Gemini Gem review: an almost-endless game of fifteen

The game of fifteen is a really old puzzle, and it’s also one that rarely features in today’s overcrowded market of match-3 puzzles. Also, putting puzzles back together again is so passe when you can just break bricks. Gemini Gem, from Penang-based Indiesaga, recognizes that.

Gemini Gem is a compact little iOS game that combines the game of fifteen’s sliding puzzle tiles with brick breaking. Upon entering the game, the player is immediately launched into a gem grid where he must slide gems around in order to create 2×2 blocks. Any 2×2 block of gems created will burst, and be replaced by another four random gems.

(See: The story of Shapist: how a digital game can be as tangible as a physical object)

Each game in Gemini Gem is governed by a timer. This timer replenishes itself each time you break a block. It doesn’t mean the end of a game when the timer runs out, though. The timer can expire up till a maximum of five times, with each expiration adding a locked brick to a random position in your grid.

Locked bricks can’t be moved, as you may have expected, lessening the grid real estate you have to work with. The game ends when the fifth locked brick appears. There are also power gems that you can combine into a block and break for bonuses. These affect your timer in one way or another.

Gemini Gem is a neat time-waster, but I wish it was more rewarding, and that it had more incentive for better players. I broke enough bricks that I was starting to get bored, and there was still nothing else to spice up gameplay for me. The timer didn’t get faster, and I didn’t feel like I had achieved anything by being a decent player. There is just one game mode, so I don’t know how much longer I want to go on breaking bricks.

One thing I really hate about Gemini Gem is the popup ads. I understand developers need to make money and monetization options in a puzzle game like Gemini Gem are very limited, but there’s no reason to create ads that pop up so suddenly I always tap on them by mistake. It’s annoying and disruptive to have my app store open all the time.

(See: Fable Age review: take your favorite fairy tale character on an epic puzzle adventure)

On the other hand, the visual and audio polish of the game is really good. The gem grid and preceding graphics are bright and cute. The background music sounds like it’d be more suited for a slice-of-life or farming simulator a la Harvest Moon, but it’s a nice complement to the game, and the click-clack of the gems sliding around is addictive.

Overall, Gemini Gem is good for filling in the time while you’re waiting for the bus or for your friend to finish shopping. It needs to have more modes of play for me to want to play it for longer.

Gemini Gem is available for free on the App Store.