Gemini: Heroes Reborn Review

Phosphor Games releases their Heroes Reborn TV series spin-off video game with the aptly titled Gemini: Heroes Reborn which features leading lady Zoe as she unleashes her powers against the elements and armed opposition in search of her family. It’s a great excuse to utilize time shifting powers, telekinesis, and regeneration but how does it all gel together in this budget release?

For starters, the game’s graphics are probably going to jump out at you on Xbox One as the game’s look isn’t bad but comes with some poor frame-rate and jerky movements. You’ll also be perplexed at the massive screen filling subtitles which can’t be removed for some reason and only until you get your hands on some cool Google Glass like specs do they take up less room but still remain…Grrr. Another issue which persists throughout is extreme texture loading which just looks awful and says the game needed more polish to eliminate this.

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Once you can ignore any technical issues there’s quite an interesting game here which if you’ve played classics such as Psy Ops, Bioshock and even Mirror’s Edge you’ll spot some similarities as you grab enemies and throw them into electrical systems or massive spinning vent blades etc. It’s a fun game when Zoe gets her powers and when you couple in the option to not only slow down time but also shift between the past and present makes for some neat moments.

Sadly, the game’s story takes you on an uninspired adventure through dull interior locations which make up the bulk of the game but this can be forgiven when dealing with the guards either stealthily or full on aggressive. It’s fun and for some reason doesn’t get old.

There’s a bit of platforming thrown in as well which requires some jumping and climbing up objects to reach the linear objectives. These break up the rest of the game which has you constantly pushing forwards and act like mini navigational puzzles. Thankfully there’s not too many as the game flows fairly swiftly from one chapter to the next which is quite refreshing despite some overly long loading sequences.

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Gemini Heroes Reborn isn’t the longest game and can be completed in under 5 hours or even less depending on your play style. There are collectibles and achievements to hunt down on subsequent plays if you’re a completionist but it’s not really a game which offers much replay value beyond this aside from perhaps replaying stages with enemies and messing around with Zoe’s powers. In this regard the £12 price tag comes across a bit steep.

So, is it worth while? In some regards there’s a decent game here with clever use of time powers and tossing objects at armed guards or grabbing them and throwing them to their deaths . There’s no gore here either which is a shame and could have given the game a bit more character. Aside from the gameplay, the experience is sadly marred by minor technical issues (which don’t break the game but just feel a little unpolished) and a lack of any long lasting qualities to keep you coming back for more once the 4-5 hours are up. There’s some good music to accompany the action throughout the story which is mildly interesting coupled with reasonably voiced characterization making for an entertaining but short ride. If you’ve got £12 to spare and are short of time or just a fan of the Heroes TV series, then this is not a bad investment. However, the game could have been so much more had it opted to include additional content focusing on the cool abilities.

Score 7/10

Review code supplied by Microsoft Xbox

Written by: Rob Cram

Rob Cram has hundreds of video game reviews, thousands of articles under his belt with years of experience in gaming and tech. He aims to remain fair and free from publisher/developer influence. With his extensive knowledge, feels his gaming opinions are valid and worth sharing. Agreement with his views are entirely optional. He might have a bias towards cyberpunk.