Following MindsEye's rocky launch, Build a Rocket Boy CEO Mark Gerhard made headlines by publicly claiming that a malevolent third party had deliberately sabotaged the game's release. Now the studio has dropped a new mission called Blacklisted, which Gerhard said would surface actual evidence of that alleged sabotage. According to Rock Paper Shotgun, who played it, the mission falls well short of that dramatic promise.
The outlet describes Blacklisted as a "rather meh Hitman impression" that had their reviewer burning 30 minutes cursing at warehouse geometry. That's a rough verdict for a mission that was sold to the player base as something of an exposé - a gameplay-driven piece of evidence against unnamed industry actors. Instead, it sounds like a middling stealth level that doesn't deliver the goods narratively or mechanically.
A strange way to make your case
The broader context here is worth keeping in mind. MindsEye launched with significant bugs and performance issues, and rather than absorbing the criticism, Gerhard went public with the sabotage narrative - a bold and unusual move in an industry where studios typically stay quiet or apologize. Framing a DLC mission as a vehicle for your PR defence is a genuinely bizarre creative decision, and based on Rock Paper Shotgun's impressions, it doesn't pay off.
Whether or not you buy the sabotage angle, the more immediate problem is that the mission simply isn't fun. A Hitman-lite structure can work, but it needs tight level design and clear objective logic to land. Spending half an hour frustrated in a warehouse suggests the execution missed the mark on both counts.
What this means for MindsEye going forward
Build a Rocket Boy is in a difficult spot. The studio needs goodwill from players to rebuild momentum after a troubled launch, and a mission that disappoints both as gameplay and as a narrative statement doesn't help that cause. Players who were curious about the sabotage claims are unlikely to walk away convinced, and those just looking for solid content will find little to celebrate here.
It's an odd chapter in what's already been a messy rollout. Gerhard's outspoken stance set expectations high for Blacklisted - expectations the mission apparently can't meet. For a game already fighting an uphill battle, that's a significant swing and a miss.
