Blade Runner

Do you recall how, ever since a certain (now-defunct) company started to market its "Adventure" games with hype like "branching storylines", "your choices matter", and "replayable"? Well this game is all of these - and more - and it didn't even harp on about it at the time! Negatives (why I give it -1 star): True, similar to those "other" adventure games, the "adventure" part is pretty light, especially for the time it was released. Interaction throughout the main interface is simply to click on something, at which point it's entered as evidence (inventory). If you have something in your inventory at the time you click on someone/something, you use it automatically. Secondly, the dialogue is by default "automatic" - that is, the PC will say things in a certain order based on whatever you've set the "mood" to. If you want to play as a more "interactive" adventure, make sure to set the dialogue to "?" - that way when there's a choice, you can choose from a list of options. Finally, you have money in this game, but it's pretty much irrelevant. The good: Firstly, apart from clicking stuff, you also have your ESPER, allowing you to analyse clues from photos. It's not exactly trivial to find everything first time, so be meticulous to find everything. So, as mentioned: your choices actually matter. At various points you get choices of what to do - but beware that unlike those games by that other company, there's not a massive telegraph telling you this! Depending on said choices, there are three ending "types", with multiple variations within them (dependent both on your other choices, and random factors). Yes, random factors: some characters actually may be replicant or human, and this is chosen randomly at the start of the game! So, you get variation even without your choices! Finally, the atmosphere. It's basically like the movie. It's that good. Plus references! Whether you like PI games or the BR movie - do it. After all, we don't live forever, do we?

This is one of those games that truly deserves to be one of the greatest adventure titles ever put out. So much that, back in the 90's, I was a teen who hadn't seen a lot of R rated movies and I had never seen the movie Blade Runner before. This game was my introduction to the world. It blew my mind. Now I buy Blade Runner sweatpants and Replicant Christmas ornaments.

What a wonderful surprise! This was an all-time favourite when it was released in the late 1990's and it indeed seemed lost to the mists of time (cue a million and one "like tears in rain" jokes). Just a few days ago, it was one of the first titles I experimented with getting running on original hardware from an ISO, having lost my original discs years ago. And now here it is, rejigged for modern systems, no faffing about with Daemontools and finnicky installers anymore. Highly recommend this to both fans of the film (and, now, films!) and adventure game aficionados and indeed anyone who likes a good detective story.

Even though I still own the original disc release this is absolutely hands down a must have for my GOG collection. The branching story with multiple endings was almost unheard of back in the day, but the dialog alone is worth the price of admission: Dino: That black paint you found on the fire hydrant. It’s from a ground car. McCoy: You sure? Dino: The angle of impact was almost head on, and there ain’t too many spinner drivers klutzy enough to smack a street-level hydrant in VTOL (Vertical Take off And Landing) mode. McCoy: I heard your wife got her licence back.

If you're at all a fan of the movies or the cyberpunk/detective aesthetic then this may very well end up being one of your favourite games ever. It features a truly engaging, mature, and interesting story that intertwines with that of the original Blade Runner movie's. The gameplay and randomized nature of who is and who isn't a replicant is beyond its time and it's certainly a masterclass in point-and-click adventure games. You have to use your brain and your choices are rewarding. I condensed the plotline into a "mini movie" which may help decide whether you'd like to purchase the title. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3XK8PCa8Cw