Disclaimer: I received a free copy of GEMiNi for the Nintendo Switch developed by Gagonfe from publisher QUByte Interactive through 420MacMan's #IndieSelect. The game was given and received without promise or expectation of a positive review, only that the game be played and that experience be shared through social media channels. All of the words and pictures in this article, unless otherwise noted, are my own from my own experience playing the game.
My first thought about GEMiNi was that it reminded me a lot of FK Digital's 2016 release Witch and Hero that I played as many years ago on the 3DS. In Witch and Hero (and its subsequent sequels), you play as the Hero protecting your partner, the Witch, who is frozen in stone in the center of the screen. All the while, wave after wave of enemies come from outside the screen with the goal of destroying the Witch. That is a very similar premise here. In GEMiNi, you are an unnamed figure wielding a sword with the task of defending a large Diamond-shaped crystal bestowed upon you by the Rabbit-creature named Moty. Each stage in GEMiNi has five separate waves of ever-increasing types of monsters centering in on the Diamond attempting to destroy it to disrupt the balance of the world. As far as I was able to tell, that was all there was to it story-wise. Any additional lore as to how long this Diamond has been around and why you are just being given this important task now is not really important, even if the questions have started to pile up about this mystical world. Perhaps there was more to discover, but as you will read further along, I was unable to progress as far as I had wanted.
GEMiNi kind of plays like a rogue-like in that you will probably die a lot (or the Diamond will be shattered) forcing you to start the same stage over again. You will also find equipment dropped by enemies at random as well as being able to buy a randomized assortment of gear and upgrades from the in-game store, operated by the anthropomorphized rabbit Moty, where you spend money collected during the fighting stages. There are some specific weapon drops though such as the Magic Wand in Overworld 1-2, the Party Hat in Overworld 1-4, and the Earth Sword after defeating the Overworld boss, and there are regional equipment drops that will only happen in that specific environment, such as the Ice located in Ice World. I do love the ability to customize your loadout, which you can do in Moty's shop or if you find a treasure chest or get a drop from an enemy (simply by hovering of the item and Pressing A will immediately swap the item, and thankfully you can switch back too). Any equipment that you purchase or find out in the world you can switch to while in Moty's shop from the catalog of stuff, which also gives item descriptions and a breakdown of the stat bonuses so you can plan your next adventure to defend the Diamond.
The one thing that I did not take notice of the first time through the game, and it something that is very easy to forget about is that each time you pass a stage, the items in the store will regenerate, regardless if you purchased anything. After my first stage, I only had enough money to buy one thing, so I bought the Magic Hat not knowing what it did, but it was a top hat-looking thing and I was amused. So I went into Stage 2 with my Magic Hat on and defended the Diamond successfully and had a whole new host of items to purchase. What I did not realize at the time, was that there were three other items, two of which were permanent buffs, one giving the Diamond more life and the other giving a speed boost (which is essential as you dash across the screen to kill off monsters before they can even get to the Diamond, but then speed back to the other side because you saw what looked like one of those annoying skeletons who throw bones at the Diamond coming up out of the trees) and I missed out acquiring those items because I did not have the money; instead I should have replayed the first stage multiple times. Even Moty can tell you that sometimes you will need to farm gold from previously defeated stages to be able to afford everything.
After dying (and the Diamond exploding) upwards of five (or more) times in Ice World 2-3, I decided that I probably could have used those Diamond and Speed upgrades, as well as hoping for some different weapon drops by the time I reached Iceworld 2-3, so I decided to start a new game in the second game save slot. The equipment pool at Moty's was decent to start, including again a Diamond and Magic upgrade, but the following upgrades were less than beneficial. The second offering from the shop included the Magic Wand again as well as the Short Sword (both of which I already owned so it essentially wasted two slots), then the third and fourth offerings had a Long Sword that I previously bought on the third offering, the Dagger, and the Magic Wand (again). This was not good going into Overworld 1-5 because I would need additional Diamond health to absorb the brunt of the attacks from Waves 3 and 4 (Wave 5 was the Overworld boss). So I went back to my original game and through more trial and error found that my original load out of the Blue Beanie (Damage +20%, Critical HIt +20%, Attack Speed +50%) and Icepick (Damage 3, Critical Chance +15%, Velocity: Fast, Slows Down Enemies) was the best choice and helped take me up to where I am now stuck. Again.
Currently, I have managed though to reach the boss in Icworld's 2-5, the Dark Mage. I have fought this boss four times and have found that it is not too difficult to get through the first four waves, but trying to find the right balance of gear, again, is paramount to figuring out not only the waves of monsters but how to deal with the boss. Of the first three times I have faced off against the Dark Mage, I have experienced three different types of attacks and all of them are reminiscent of bullet-hell games, with magical projectiles filling the entire screen with life-draining blasts of energy.
What makes this battle particularly difficult is that each hit from the Dark Mage drains that sweet-sweet precious life that is difficult enough to try and get back from enemies let alone from the crates that dot the landscape. I do not have any equipment that regenerates life, but a number of items that regenerate magic and I am hoping that there might be something that can help besides running for my life hoping that the next box I break open with has health in it and not another vial of magic or more money. Sadly, this is where my journey in GEMiNi has ended as I do not see a way past the Dark Mage without additional buffs or different equipment that can regenerate health or increases my weapon damage by 250% because I do not seem to be able to survive in the ring for more than 20 seconds against the Dark Mage as I either try to damage it or run around the map opening crates looking for health.
Ultimately my take away from GEMiNi is that when the game is fun, it is a lot of fun. Iceworld 2-4 was fun in the way that stressful games are fun. There were times when I was on the verge of feeling overwhelmed but came out on top through what felt like skill. That is a great feeling to have and I wish there were more times in this game that I felt that way, but so far, I can think of three stages out of 10 that have sucked all the fun out of playing. Overworld 1-4, Iceworld 2-3, & Iceworld 2-5. I think that is what makes me a little sad about GEMiNi, that it is roughly one-third of the game that taints the experience when the other 70% is challenging but still fun. I love finding new equipment in the stages or in the shop, but the randomness is also a hindrance that feels unfair at times. After I beat Iceworld 2-3, I was excited to see what new items I could use or upgrades (especially to health as I have yet to come across any on either of my two characters), but the only item was a Diamond upgrade, and three items I already had.
I really want to like GEMiNi a lot more than I can say that I do. While I appreciate the random aspect of equipment drops from enemies and what is available in the store, that ultimately is where I find 50% of the game frustrating. When 75% of what the store has to offer you already have either purchased or found instead of either new equipment or a stat buff to the character or the Diamond, it can make the game feel unfair. And I have seen in the equipment book at Moty's that there is a blank slot (as in I have not come across it yet) for a Health Upgrade, but in the span of 15 stages played over two character files, I have not come across any purchasable Health upgrades. Maybe there should be something in the game code that will not allow items to show up in the store if they have already been purchased, with the obvious exception of the stat buffs or maybe have the option to pay Moty once per visit to the store per stage to reshuffle the available items to sell? The other 50% of the game that I find frustrating is through my own lack of skill in twin-stick shooters and bullet-hell games. Yeah I know, git gud and all that, but when a game stops feeling fun, that just might have to be where I call it good.
~JWfW/JDub/The Faceplantman/Jaconian
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