Gemini Rue reminds me I still like ADV games....
 

The thick rainy atmosphere, the quick biting dialogue of a hard-boiled character, the simple interactive and intuitive game play, I remembered that I still like adventure games.

Short and sweet I just beat Gemini Rue. I used a walkthrough once for 1 very specific interaction I had to accomplish....that was it. It's been about 12 years since I've done that with an adventure game. Even my favorite adventure games of the last few years I still find myself checking a walkthrough 3-4 times, my attention and motivation just can't be held for hours on end anymore. Gemini Rue is the first game I've been completely entranced by in a LONG time. Granted it is totally my kind of game....dark and otherworldly sci-fi romp with a 1950's detective movie feel to it....and the voice acting is nearly perfect. Also the first game in a while I haven't found myself starting to click-and-skip spoken dialogue about half-way through the game.

All in all I'm reminded that ADV games are and can still be an EXPERIENCE, not just a distraction. Nevermind the crummy graphics (which actually work perfectly) this game is a must play.

Not to suggest it isn't rare for adventure games to be both as well-crafted and atmospheric as Gemini, but I'd suggest to ggreen737 and anyone who feels this way to keep checking other titles created with Adventure Game Studio. You'd be surprised what you can find there, even among the freeware games. And it's the place where Gemini originated once.

Some of my recommendations for "edgy" experiences:

La Croix Pan - an earlier freeware game by Gemini's author Josh Nuernberger

the Blackwell series - the best known creation of Wadjet Eye Games, with some of the same cast as Gemini

Diamonds in the Rough

Downfall

Huge spoilers here btw, mostly in the spoiler tags I think

It was like playing an obscure Lucas Arts game i'd somehow never played. Production values were really good, and I liked what they managed to do with such graphics type. As long as you have detail and complexity in the environment then your imagination will make do with it imo (like reading a book).

I played through it in a few sittings, start to finish without getting stuck for long periods and avoided any walkthrough. The story, narrative and splitting the game into 2 stories made it interesting throughout, and the puzzles were fine. Some felt like they were just the right difficulty, at times I felt I might have wanted to get a walkthrough. I am more of a story/atmosphere type of adventure gamer tho, but this was just right for me. Not purely story like Dreamfall but a decent mixture. Enough to keep my interest and for me to want solve the puzzles and progress, without them being frustrating or illogical.

Spoiler:

I got the feeling I might end up using a walkthrough tho with the puzzle with the green / red numbers and towards the end I was walking around for a while until I found the right hotspot on the screen (a ramp)

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Story Spoilers!! Don't read this if you haven't played all the way through yet:

Spoiler:

I saw the plot twist with Az being Delta 6 way before it was revealed, around the time we learn that Delta 6's gameplay is 1 year in the past and he ends up not escaping. It made the last part a bit anti climactic, and I thought it was kind of awkward with the Director revealing everything without Azreal making any comment..he's just learned his brother doesn't exist and his memories aren't real but he doesn't really react at all. He just listens to the Director go on, and on.

The actual artwork on the website with Azreal standing next to Delta 6 made me think of some kind of psychological twist to it, with them being the same person (schizophrenia etc). For a sci-fi / Blade Runner (Philip K Dick) inspired game I just thought of that when I saw the image.

I felt it could have done with a bunch more time developing the characters. Especially that guy that turns out to be Baldur. Its like, "oh btw this other guy that we don't really know anything about thats traveling with us is a baddie and now you have to shoot him". Er OK. TBH I feel like the game is too short for the themes and twists that come - it could have done with a fair few more hours to develop the plot and characters more imo.

I liked how the game gave you choices, whether they didn't really affect the game or not it was still a nice touch - it adds to the immersion. I liked how you could zoom out with the map and see the solar system, and the cut scenes and background detail was good

The voice work was fine, except some times like with Baldur obviously being set up as a bad guy when you first meet him with that creepy "i'm a baddie lol" voice

Overall its well worth playing, and the graphics are decent enough for the style of game.

yeah it was kind of easy to see some of the plot twists but it was well worth playing it anyway.and now that i finished it i wanted more of the same so i finally turned to BASS seriously(this time):P

Personally I didn't need reminding but I definitely agree with green. I got that childish giddyness only met with true immersion of a great game.

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 :P

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.

very excited to play it, i know i'll like it. yeah wadjet definitely know what they're doing, they GET how to make a snappy, adventure game with a great look that's fun. major developers could learn a lot from them. less is more.

Hey dudes can you tell me how large the download file is? I feel like buying it but since it's apparently pretty big/long I'm worried I won't be able to download it (I only have internet at wifi-cafes and I don't want to sit for 5 hours drinking coffee waiting for it to download :P, and no I don't have a mailbox either so I can't buy the CD version)

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anyway, I think it's interesting how I've known about Gray Matter all my life it feels, yet now that it's out I have nearly no interest in getting it (I don't object to the screenshots, they just don't send any emotions to my brain) yet I never heard of Geminie Rue before and THAT I really want :D
that Jburger is gonna get fiiiiilthy rich!

Unfortunately I don't think that's guaranteed with the release of an indie adventure game, but yes, he deserves all the cash he gets.

The download's about 230mb.

Great, I can pull of 230mb! thanks for the quick answer.

Not garantieed but in this case I'm thinking it might be the case, have you seen the kind of coverage the game has gotten? frontpage pcgamer, #2 position at metacritic etc.

But yeah I realize that tho I enjoy the graphics some people who has not grown up with lucasart-classic graphics-style may look at it and think it looks crap, they take the low-res as a hillariously low-tech limitation rather than nostalgic charm.


edit: bought it now :) woohoo can't wait to get home and play!

btw there is no cd version anymore.the cd version was only sold on 27th of February as a limited edition with soundtrack,commentary....

they had only made about 500 copies(sth to do with padded envelopes) and they themselves know they were clearly not enough but that's how it went.so it's only digital download.

The digital download doesn´t include the audio commentary ?

You mean the developer's comments? Yep, they're included.

might have been a misunderstanding from my comment....i meant to put a comma between soundtrack and commentary:P

Actually, we bought about 500 envelopes in preparation for all the CD orders. We didn't know how many we'd have to ship, but we figured that 500 would be enough. But it turned out that many more than 500 were sold. So we had to go out and buy more!

In any case, it's very gratifying to hear the responses to the game. While we're not "fiiiiilthy rich" by any means, we're very happy with how it's selling.

-Dave

Mazel Tov! Just in time for Purim too! By the way is your game approved by the OU? Just keeping up with Halacha, if you know what I mean :)

I've only played the demo so far and it had the gritty cyberpunk-cum-noir mood that I love and that is criminally underused in games of any genre. Will hopefully pick it up in future when the purse strings are loosened a bit. Blade Runner, Deus Ex, Omikron... all made in the 90s and I can think of very few in recent years of this style.

Thanks for the info ! :)

I love commentaries :D

you'll love the game let alone the commentaries.it was was 19Euros well spent for me.even though i haven't got the cd yet.it's supposed to be shipped some point this week.I couldn't resist the download link.but i will certainly play it again after i get the cd :P.

From everything I have read, the game barely has puzzles that aren;t cake.. more of an interactive video game story. Maybe try more casual games?

Personally I play adventures strictly for good puzzles. Stories are a bonus, if good(which they rarely are). Just can't compare, imo, with a good book, or tv show(BSG, farscape, dexter)