Not quite as good as the first, but not far off at all. I prefer the setting of Subsurface and I thought it used dialogue options far more effectively for the detective aspect of the game.

But the writing is still very witty, interesting, and even funny - even unintentionally with the pandemic line - and Mike Bithell manages to draw you into the world of his game even though you see so little of it.

The riddle with the second pass code pissed me off a bit, but otherwise this was a nice relaxing 2-hour sit. I'd love to see more of these, but given that it's been 5 years, I think it might've had its time.

Single complete playthrough. Although sharing its core gameplay approach and part of its name with the earlier Subsurface Circular, the story premise and setting are very different. Quarantine Circular depicts a future world in crisis, gripped by a pandemic plague, within which a first-contact alien encounter offers a potential salvation. The game plays out as a text adventure, with players taking control of a number of different key characters in turn as the scenario develops - ultimately, much of the game seems likely to play out much the same regardless of the minor choices made by players, but there are a few more significant choices that factor into which of a number of different endings will be reached. The perspective shifts are effective in allowing players to explore all aspects of the scenario, though I fond that this brought a few moments of frustration where you take control of characters with directly-opposing aims from those which you may previously have been following. Overall, as a short story, Quarantine Circular is another impressive effort from Mike Bithell and I look forward to seeing what comes next from his studio!

I really enjoyed Subsurface Circular but sadly this one didn't click as much for me. The concept and plot are interesting but everything comes across as kind of unfocused and repetitive? For example, my character talks about A, then B, and then goes back to A, but this happens with subjects where it doesn't really make sense retread ground

Two other things:

- There is some REALLY prominent camera shake that never goes away, that was extremely obnoxious and offputting

- There's no option to speed up dialogue or skip text you've already seen, as far as I can see, which is annoying for a game like this where there are multiple branches

I think the first game really benefited from a tigher setting and concept

Quarantine Circular is a neat little narrative adventure entirely driven by dialogue choices. It has an appealing aesthetic and interesting hard sci-fi setting. It is the second in a series of short games by Mike Bithell (creator of Thomas Was Alone) and as such some comparisons are inevitable.

Where Subsurface Circular is a slow build towards a single choice Quarantine Circular is a constant series of choices which, at the very least, feel as though they can branch the narrative quite significantly. I currently have only played through once but can see the threads of how the narrative could have played out differently throughout the game.

With multiple different playable characters with differing motivations and a faster moving plot altered by your decisions the game is definitely more complex than Subsurface. It can sometimes feel a little too quick, with only just enough time to get comfortable with one POV before it switches to another.

Ultimately I don't prefer one over the other. I found the core moral dilemma to be more engaging in Subsurface but I feel that Quarantine feels more replayable.