Preview Date: January 14, 2011
Developer: Josh Nuernberger
Publisher: Wadjet Eye Games
Platform: PC
Genre: Adventure
Release Date: February 24, 2011
If you follow the indie gaming scene, Gemini Rue will likely look familiar. It was one of the featured games in the student showcase at last year's Independent Games Festival, when it was known as Boryokuden Rue. But with a new (much more pronounceable) name and a publisher in the form of Wadjet Eye Games (who you might remember from Puzzle Bots) Gemini Rue is almost ready for release. We managed to get our hands on an almost complete version of the game and it's shaping up quite nicely.
It's a point-and-click adventure in the same vein as classics like Beneath a Steel Sky or the Broken Sword series, with a dark and gritty, Blade Runner-style setting and story. You play as Azriel Odin, a detective with a dark and mysterious past. At the beginning of the game he touches down on a rain soaked planet in order to meet up with someone, but things don't go quite so smoothly. Eventually, the perspective shifts, and you also play as a prisoner in some sort of rehabilitation center who has recently had his memory erased. But what do these two have in common? And just how will their paths cross?
Though Gemini Rue plays a lot like a traditional point-and-click adventure, with lots of dialog and items to collect/interact with, it also features a number of interesting gameplay twists. Even during the early stages of the game we came across a number of them. You'll get in to gun fights with gangsters, which requires some careful timing. There are environmental puzzles that require you to push around some always useful crates. There's also simple stealth sections and some computer hacking, and that's all just in the first few hours.
But while the gameplay is interesting, what really makes Gemini Rue stand out is its excellent sense of style. It's dark, gloomy, and exudes a sci-fi, film noire feel. It may look like a retro game, with its overly pixelated visuals, but the level of detail is pretty astounding. The world feels real, with dirty back alleys, grimy streets, and retro-futuristic technology. The prison, meanwhile, is the very opposite, with stark white walls and uniformed inmates. It's a great contrast and we're curious to see what else the game has in store.
And even though ut adds a few new twists to the formula, it looks like Gemini Rue will appeal most to fans of classic adventure games. It has everything that has made that genre so enduring; namely, a gripping story, interesting characters, a gorgeous world to explore, and great puzzles. It's a sci-fi detective story with plenty of retro charm and that's just how we like it.
Expect a full review when the game launches on February 24.