Blade Runner

I bought this game on release as a teenager, because I was a huge fan of the movie. The game absolutely blew me away. "Ahead of its time" is a very cliche thing to say, but this game was absolutely ahead of its time, and in some aspects, ahead of the machine I had running it at the time. THE GOOD: The game is exactly how I remember it. It also runs well. No crashes or issues. Still the same great PC game I remember and loved. THE BAD: The graphics are very dated. It would be nice to get a remastered version in the future, which I will absolutely buy as well. But for me, gameplay > graphics. I don't mind at all, but some might.

I was excited to see this finally in the catalog. I played this back when it first came out and felt it was underrated back then. The graphics still please the eye and draw you in if you are fan of Blade Runner and the like or any adventure games. Thank you GOG for not giving up on fan requests. I just read an article from PC Gamer about the effort it took to bring this game back and how the code was lost and those who worked on the code and rights for years until it was ready for release again. Please look up the story, buy it, and enjoy this little gem.

I missed this when it released long ago. While I (oddly) recall it being discussed on the news on TV, I wouldn't see Blade Runner the movie until years later. I also didn't recall that Curse of Monkey Island was released on the same day -- which I DID buy at the time. Long story short: I had been waiting to play this game one day, and now that I got the opportunity & finished it, I can say it's one I really wish I had played long before now. The technology and trouble Westwood went through to make a stellar game holds up amazingly well. I can only think of a few games that have as diverse and varied endings as Blade Runner -- King's Quest 6 and Quest for Glory 2 the only two that are coming to mind. The randomization of replicants & their own 'agendas', however, is pretty much unique -- especially for the time period. While I love the look of Sierra and LucasArts games, seeing these pre-rendered 3D backgrounds -- completely fitting to the movie's world -- is astonishing. Aside from compression artifacts, they hold up far better than other beloved games that used 3D pre-rendered assets, even that were done far later (ie: Final Fantasy 7, etc). That this game is getting a 'remake' now as well, is amazing. That being said...I think it's well worth playing the original. I'll likely at some point buy the remake as well, as the variety of endings and randomization makes it worth playing again. There are a few spots where the frustrations of Adventure Games to show up. In the last act that hit me far more, but since this is the internet era, don't let that frustrate you -- look up a hint if you need, and just enjoy the atmosphere and story. Do yourself a favor and snag this. Some games don't hold up well over time -- but this one does.

Blade Runner is a point-and-click adventure set in the same world of the movie by the same name. The events it follows are happening at the same time as the ones from the movie, and you'll get to see many familiar faces, as well as new sides to the city. Since I think this game isn't for everyone, let me preface this review with what I believe are the 2 biggest flaws of the game: 1) The game probably isn't worth playing if you haven't watched the movie. The game doesn't do as much of a good job at delivering its context and world-building, and quite a few characters feel unimportant, unless you know the movie. There are also several screens that re-capture the atmosphere of the movie, which would be lost on you without having watched it. Some events are referenced that would make little sense as well. 2) A review said this was a "walking sim". In truth, the game feels more like a visual novel than an adventure, at times. How much you reveal through pixel-hunting for clues only seems to affect how many details about the story you learn, but your detective work doesn't open or close too many doors for you. If there are bad ends for missing details, I certainly didn't find any. The game is brilliant in many ways, however. It captures the mood of the movie, and the interactive parts are very interesting thanks to their presentation: zoom+enhancing pictures is great, testing people to see if they are replicants is intense (although it feels a little too random, with an opaque UI), and the way the gun is cleverly used as a secret option in certain dialogues, or to force open certain locks as well as allow you to express your morals by sparing or not characters is great. The music is also very nice (when it's there), and some of the characters manage to be captivating (not all of them, admittedly). The game isn't perfect, but it certainly has a strong personality, and it's truly enjoyable. Some randomness also help keeping things interesting for multiple playthroughs.

Blade Runner is one gem of a point and click adventure game. It has so much ambition in its design and mechanics that are at work in the background that affect each character's AI and the course of the story, so that random factors as well as the player's actions (or inactions) and choices will determine the course of the story and the ending you'll get. There's love and soul in the core design of this game. There are even complex mechanics that come into play only once or twice just for the player to get a different result in a NPC's attitude if they select a different approach for behaving towards them. Soundtrack is excellent and fitting for the Blade Runner verse, so close to the Vangelis' original. Visuals are also quite dynamic and life-like, you can rarely tell if at all that there's a video loop going on for the scenery. Pro tip: The shooting range is way slower in the Easy mode. Also to get points, shoot enemies only after they have rotated to reveal if they're holding a weapon. Try not to get shot, not to allow enemies to flee, and of course not to shoot any innocents. There's no specific high score because some targets are randomized or "special" in some way but the highest score in a range run could be higher than 80, or even higher than 90.