If you love narrative games, there’s no doubt that you may have put South of the Circle on your radar since its announcement. Developed by State Of Play and published by 11 Bit Studios, this action adventure will immerse you in an exciting, short but intense adventure.
You play Peter, a young British lecturer with a passion for meteorology who goes to study strange radiation in Antarctica when his plane crashes. He would then have to call for help on his own, as his pilot’s leg was likely broken.
But while she will face the arctic cold in search of help, Peter will regularly relive moments from his past, when he met Clara, also a lecturer at the same university, with whom he will write his work. Because the passion that binds them will be strengthened.
The game takes place in the year 1960, in the middle of the Cold War where the Antarctic Treaty that must be signed between the United States of America, the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union appears to be in jeopardy. A period full of paranoia and propaganda. Also a period when women’s liberation was gaining more and more momentum in a very conservative and patriarchal British society. The theme of humanity in the midst of war also appears when the game brings together the British and Soviets, who are meant to be monsters to each other but whose events will bring them closer together. All of these influential and important topics that make up the society we live in today are covered simply but very effectively.
All this narrative is conveyed by a musical art direction that supports the most important paragraphs of the game and strengthens the scale of others.
The gameplay is not the heart of the game, but it is particularly notable for the “emotional response” system: very regularly you will have to speak or react to the characters, but you will only be able to do so by choosing the emotion you pass, the dialogue will adjust accordingly. It’s interesting, but it lacks readability and control over the answers we want to give at certain times in the game. And the rest is not at all specific: you can move forward and interact with certain things you can inspect, your character progression is difficult (maneuverability is slow and heavy) and most of the stages are semi-guided.
Finally, graphically, South of the Circle benefits from a visual treat with a simple, near graphic aesthetic presentation whose graphic identity is very pleasant. Technically, the character animation seems to be a little behind, and some clipping is felt (maybe it will be fixed in future patches). Meanwhile, the acting has been really successful with the popular dubbing and voice actors, which contributes to the narrative quality of the game.
A few hours will allow you to conquer South of the Circle, a narrative game that depicts a changing society, a poignant adventure that carries a successful visual identity and a musical art direction that knows how to enhance the feelings it desires to transcend.
South of the Circle will be available on all consoles and PC starting August 3, 2022.
Article made from copy provided by the publisher.
