South of the Circle Reviews
While it is a walking simulator at its core, South of the Circle contains great performances, beautiful visuals, and strong themes and commentary. It is worth experiencing at least once
With a short run time, South of the Circle isn't meant to be for someone looking to stretch their gaming dollar.
South of the Circle offers a cinematic, narrative-driven experience that stands out with its minimalist visuals and captivating storytelling technique.
South Of The Circle is a beautiful game that tells a wonderful little story, and is backed up with a genuine effort by the developers to explore cinematic techniques for dramatic effect. When the alternative in video games is typically the equivalent of bland, rote Hollywood productions, South Of The Circle stands out as something different. Different is and always will be interesting. I’m just glad the developers backed the interesting techniques they used with a fascinating story.
South of the Circle tells an emotional and thought-provoking tale that isn’t to be missed by those who enjoy narrative adventure games. I found myself caring more and more about Peter and Clara as I got to learn more about them and it isn’t often that you get an emotional video game tale that focuses so much on love while also talking about things like war and social issues. The game won’t take more than a few hours of your time but you’ll likely remember it for far longer than that.
South of the Circle starts well and maintains our intrigue with its narrative and characters, but it doesn't end well with a rushed ending and a lack of replayability.
Review in Arabic | Read full review
South of the Circle might be a bit shorter than you'd expect, but its extremely story driven and engaging, and if you are into that type of game you'll definitely have a good time playing it.
Review in Persian | Read full review
South of the Circle is a minimalistic game that tells an initially engaging, but ultimately underwhelming story. And beyond the narrative, there's not much here to recommend.
An engaging interactive novel. Gameplay-wise it's not that amazing, but the story and the atmosphere are really great.
Review in Russian | Read full review
South of the Circle is an emotionally driven interactive drama about love, passion, ambitions and survival. All of that very well executed with the backdrop of Cold War getting hot on frozen Antarctica.
Review in Slovak | Read full review
South of the Circle is the equivalent of a good book. It's fun to sit down, experience, relax, and have the story drift over you. It isn't particularly interactive, and the ending feels a little unsatisfying, but beyond that, it's well told and well executed. You shouldn't pick it up if you're looking to decide who lives or who dies. You get to experience the story as it is told, with a few button prompts for flavor. If that sounds good to you, then you'll enjoy South of the Circle.
South of the Circle is barely a video game and would have probably worked better as a movie. Players who don’t quickly become engaged with the story will have a tough time finding reasons to push on. And even for those who want to see how the narrative ends, some sequences drag on with limited payoff.
While not every part of the story hits the mark – we didn’t quite gel with the ending, for example – it’s still very easy to recommend South of the Circle. If you’re the type of person who enjoys interactive dramas, like the recent As Dusk Falls or Gone Home, you’ll likely find yourself engrossed in the narrative that unfolds here. It’s interesting, cleverly told and very intelligent – and, if nothing else, it’ll likely encourage you to learn more about the Cold War and the Antarctic Treaty. Any game that inspires us to educate ourselves more about the world around us is a win in our book.
There are worse ways to waste three hours than in the presence of very good voice actors doing their thing over gorgeous visuals. And, like I said, the game always tries to make you feel like you're in the presence of something great. But the reality is, no matter how much South of the Circle aspires to greatness, with a story like this, it's never more than merely okay.
Telling a tale that spans multiple times and places, it makes for a different sort of romantic journey
At the world’s most southern point, wrapped around the south pole, you will find Antarctica. Also known as the world’s fifth-largest continent. It may not be the biggest, but it is most certainly the coldest in the world. You wouldn’t think that a land mass being 98% of thick ice, would hold many tales that are worth telling. However, developer State of Play has taken this beautiful blank snowy canvas and created one of the greatest stories of 2022.
South of the Circle is a really well-presented game, from art, music, voice acting, narrative and direction, everything aligns almost perfectly, crafting a high-stakes, enjoyable adventure through to its divisive, but ultimately clever conclusion. Its conversation system is different and intriguing, though sometimes feels like a shot in the dark in certain situations and can alienate some players with its focus on timing. All told, it’s a game we should all make time to play!
South of the Circle presents a fantastic story about losing ourselves and our values only to fit in the society. The narrative is slow but the payoff is definitely worth the time. Unfortunately even using Life is Strange as template, the mechanics feel undercooked and not as functional as in other games.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
South of the Circle feels akin to frostbite: it's difficult to feel anything for the characters after continued exposure to suffocating game design & mismanaged narrative.
South of the Circle is a fantastic story-rich game. Its core mechanics are touching, emotive, and laced with replay value. You'll admire the developers eye for detail and the wonderfully melancholy plot that unfolds.