Gemini Rue

Gemini Rue is a point-and-click adventure game. The style is very classic and reminds me of some of the great adventure games from the 90s. You move through environments, interact with hotspots, talk with characters, pick up inventory items, and so on. There is a little bit of searching a computer database, which I found very fun and interesting. The premise of one-half of the story is that you play a former assassin who is on a mission to find his missing brother. The premise of the other half of the story is that you play a prisoner in a very futuristic prison. I should mention that the backdrop for the story is an extraterrestrial planetary system sometime in the future. The focus of the story switches back and forth regularly between these halves. There is a certain portion of the story where you may freely choose which half to work on. This is helpful in case you get stuck or bored in one half. The graphics are poor but very functional. It will no longer matter to you after the very beginning. The story is superb, probably one of the best stories I've ever played in a point-and-click. The puzzles are pretty easy, although there are a few stumpers. The worst part of the game is the action sequences involving gunfire. You have to use the keyboard to time gunshots and to avoid your opponent's gunshots. Even on easy difficulty, I found these segments far too difficult. I died over and over and over again and it was a very frustrating experience!! I don't believe this sort of thing belongs in a point-and-click adventure game, which should test your mind, not your reflexes. One last piece of advice... You will at one point gain access to a storage cupboard. Do not close it again, as you will not be able to reopen it thus creating an unwinnable situation. That was the only unwinnable situation I encountered in this game though, which is pretty good on comparison with the Sierra adventures, for example.

Unfortunately Wadjet seems to have forgotten this game is on GOG. I own most of the Wadjet games here on GOG, but I happen to have Gemini Rue on both GOG and Steam. The GOG version has not been updated since its release, but the Steam version received updates in 2013, 2017, 2018 and 2021. This has made my shy away from purchasing newer Wadjet titles because I'm not sure if they are also out of date.

While i really enjoyed the atmosphere in the game, i felt the story was a bit "too much" and felt like a bland mix of blade runner and the bourne saga. I didn't like the characters too much and didn't feel empathy for them as i played the game. Also, the controls are somewhat clunky and there are a lot of bugs around (especially with shooting). Not a bad game, consider it if you already have blackwell, resonance, and the likes but definitely not as a "first choice".

This was a pretty good game. I played the demo and am a fan of cyber punk genres which is what I thought this would be. I was thinking Cowboy Bebop-ish. Kind of anime meets film noir. And that's pretty much what I got. Pros: Very nice sound effects and well done voice overs. Beautiful world. The world is gritty and immersive. One of the better indie games I've played. Cons: The world is rather small and you spend a lot of time in the same areas instead of exploring new settings. Very unresponsive controls for the shooting sequences. Very short game.