A very intriguing reinterpretation of the point-and-click adventure genre.

The narrative unfolds almost concurrently with Scott's film; on one hand, this is an inconsequential factor since the protagonists do not cross paths. However, it allows for encounters with several characters; we can also collect some useless items for the game's progression that serve as Easter eggs.

The game was marketed as "the first major real-time adventure"; on one hand, it is true that it represents the initial foray into exploration games where certain events unfold in real-time. However, by the beginning of 1997, "The Last Express" had already been released. The characters were confined to the limited space of a train's compartments, and yet it was nevertheless an adventure game where the ticking clock held far more significance for the investigative work required of the player.

In "Blade Runner," this supposed real-time element translates simply into a set of characters who, at times, can be found in a certain location and, at other times, mysteriously disappear. To be honest, there is also the factor that other Blade Runners, on occasion, will share certain clues with us.
Throughout the game, as the player makes choices and discoveries, certain off-screen characters undergo their own missions and developments, but as players we never get the chance to really appreciate this since it doesn't really impact any kind of development: be it story wise, character wise, whatever.

This was the first aspect that left me mumbling, occasionally forcing me to backtrack without any better alternative. Another issue that I found problematic for a non-frustrating progression is that the player's character is a taciturn individual. Let me explaing my issue with this: in the game, one of the technologies commonly used by Blade Runners is the ESPER, a computer capable of analyzing photos by zooming in on details and displaying them from physically improbable perspectives. The first set of photos I got contained several crucial details for the continuation of the story, but I missed a couple of them. Consequently, I found myself wandering aimlessly, without understanding what I had overlooked, as there was not a single line of dialogue or clue to draw my attention to the matter.

Regarding exploration, fortunately, specific areas are not overly spacious, and there is no unpleasant pixel hunting. All collectible objects are quite conspicuous, with slightly thicker outlines, standing out from the rest of the environment, which appears more natural somehow. One thing that I did not like is the fact that there's not enough things to interact with. Some areas serve merely as passageways or corridors to reach the next zone. The downside is that this makes the experience overly minimalist. One of the joys of this genre lies in the ability to inspect the many objects on-site, allowing the PC to share his thoughts and memories with the player. I understand that, being inspired by the '82 movie, this may seem like a fitting choice given the film's tone. However, since many of the dialogues in this game, in my opinion, largely draw from a more lighthearted and less captivating noir style, this choice ends up being, I believe, more impoverishing rather than adequately minimalist

Nevertheless, the art direction and sound design make the entire city very captivating: Ray McCoy's (the protagonist) apartment, the police headquarters, the districts of Chinatown and the ones filled with shops dedicated to the sale of (both artificial and real) animals. Everything is highly evocative, and the use of slice animations (not voxels, contrary to what might be read or assumed) contributes significantly.

Gameplay wise, the game has some peculiarities that don't fully satisfy me. Firstly, a shooting component has been included: the bullets at your disposal are infinite (more powerful ones can be purchased in limited quantities), there's no need to reload, and they are primarily used to take down certain enemies. Additionally, you can use your gun to shoot certain objects like locks or a bomb. The gun is kind of essential when you are randomly attacked by replicants and, surprise, giant rats. How these rodents managed to survive and are never mentioned in the game (despite the common citizen treating animals reverentially) is a mystery. I also fail to comprehend how it's allowed to kill them in the first place since in its context it should be regarded as animal murder.
In any case, the need to include shooting in videogames here and there has become a bit tiresome for me. It was done tolerably in "Snatcher", but enough is enough.

Now we must delve into what, in my opinion, alongside the art direction and graphical rendering, is the true strength of the game: paranoia. It never gets as strong and as significant as in the movie, not in the slightest, but it's here as well

The "Blade Runner" presented here takes a concept from the book/movie and ingeniously adapts it to the gaming medium. Many of the characters interacted with may or may not be replicants, and this revelation is entirely random. There is no way to know before administering the Voight-Kampff test. Furthermore, the results are not necessarely trustworthy; in fact, in some cases we might get an uncertain outcome. A curious choice was allowing the player to choose from various personality styles. This is also where the paranoia-factor comes into play: the protagonist can behave trustingly and be accommodating, friendly to NPCs, or can be very tough, distrusting their answers and insisting they submit to the test to determine if they are androids or not. To avoid this, players must choose the "?" option provided by the developers, allowing them to decide what to ask to the NPCs. Several ideas are thus implemented in the game to convey that sense of insecurity caused by the impossibility of discerning whether the person in front of us is genuinely human or not, or even questioning our own humanity.

McCoy has many possibilities in light of this: he can decide whether to believe a subject claiming to be human, whether to trust the test results, and most importantly, determining what to do with that particular individual. Letting them escape, killing them, or taking them into custody are all viable options. Based on these choices (which can also be made at different points in the story in certain cases, depending on how one has behaved), players ultimately gain access to one of several main endings.

So, to summarize this review: well done, nice game, but fuck yall.

This is a point-and-click Blade Runner game, and I gotta say, it is very faithful. The streets of 2019 LA (the distant future) are brought to life from the movie in a really effective way. I was expecting this game to look like dirt, but the pre-rendered backgrounds, as 480p and 4:3 as they are, still hold up pretty well. They have this weird effect where the actual characters are made up of voxels and then rendered to be purposefully low-res. It would've looked as weird then as it does now, but it grew on me. The biggest downside to this game is I constantly had no idea what I was supposed to do, as is point-and-click tradition. This game apparently has a bunch of alternate endings, and things like who are and aren't a replicant is randomized when the game starts, keeping you on your toes. I will say the ending I got was kinda bizarre, as I think I had just enough positive interactions with one character to justify her ending. It suddenly had both of us professing our undying love to each other despite me barely knowing her, simply because that's what my ending was about. Still, this game would be incredibly replayable.

An interesting experience, albeit too short. Replay value can only take it so far.

I also wish this strayed from the movie and tried to be its own thing. I did like the elements it took from the book, though.

For the French - https://lacritiquedumoment.wordpress.com/2024/01/11/blade-runner-avant-le-livre-et-apres-le-jeu/#bladerunnervg

Initially tried out the remaster of this but wasn't feeling it so just went through the original. First time I've played it in a long time and it holds up! Still really impressed by how many impactful choices there are that affect so many different endings in a game from 1997. Really big fan of the early game too with the Esper and the Voight-Kampff and so on, where it actually feels like an investigation as opposed to a series of puzzles. It is a little silly how much of the game is just retreads of scenarios from the movie but now starring your off-brand Deckard (the real McCoy???), but the movie is really good, so...
Definitely worth going through once if you haven't played it. I got the loneliest Real Blade Runner ending. Unfortunate.

Reason I went and played this again was because I'd just watched the fourth film in the Trancers series and desperately need a Trancers videogame, but there isn't one, and whilst Trancers is pretty much an FMV game that accidentally came out as a movie, there isn't really an FMV game that fits as closely as this, since Trancers is initially a pretty huge Blade Runner ripoff. Maybe you could watch Trancers? 6?

It's crazy how a game amazed me, when I was 8!!! years old and still amazes me, when I'm 31. My love for Blade Runner hasn't faded after all these years, may it be the movie(s) or any other media that's related. There is no other universe I'd like to spend more time in.
Looking at this as a game, It's unbelievable to me this came out in 1997. I mean yes, this has all the pitfalls a game of that era could have (including game/progress breaking bugs), but so many set pieces are beautiful, choices matter (a lot), tons of different endings and even some rng-elements thrown into the storyline (which we discovered just now, after 20 years) make this a truly special game. It was such a nice throwback playing this game again.