Circus Electrique Reviews
Circus Electrique is a beautiful and ambitious RPG that unfortunately fails when it comes to delivering a fun or engaging experience.
It's hard not to wish that Circus Electrique had simply tried to whittle everything down to, say, half a dozen of its best ideas. If you’re after a dense game, this will deliver exactly that – but at a certain point, you kind of wonder whether it’s all worth it, and I don’t know that it is.
Undeniably stylish, cool, and ambitious, the planning and strategy demands it places on you can also be overwhelming
While Circus Electrique attempts to provide its own unique twist to various elements, it finds varying levels of success.
Circus Electrique is a decent RPG. While the combat won't blow you away, and the management simulation is rather poor. The stellar music and superb visuals will make you want to stay and live in that world for just a little longer. This, combined with the game's serviceable story and fantastic worldbuilding and you have a game that will soak up hours of time if you wish it to.
Overall though, while it may be a bit harder to recommend Circus Electrique to those that do not like a challenge, especially a tougher challenge, for those that do? There’s plenty of challenges to be found. Add in a great visual presentation of a Victorian Steampunk’d London and Zen Studios have created something memorable that I’m going to remember for quite some time.
Circus Electrique has so much promise. It’s gameplay foundation is incredibly solid, the theme unique and well executed, and there’s plenty of variety in everything. And while it’s definitely inherently flawed, there’s nothing here that can’t be fixed. Right off the bat, a store or resource exchange system would go far in improving your dealings with RNG. A way to leave current districts and replay previous ones to grind would as well. Balance changes are as always the easiest to pull off, and I’m sure some are on the way even now. The point is, while these issues are critical to actually playing and enjoying the game, they’re all easily fixable and I’m really hoping the developers realize this. Because this really is a fun and unique game, and I’d really really love to actually be able to enjoy it.
Darkest Dungeon Circus Manager 2022.
Neither of the two layers in Circus Electrique would satisfy on its own. Of course, neither needs to – Zen Studios have built a game where two connected sets of systems continually reinforce each other. The result is an engine which keeps generating new problems and possibilities, sustaining the fun for hours on end. The combination of management and tactical elements might appeal to a relatively niche audience, but for that crowd Circus Electrique may be just the ticket.
In the end, the main takeaway I have from playing through Circus Electrique is just how flat it all feels. Playing the game is never explicitly unpleasant but is never memorable or particularly fun, either. Instead, the game is almost liminal. So while the game is unlikely to end up on any lists for worst games of the year, I doubt that most players who try it will remember its release for very long.
Circus Electrique features a unique take on a blend of genres that are nicely balanced against one another – a fun narrative, slick turn based combat and interesting circus management simulation. The art style (a steampunk take on Victorian London) is easy on the eye and players can customise their game to be as strategic as they like. That said, the gameplay loop can be either too demanding or passively easy if not played on the right difficulty.
It is clear that this has been a labour of love for the developers and is certainly one of the most unusual games to be released on Xbox this year. If Steampunk Victorian archetypes and challenging gameplay are your things this game has your name written all over it.