A really accomplished work of interactive fiction. I'll stay away from calling South of the Circle a "game", because in a lot of ways it isn't one at all - even interactive fiction feels like the wrong term, because what South of the Circle is really is a playable movie. This game tells a story of a climate research scientist stranded in Antarctica in the height of the cold war, exploring the desolate snow to find help for him and his injured pilot - but as this story unfolds you also play/watch/click through earlier memories of your character's time in Academia at Cambridge University and relationship with a Scottish woman called Clara.
Each story has something of interest, one has suspense and intrigue and the earlier memories are a more human affair - and through both are the underlying currents of Cold War tensions. The best aspect by far however are the voice performances which are genuinely fantastic for a video game.
As for the "gameplay", you input very little into South of the Circle. Dialogue options are QTE-esque button prompts, often with a choice of tone and occasionally an actual choice of substance, and between the conversations you might have to navigate forward or to objects of interest in small rooms... and as far as interaction goes that is it. I played SotC-wait, that acronym is taken. I played South of the Circle holding the controller only in one hand for 95% of the game because it just wasn't necessary to use both siders of the controller at the same time. So, be warned, if you're looki9ng for a game this is not it - but if you want a 3hr interactive experience in an emotional and tense cold war drama, then that's a very niche desire but this is exactly it.
Each story has something of interest, one has suspense and intrigue and the earlier memories are a more human affair - and through both are the underlying currents of Cold War tensions. The best aspect by far however are the voice performances which are genuinely fantastic for a video game.
As for the "gameplay", you input very little into South of the Circle. Dialogue options are QTE-esque button prompts, often with a choice of tone and occasionally an actual choice of substance, and between the conversations you might have to navigate forward or to objects of interest in small rooms... and as far as interaction goes that is it. I played SotC-wait, that acronym is taken. I played South of the Circle holding the controller only in one hand for 95% of the game because it just wasn't necessary to use both siders of the controller at the same time. So, be warned, if you're looki9ng for a game this is not it - but if you want a 3hr interactive experience in an emotional and tense cold war drama, then that's a very niche desire but this is exactly it.