I finished the game last night. Here’s my spoiler-free mini-review:
Pros- A wonderful neo-noir atmosphere – the dirty apartments, the drug addicts and criminals littering the streets, the toxic purple sky…all of which is excellently conveyed through the gritty, pixilated graphics. The ominous musical score is used to good effect.
- The pacing is excellent, with the dual storylines swapping over at just the right intervals to keep the game exciting throughout. The length is respectable – not overly long or short.
- The main actor’s vocal performance as Azriel Odin is top-notch, with a solid supporting performance from the lady that plays Epsilon-Five.
- A great sci-fi storyline that had me hooked till the end, even if I predicted a twist or two beforehand.
- Logical puzzles. Yay!
- I enjoyed the little Battlestar Galactica references
Cons- While the puzzles were logical enough, there were a couple of points in the game when they felt like unnecessary obstructions, and I just wanted to get on with the game because I was engrossed in the story. Puzzles for puzzle’s sake. There were some tiny hot-spots to find but I was lucky enough to find most of them without using a guide.
- Sadly, I felt that by the end, the writing had done the plot and characters a bit of a disservice, along with some mediocre vocal performances. None of the characters come across as being overly complex and some awkward dialogue muted the impact of the final third of the game for me.
Overall
Gemini Rue is a great achievement for indie adventures. It's a good game with an excellent atmosphere that just falls short of something amazing.
