By Quintin Smith on January 12th, 2011 at 10:33 am.
Gemini Rue, a dark, sci-fi adventure game that won the Student Showcase award at 2010′s IGF is coming out next month, and it’s looking tight like a baby in a bottle. Have a gander at the trailer after the jump. If all point’n'click games could be as dramatic as this, I might, y’know, sometimes play one of them. I actually got the chance to try Gemini Rue at last year’s EG Expo, and it reminded me of Snatcher and the Blade Runner game in all the right ways. Thanks to RPS reader Mysterious-Man-Who-Does-Not-Wish-To-Be-Named for the trailer tipoff.
Here’s the official plot rundown:
Azriel Odin, ex-assassin, arrives on the rain-drenched planet of Barracus to find someone. When things go horribly wrong, he can only seek help from the very criminals he used to work for.
Meanwhile, across the galaxy, a man called Delta-Six wakes up in a hospital with no memory. Without knowing where to turn or who to trust, he vows to escape before he loses his identity completely.
As fate brings these two men closer together, we discover a world where life is cheap, identities are bought and sold, and a simple quest for redemption can change the fate of a whole galaxy.
And the features list:
Features:
* Over 60 hand-drawn backgrounds
* A moody, film noir atmosphere
* Control both Azriel and Delta-Six
* An innovative investigation system
* A gripping sci-fi mystery
* DVD-style commentary track
And according to Blues News, if you pre-order Gemini Rue (EDIT: And pay an extra $10) you’ll get yourself a limited edition CD of the game, too. After that it’ll only be available on the imaginary bullet train that is Digital Distribution.
12/01/2011 at 10:42 Jonathan says:
That looks really nice, though reminds me more of BASS than Blade Runner. Might just be the art style.
12/01/2011 at 13:13 The Great Wayne says:
Yeah i thought the same.
12/01/2011 at 14:20 surv1vor says:
Yep, me too, playing the iPhone version again at the mo.
12/01/2011 at 10:50 sonofsanta says:
Damn you, logging in caused me to lose out in the race to name drop Amiga classic Beneath A Steel Sky, which was superb sci-fi-noir.
12/01/2011 at 11:21 BAReFOOt says:
Don’t worry. Until right now, I had no idea that “BASS” could mean “Beneath A Steel Sky”. I just thought it needed some DRUM. ;)
I must say, somehow “BASS” didn’t give me that atmospheric feeling I expected. It felt too colourful and fun(ny).
More Dark-City-style “something is veeery wrong here” but in a sci-fi Neuromancer “sprawl” setting with huge machines moving, raw steel plates thicker than safe walls, lots of rain pouring down over neon and harbour lighting between skyscrapers and food stands, but all a bit greyed out, just like the sky… Add some deep sub-bass and industrial noises music to it… and the smell of wet hair, stinking water, oil and dark steel, with a cold breeze blowing water down your neck…
Now that would give it the right athmosphere! :)
Edit: Actually, the game looks pretty close to my description. I wish I could load it into SCUMMVM right now! :D
12/01/2011 at 11:42 sonofsanta says:
@BAReFOOT – you know that the game is available completely free as well, right? The developers released it a few years back and it is still brilliant. Except that when I ran it I couldn’t get it to save so it had to be left running constantly.
But still, brilliant.
12/01/2011 at 11:54 Red_Avatar says:
I LOVED Beneath A Steel Sky – even had my own t-shirt made AND got an autographed comic book that came with the game, signed by Dave Gibbons who did the art (Watchmen guy). The atmosphere in BASS was spot on I thought – the drab and dull upper areas, the more colourful lower ones, the dark and damp subways, etc. etc.
12/01/2011 at 12:21 Xercies says:
I also loved BASS as you seem to call it, very great atmosphere i thought and quite original in the landscape.
12/01/2011 at 12:46 Eclipse says:
PC version was much better :P
12/01/2011 at 14:45 HeavyStorm says:
Yeah, I just found (damn coincidence) BASS on GOG for free.
12/01/2011 at 15:22 RadioactiveMan says:
Hmm, You all make Beneath a Steel Sky sound so lovely. How does it compare to Flashback?
For money, Flashback was the best sci-fi side scrolling adventure game.
12/01/2011 at 18:13 Risingson says:
BASS is actually a flawed but interesting adventure game, praised only because of nostalgic values. It’s funny, because it starts brilliantly and comes downhill from there, until the ending, where a very complex mix of puzzles throw you to the abrupt ending. It plays a little patchy, sometimes being very dark, sometimes a bit goofy.
It has very unique touches though, like the VR parts. And, after all, it’s a huge step forward from the unfocused Lure of the Tempress.
I prefer Dave Gilbert’s first games, though.
12/01/2011 at 21:23 devlocke says:
For no reason other than the shameless self-promotion of a now-defunct project, I offer my review of Beneath A Steel Sky; I think I was fair. If you just want to know about the game, you can skip the first few paragraphs that deal with SCUMM-VM.
http://ubuntu-quest.blogspot.com/2008/02/beneath-steel-sky.html
13/01/2011 at 08:03 Risingson says:
I love your definition of adventure games and their puzzles. I mean, NO. Puzzles CANNOT be sensible. Sensible puzzles are dumb puzzles. Puzzles must be creative and well designed. And again, the problem with THAT puzzle in GK3 is not that it is too difficult, but that it doesn’t work in its context.
Risingson, who thinks adventures went downhill when it all became mundane and unimaginative.
14/01/2011 at 09:16 RegisteredUser says:
Here I was, coming only here to post “Ohai look, it’s Beneath a steel rue” to vast roars of applause and peer approval for extreme cleverness and wordsmithing, and it turns out more than one person in the world is capable of connecting the adventure game dots.
I now feel unspecial and not-unique. :(
12/01/2011 at 10:53 phlebas says:
The limited CD edition isn’t automatic with pre-orders, it’s an extra $10. Includes the soundtrack and some extras too, though, and won’t be available other than pre-ordered. Looks very promising – do we know if the “innovative investigation system’ means something interesting mechanically?
12/01/2011 at 11:01 Baboonanza says:
‘tight like a baby in a bottle’
How tasteless!
*loads into memory bank*
12/01/2011 at 11:36 zipdrive says:
That was a seriously weird simile.
12/01/2011 at 11:05 Sam Crisp says:
Great to hear it finally has a release date. And so soon! The atmosphere and art look great. I just hope it plays well.
And Boryokudan Rue was a much cooler name.
12/01/2011 at 11:06 Eclipse says:
So going to buy this one
12/01/2011 at 11:14 Risingson says:
Looks great. I love how classic adventures are so loved by indie developers, who also seem to be the ones that know how to design them without boring us with long texts and uninteresting characters (I’m pointing at you, my dreaded north-european developers).
Ok, except Telltale. Telltale does gold with everything.
12/01/2011 at 11:22 Sweep says:
Excited for this!
12/01/2011 at 11:26 Horza says:
Looks great indeed. Also getting a strong BASS vibe, tho I’ve never properly played BASS. I really should.
Come to think of it, I’ve never played Blade Runner either. That one needs to be in GoG or Steam.
12/01/2011 at 12:32 Tizoc says:
Yes, play BASS : it’s easier than GUITAR !
edit : I know I’m posting too quickly, mister posting speed advisor. But I’m in a hurry!
12/01/2011 at 15:38 JFS says:
That’s not really true, it only has fewer strings. You should really try out Blade Runner if you can get it somewhere and get it up to run. It’s gold even today, although it’s already nearing it’s fourteenth birthday.
12/01/2011 at 11:33 SanguineAngel says:
This looks like pure awesome. As mentioned above, it reminds me of BASS which was the first game I ever bought with my very own moneys! It was a choice between that and the Lion King. I remember walking into the massive GAME store (back when it was all decked out in cool futurepunk style themeing and the pc game section was massssive!
Anyway, I digress. This reminds me of my youth and i am afraid may be intaspurchase despite my new years resolution of not spending unnecessary funds…. my will power is woeful.
12/01/2011 at 12:19 adonf says:
I like the attention to details: if the graphics were not enough to give it a 1990s feeling, they even put a man smoking indoors.
12/01/2011 at 12:28 Red_Avatar says:
Yeah, the 90s were brilliant for moody adventure games – even the ones which are easily forgotten now (like Innocent Until Caught and Legend of Kyrandia to name just two) – and I really miss this in modern games. Even adventure games now are mostly soulless and feel far less charismatic. You need to look towards the indie scene to still find adventure games with a kick. All the “professional” ones are by the numbers, with stories that don’t really surprise, characters that are forgettable and generic music & clean backdrops.
Any of you remember Normality?
12/01/2011 at 12:43 Urael says:
Looks fabulous. Haven’t had a decent moody sci-fi adventure sine The White Chamber.
Realise it now!
12/01/2011 at 12:50 Navagon says:
Looking good. I think I’ll add this one to my ‘keep an eye on’ list.
12/01/2011 at 13:15 orangedragon says:
Very cool. Like others have said, it reminds me of BASS, which is one of my favorite adventures games. Definitely picking this up at some point.
12/01/2011 at 13:18 fenriz says:
beautiful. that’s how all games should look. Not to mention its general mature AAA attitude.
12/01/2011 at 14:02 HeavyStorm says:
Any chance there’s a demo coming out? I’d like to test it, since some adventure titles don’t really get me hooked up.
12/01/2011 at 14:20 Wilson says:
Ooh, looks good.
12/01/2011 at 15:57 Sunjammer says:
“Azriel Odin” is right up there with Thor Templar. What a name.
12/01/2011 at 15:58 bill says:
I think the bladerunner reference is more accurate. While BASS started as something that looked bladerunnery, it quickly degenerated into weird comic-book and bad comedy.
This looks like it has a decent dark atmosphere and a more serious setting. More bladerunner than BASS.
12/01/2011 at 16:15 Jimmeh says:
Couldn’t resist the pre-order after spending the week unravelling my subconscious in Sanitarium.
12/01/2011 at 18:51 kovy36 says:
now there’s a self-confidence shattering game if there ever was one.
12/01/2011 at 19:22 Qjuad says:
Looks very interesting – thanks for highlighting it.
12/01/2011 at 19:39 Lacero says:
It’s only like Bladerunner if it’s non-linear. The unrecognised pinacle of the point and click genre.
If anyone hasn’t played it I really recommend it, just make sure you save before entering the shooting range. I don’t know if it’s a cpu time problem but it takes Forever to play through now. I’m sure it worked when I first played it.
13/01/2011 at 04:01 lethu says:
Have to try this, reminds me of Flashback.
13/01/2011 at 07:35 Dreamhacker says:
This looks like a cool mix of Blade Runner/BASS/Full Throttle but even darker and edgier.
I’m getting these beautiful flashbacks to 90′s adventure games. :)
13/01/2011 at 12:26 Concept000 says:
THOSE BREASTS ARE NEVER NATURAL