Demo for unreleased PS1 sequel ‘Gex Jr.’ surfaces online

And boy howdy, is he quippin’

Arriving just 24 hours too late for April Fool’s Day, a video has surfaced of a canceled sequel from the intolerable ’90s platforming franchise, Gex. The unreleased and unannounced “Gex Jr.” was apparently canned for PlayStation mid-development, but not before this early demo somehow found its way into the wilderness.

The demo was uploaded to Archive.org by an unknown user, who apparently found the code on a musty CD-R — scrappily labeled “GEX R2.” A video posted to YouTube by user “Justz00t” sees the pint-sized hero in action — and by “action” I mean clumsily negotiating a typical PS1 environment while spewing awful pop culture references from the late-’90s. We get Star Wars, Teletubbies, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? and even some totally radical air guitar, dude. Gex Jr. is the original Gecko from Hell.

Ok, I’m being a little glib and facetious, but it is a legitimately cool moment whenever strange, undisclosed gaming history is miraculously recovered. Remember when they found the code to a Days of Thunder prototype for the NES? or that time historians uncovered an unfinished SNES adaptation of tabletop title Atmosfear/Nightmare? I do love stories such as these… but maybe stay buried, Gex Jr.

Ultimately, this is either a sneak peek at an unreleased sequel or an April Fool’s gag poorly timed, either way, it will no doubt get Gex fans (which must exist somewhere) flicking their tongues as they await further news of an alleged comeback by their sunglasses-sporting, tuxedo-wearing, human-fucking hero.

A demo for an unannounced Gex game has appeared online [VGC]