Nukezilla Review: Gemini Rue

Gemini Rue, a neo-noir science-fiction point and click adventure, is a bloody good game. Filled with twists and turns, intricate storytelling and a welcome Blade Runner vibe, this is unlike anything I’ve ever played; I’m so glad I took this review.

I’m not one for a point-and-click game myself – I’ve dabbled very briefly in the genre, finding little personal reward – but I made a bold move when a staff email was swung round that offered someone the opportunity to take a review copy of the game. Partly trying to get back to writing, partly to be a bit adventurous/experimental and partly to get my hands on a free game, I offered my services and was given the go-ahead to download Gemini Rue and absorb myself in a thoroughly rewarding experience.

Gemini Rue is a strange mix between old and new, low-resolution graphics blending beautifully with pristene polished game design and instrumental score. After an alluring opening cutscene that sets the tone, you take control of ex-assassin Azriel Odin in a rainy city and are tasked with tracking down a contact who missed a meeting with you. You’re given the opportunity to take in the game’s atmosphere from this point and familiarise yourself with the easily adoptable gameplay mechanics; the game has what seems to be basic point-and-click controls, the idea being you move the cursor to the point where you want your character to move to (the point), then click to initiate character movement (the click)…

Soon after immersion takes place, story development and point-and-clicking truly begins. Once accustomed to the basics, you reach a point in the game where the setting switches and you find yourself in control of a different character, a detention centre prisoner named Delta-Six, who is awarded a gun by a faceless centre ‘director’; so begin weapons training for both character and player.

Gemini Rue is a point-and-click game with cover-based gun-play. Needless to say at the point where I was given the gun I was coloured intrigued, as up to this point I was under the impression that I was playing an approachable point-and-click adventure and little more. At several points in the game, you are engaged in a fire fight and your character will enter cover: you can target the person you want to shoot using the W key, then move out of cover using either A or D and fire at will until your ammo clip runs dry and you are forced to return to cover and reload. The game has a risk-based incentive in the form of a two thirds red, one third green bar that displays by your character.

By pressing Ctrl, a marker will slowly move up the bar: if the marker reaches the green zone and you fire, if your bullet makes contact with an enemy a headshot will be made. This bar is perhaps my only gripe in the game; the speed of the marker rising vs the time it takes for an enemy to reload and continue firing is quite small, and your pursuit for an instant-kill headshot often leaves you with bullet wounds. There is an auto-save feature that never sets you far back if you die but I feel the headshot incentive is an unnecessary distraction; simply timing your fire and unloading clips is sufficient and even more gratifying.

Nonetheless, the introduction was a pleasant surprise, a mechanic that opened up the game to explore new areas in more ways that one; after playing as Delta Six for a while I was placed back in control of Azriel and was given the chance to incorporate guns into my detective work.

The game wasn’t done giving yet though: after completing another section of the game something rather wonderful happened that really got me hooked. I was given the option to switch between Azriel and Delta-Six at will and engage in a dual narrative. I was really enjoying the story up to that point, but this got me even more buzzed because it added depth as well as variety. I could be trotting around a dystopian Pittsburg one minute trying to infiltrate the mafia group the Boryokudan, then the next minute I could be wandering the halls of a space prison. Both characters help to piece the story together in their own narrative strings, and it’s completely at the player’s discretion as to how they choose to progress.

The dual narrative had a helpful purpose too with certain points in the game where my point-and-click inexperience came about; after period of times toiling around to no avail I would find myself unable to progress… one character’s narrative string. Switching from Azriel to Delta-Six, the possibility of a rage-quit was gone and I would be able to continue on happily. I would return back to Azriel or Delta-Six later and work out the problems comfortably.

The dual narrative wasn’t the only feature that eased me into the game: a small but useful addition to the game allows the player to, after clicking on where they want their character to go, press the Escape button and find themselves immediately transported to the place they chose. It sped up the gameplay a little, allowing me to more quickly solve problems.

Gemini Rue is a game that caters to anyone who pays to play. If I hadn’t been given the game, I can safely say I wouldn’t ever have played it. Now that I have, I can say it is a game worth buying. It’s atmospheric, engrossing, wonderfully designed with gorgeously retro graphics and a finely tuned, balanced difficulty curve that opens the game up to anyone willing; it even includes a developer commentary in the form of audio nodes placed in-game that you can listen to as you play. The game’s real pièce de résistance though is that you are playing a videogame with a fantastic, twisting story, something rare and welcoming.

This is a near faultless game that has opened up a genre I had previously avoided; Gemini Rue is a real joy to play.

Gemini Rue is available now to download for $14.99 from developer Wadjet Eye Games’ website.

Disclosure: We were sent a review code for this game from the developer’s PR representative.