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Gemini Rue : Possible awesome PC adventure game slipping through the radar.
azith28
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
I noticed on gamerankings this game has a 9.5 score (Granted, only two reviews so far), and figured its rare enough we get some pc adventure games that it was worth asking here about.
Heres one review:
http://www.adventureclassicgaming.com/index.php/site/reviews/634/
More info please.
Heres one review:
http://www.adventureclassicgaming.com/index.php/site/reviews/634/
More info please.
azith28 on
Posts
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foZp9ToBewA
There's a demo here, and that's also where you buy it. It's out now. I think I'll probably get it. Only thing that doesn't look too hot is the voice acting, but I can't expect too much from an indie effort in that regard.
But yeah, the voice acting is shaky; they reuse the same people a lot, and they clearly aren't professionals. But they work fine with text only, so it doesn't matter too much.
Saw it on RPS earlier and wanted to give it a go.
Tried the demo and really liked it.
Switched off the voiceover straight away, but I really liked it. Like literally 5 seconds in I thought "No, that's just going to detract from the game", restarted, and turned it off.
Might replay the demo with the voice on to see whether it's as bad as it seems in the opening seconds of the game, but really, the text does the job more than well enough with a game of this style.
So yeah, definitely interested in buying this.
Turned the voice off but I honestly think it would work better without them even if they were professional VAs, just don't think it meshes well with the retro visuals (which are still gorgeous anyway).
Definitely going to pick the full version up.
Also I now want recommendations for other noir adventure games.
I do actually like the fact that they didn't go the LucasArts route of making the protagonist effectively unkillable. It wouldn't work for a more serious game like this.
I just wish there were a way to bind hotkeys for the four commands. Minor niggle, but it would beat having to bring up that box every time.
EDIT: One last thing about it though: Does anyone know whether the full game comes with DRM?
I doubt it since it's a self-published indie title, but it's just as well to ask.
EDIT 2: According to the GOG.com forums, their other games haven't used DRM, so I doubt this one does either. Good enough for me.
Will probably post some thoughts on it later, but the demo was definitely a good enough start to get me interested.
For anyone who tries this, though: turn off the voices before you start the game.
I will definitely buy this one, just hope it hits Steam soon (if it doesn't it'll have to be the old fashioned way.)
Me blogging about my (amateur) indie game programming
No need to wait for a Steam release, it's DRM free, just buy it from the devs. They get more money that way anyway.
Played some more and you know, I can't remember the last time an adventure game had me engrossed like this. Of course, it's been a long time since I've played an adventure game that wasn't a comedy.
The retro visuals do help a lot in that regard, it's something they mentioned on the PC Gamer podcast as well. Once you get to the point of abstracted visuals, it's the imagination that does all the work and makes things like conversations work. It's why a game like this can neatly sidestep the problems of the uncanny valley.
Before loading up Gemini Rue tonight I was playing The Witcher for a bit. Technically it has better production values, visuals, voice acting. But when you get into a conversation in the Witcher it's harder to be drawn in because of all the things that obviously don't mesh like in a real conversation. The lack of any emotion on character's faces. The odd tones that people sometimes take, and the generally broken flow of conversation.
In a (new) old adventure game like this you don't have those problems, or with how there's only a limited set of total character animations. It's all indie, but that's why the decision to go low-fi with the graphics helps them so much. They only really need abstractions to tell their story, and that's what works best in place of high production value scenes. And in some ways, it probably works better, because we still haven't managed to leave the uncanny valley yet.
I'm at the apartment trying to meet up with the guy. I found out his apartment number, but I can't get in. Lockpicks won't work and he says, "I should find another way in." Tried the window to the right with all the items I had, no dice, and have no idea how to proceed. I just know the answer is staring me in the face.
Anyhow, let's check this thing out.
I write for these people. Just reviewed: Drox Operative
Damn, I feel like an idiot.
Heh, took me a few mins to get back into the point and click adventure mindset when I was playing the demo too.
I've upgraded my initial "very good" to "Every adventure gamer must buy this".
I'm, like, five minutes into the demo and it's already hitting the right notes with me.
Edit: Oh yeah. Oh hell yeah, I gotta buy this.
I write for these people. Just reviewed: Drox Operative
Beat the game. This a doozy.
Seriously. If you're reading this right now I have a few questions.
Do you like adventure games? Do you like noir as a concept? Do you like exploring the headier aspects of humanity through a variety of engaging medias? Do you like fun?
If the answer to any of those is yes, holy fucking shit get this game.
Anyone know if this will run on a Mac? I have severe doubt, but as it's all I have access to I figured I'd ask.
That also supports them much more since they get a much larger percentage.
I based this purchase on the first 30 seconds of the youtube trailer on the second post, and downloading but not actually playing the demo. . . <3 adventure <3 cyberpunk <3 indie <3 spending money without really considering my budget.
High five, just did the same thing. Seriously, that demo hit a magic combination of great concept, sensible puzzles, awesome music, and nifty features. As soon as I cleared the demo, I knew I had to get this.
Now I gotta go nag other people to buy it too
I write for these people. Just reviewed: Drox Operative
Brilliant game.
MAJOR SPOILERS
And them bam - They twist the story around. I don't know if the voices would give it away, I played with text only.
How long is the entire game? $15 seems a bit steep
Same question I have right now.
I don't really care if it's too short, as long as the story/experience is worthwhile.
Me blogging about my (amateur) indie game programming
edit: nevermind. Figured it out.
If it's the one I'm thinking of, then I think so. Might've actually triggered it early,
And now apparently I can switch between Azriel and D-6 at will. This game rules.
I write for these people. Just reviewed: Drox Operative
Bwahahahahahaha!
Still totally interested in this though. Maybe this will scratch the itch I have over my misplaced copy of Blade Runner. I love futuristic noir stuff.
I really don't understand that name. The rest of the game is pretty competently written, with some really good parts and some interesting themes. The writer seems much, much better than that name. I have no idea how he thought that was a good idea. If the story was terrible, I could understand. But that's really the only cringeworthy part of the game.
Which is really unfortunate because it's one of the first things people will see about the game and turn people off from buying it.
I laughed too, but the demo seriously won me over. It gives a good taste of the setting and the puzzles. Conversations let you lie to people, there's not just one dialogue option that'll let you proceed. Even if it dead-ends, you usually have other options to get where you need to go. Combat isn't featured in the demo, but they introduce it sensibly in-game and the few actual fights I've had were pretty fun.
And it's just so damn cool. They've got the cyberpunk/noir aesthetic down pat. After a while I stopped caring about the dude's name - or the fact that these are all characters I've more or less seen before - because I just wanted to see more of the game world. Clevinger's got the right of it, apart from the name the writer knows what he's doing.
I write for these people. Just reviewed: Drox Operative
Maybe next week.