A demo for an unreleased (and unannounced) Gex spinoff has appeared online – and we have a lot of questions.
Gex Jr. is a previously unseen spinoff of the Gex series for PlayStation 1, focusing on the wise-cracking gecko's son. This spinoff was never announced, nevermind released, so remained a well-hidden secret until recently, when user justz00t posted a demo of the game on Hidden Palace (via Kotaku).
The Gex Jr. demo sees Gex's offspring making his way through, what appears to be, a television/ movie-themed level – which could be set within The Media Dimension from the original trilogy – and picking up cans of soda pop.
The colorful platforming level has a sign for a 'Media Museum' and television sets are littered all over the place, displaying fuzzy pictures, Gex himself, and some guy's face (that we can only assume is one of the developers). The level also includes television controllers spinning around blasting beams and a popcorn machine platform of some sort. Check it out below:
Like his old man, Gex Jr. seems to have a love of pop culture references, reeling off lines from TV shows and movies that were popular at the time, like Star Wars, Blues Clues and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (the build is from 2001).
The game's story remains a mystery for now and the unpolished demo is short, consisting of only one level, but it's enough to get us yearning for a Gex game we never got.
What happened?
It seems Gex Jr. was abandoned by developer Crystal Dynamics, with this demo remaining the only playable (albeit short) version of the game. It's unclear why Gex Jr. was scrapped, or what the overarching plan for the game was, leaving us with more questions than answers about the Gex spinoff.
But it's certainly got us yearning for a Gex comeback. The last entry in the original Gex trilogy was released in 1999, making it 23 years since the smooth Geko last graced our consoles. However, we may yet see the pop-culture-loving lizard making a return yet, as Square Enix (which now owns Crystal Dynamics) filed a trademark for the name 'Gex' in late 2021, leading to rumors a reboot of the series may be on the cards.
What's more, Gex could be introduced to a whole new generation thanks to Sony's revamped PS Plus subscription, which will allow those subscribed to its premium tier to play a library of retro PlayStation games. While the library lineup hasn't been confirmed, we're certainly hoping the original Gex trilogy is among them.
TRG has contacted Square Enix for comment.
