Gemini Rue

Gemini Rue was the first Wadjet Eye published game I bought and finished, and it started my decade long love for the publisher. Here are some of my favorite features. As a point-&-click adventure, you get logical puzzles and captivating story progression that are motivated by sensible hints picked up naturally while you play. Even when I used a guide a few times, it was always "Ok. That makes sense." Never "What the hell?" The level of interactivity with the game world feels just right, neither too restrictive nor bloated. As an indie game, it's the perfect length: enough to flesh out the story but not so long that it drags. The developer commentaries provides some great insight from the game creator on the creative process of making games. It feels innovative, both in its plot and in its cover-based shooting combat. As a Wadjet Eye game, it has the same feel that I find appealing in the others games they publish. Although the presentation feels retro, it's also fully voice with detailed and stylized character portraits. The story has just the right amount of quirky strangeness rooted in relatable human feelings. The game always feels like an adventure or a journey with obstacles to overcome, never a collection of puzzles strung together by a mandatory plot. If you like Wadjet Eye kind of games, you will like Gemini Rue. If you are interested in what I described above, this game is a must-try.

A very down-to-earth game. The plot is enticing and well structured, and you do not come across absurd moments or actions: you have a clear idea of what you have to do to proceed (no moon logic whatsoever, the plot always commands your actions), but at the same time it's never too obvious what precise actions you have to follow. The atmosphere is well represented, with its noir+cyberpunk feeling, but it also has its ironic moments. I even enjoyed the fighting, which I normally don't in any game, and making its difficulty level custom is another big pro. It has some minor flaws - a couple of things that required a bit of trial and error and such - but all in all, especially for a game made by just one person (and their only game!), it is an amazing experience.

It's a nice little story witha philosophical question, and flair. Voiceover is good, and mystery can keep you guessing and wanting to complete it. Sadly, it seems to be one of the earlier Wadjet Eye works, since a number of things can be cluncky. Interface of inventory is quite vague and not intuitive. Walking distances are boring as the locations are noir city and liminal prison space. Too repeatible to be enjoyed. Adding a shooting minigame, along with a boring tutorial for a point'n click game? Count me out, it should not be there at all. I set combat to easy with no regrets.

Really nice story background in a cyberpunk world. The ending makes you think...

Great story, but not quite a great game. The voice acting often has intonation on the wrong words, which can be slightly jarring and a few of the puzzles require you to notice that a part of the scenery that's indistinguishable from the thing next to it is something that you can interact with. The graphics are 16-bit, which means that the hq3x filter doesn't work (it's quite frustrating that it starts with a menu of graphics options, but most of them don't work, at least on OS X, including all of the full-screen options). Aside from those minor nits, it's definitely worth buying. I wouldn't recommend it quite as highly as the Blackwell series, but definitely worth playing.