What makes a game a game? Really… how much input do you have to have for a piece of media to be called a game? I find myself asking this question more and more these days, as lines are becoming very blurred, with the likes of visual novels and walking sims turning games into story driven experiences. South of the Circle is the latest game to have me questioning this, developed by London based studio State of Play Games. If I was to be asked what I did with the game beyond watching its tale unfold, I would be hard pressed to answer beyond choosing the tone of replies and a bit of walking/driving. To say it’s extremely light on “gameplay” is an understatement, but it makes up for this with a gripping tale with questions about the consequences of life choices, pursuing either career or true love, and manoeuvring between your present and the past, all asked throughout its brief run time.
In South of the Circle you play as Peter – a Cambridge lecturer who has crash landed in Antarctica. Your Aussie pilot is in a bad way, so it’s up to you to search for help over the frozen tundra. With this walk in the snow, it quickly sees him having flash backs to key points in his life. This explains how he ended up in this mess, as well as the pressures he faced between the powers that be and his personal aspirations to make his mark on the world. It’s also where you meet Clara – a fellow lecturer – and a large part of the tale is focused on how Peter and Clara develop their relationship over the time leading up to the crash. It’s a strong tale that is compelling, as you witness Peter stumble around day to day life with Clara and trying to create a paper on climate change, and its all played out to the back drop of the Cold War. That brings up more than a few interesting twists and turns around spies, shady dealings by governments and even nuclear bomb testing.
For the most part beyond a few key choices, you’ll choose the tone that you reply to conversations with. For example you can be honest, negative, or curious but it quickly hits you that no matter what you choose, things don’t really change. Visually the game is extremely arresting with a clean crisp art style that is very minimalistic in how it’s used. South of the Circle has an art style that other similar story driven games could benefit from… I’m looking at you As Dusk Falls. A HUGE shout out to the transitions on show here, as some of them are truly outstanding and very slick as you go from a blizzard hitting a mountain one minute, to a quaint countryside train station the next. As for sound it’s handled very well, with a brilliant cast of voice actors adding real tone and weight to the tale. Featuring Gwilym Lee, Olivia Vinall, Richard Goulding, Anton Lesser, Adrian Rawlins and Michael Fox to name a few.
South of the Circle is billed as an “emotional narrative experience with a deep multi-layered cinematic story” which sounds great on paper, though you do feel more like a passenger at times and not the driver in its short lived tale. If you’re looking for something a bit different to while away the hours on a wet Sunday afternoon, it’s worth a look… but if you’re looking for anything more than a compelling tale, you’ll be left out in the cold.
An Xbox review copy of South of the Circle was provided by State of Play Games PR team, and the game is out now on Xbox, PlayStation, PC and Switch for around £10.
The Verdict
Stuart Cullen
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