theaters, which are not typical venues for such promotions. The game also recently debuted a trailer at Summer Game Fest, which is one of the most high-profile events in the industry.

The plans, it seems, changed. This is most evident through a clip by Twitch streamer CohhCarnage, who began a livestream earlier this week, before being told midway through loading it that he could not continue. “Um…the sponsor just paused the sponsored stream,” he says, incredulously. “So, uh, first time that’s happened. Yup. Just got contacted, and they wanted to pause the stream.” While he does not name the sponsor and the game never starts, we do see Mindseye’s developer, Build A Rocket Boy, named in the terms of use alongside a quote that looks like the Mindseye typeset. The text is explicitly about machine learning growing beyond human control, which is the precise plot of the game.

Ironically, the direct result of this mess is that the game has only garnered more attention, both in the media and by gaming personalities who see an opportunity to pile on a flawed game that can easily lend itself to outsized reactions and ridicule. It’s much like the situation in 2023, when The Lord of the Rings: Gollum became the worst-reviewed game of the year — and personalities began playing it precisely to show that off. As we speak, the sardonic penguinz0’s assessment of the game, which was published a day after the game’s release, is number 5 on the top trending gaming videos on YouTube. Though streaming numbers appear to have peaked according to Twitch Tracker, on YouTube clips about the game are currently amassing hundreds of thousands of views.

What’s unclear is whether the livestreamers involved actually got paid after the streams were pulled off. Build A Rocket Boy did not respond to a request for comment. Perhaps, penguinz0’s video best summarizes why Mindseye will not descend quietly into the graveyard of failed games, especially during a month that is somewhat devoid of eye-catching game releases. When the CEO of the company publicly implies that the negative press is due to some sort of shadowy campaign spearheaded by enemies, people can’t help but look closer at the debacle unfolding in front of them.

”This is one of the more fun bad games that I’ve played in recent memory,” penguinz0 says. “It is so terrible across the board in all of the right ways that it becomes extremely entertaining because of how bad it is. Now, I would never recommend buying this under any circumstances; it’s 60 dollars for a complete hemorrhoid of an experience. The only good thing about it is the cutscenes, like the mocap and even the voice acting, the game visually looks great. And everything else is irredeemable dogshit.”

After the video ended, penguinz0 went live to finish the game. I’m sure he won’t be the last.

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