Subsurface Circular Reviews
This "Mike Bithell short" is an intriguing, little, adventure. Gameplay wise is as simple as efficient and is visually refined and well polished.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Subsurface Circular is worth your attention. It's well-priced, and offers a unique and compelling experience from start to finish which you can very reasonably achieve in a single sitting. The game is concise, but leaves little to be desired, making it a solid value.
The first Mike Bithell short feels like a pleasant stretch of the grey matter, offering players a story that keeps the intrigue throughout.
With a cast of well-realised characters, and a story that captivates from start-to-finish, Subsurface Circular's robot mystery will have your attention from the moment the train leaves the station.
Subsurface Circular extracts maximum entertainment from limited resources through the admirable trick of great writing, excellent pacing, sparkling dialogue and bang-on story beats. It's a lovely little game, the fine work of a developer whose main skill differential is neither coding, art nor level design, but good old-fashioned storytelling.
Subsurface Circular will assuredly not be for everyone, but it's a brilliant addition to Mike Bithell’s body of work.
Subsurface Circular is a compelling and emotional rollercoaster of a game, and I only wish I could’ve stayed on that train for a little while longer.
Bithell Games’ experiment into short-form gaming might not rank as the studio’s best release, but if you’re after an evening’s worth of sci-fi entertainment, Subsurface Circular delivers an enjoyable & well-written adventure title.
The time I spent working through the story of Subsurface Circular feels well-spent. I’d say it is just about the right length, neither being frustratingly short or passing a point where it felt like a chore to see through to the end. The story, its eventual choices at its conclusion, and the characters you talk to along the way were all well fleshed out and refreshingly different. If you don’t mind doing some reading while you play it is worth checking out.
A fantastic exercise in story telling and character driven gaming which could start a new wave of 'short' style gaming. A must play and high bar for other stories to hit for years to come.
Subsurface Circular is one of the most unique games available for the Switch right now, and this iteration feels right at home on the console.
A fast-paced, snappily-written story mixed with some sleek visual design makes Subsurface Circular a great title to think about for the two hour runtime it takes to tell its tale. This game is a wonderful addition to the Switch library, and I hope that more Bithell Shorts will be on the way.
Subsurface Circular is a short game, but it's a satisfying title that doesn't overstay its welcome.
Subsurface Circular has an engaging story with compelling characters that really makes you think about how you'll meet your objectives. While the game is short, clocking in at around two hours, the story itself is enjoyable enough that you really don't mind the short length. For six dollars, Subsurface Circular is worth checking out for the story alone.
It may be short but it's a fantastic interactive novella that will have its hooks in you from the start
Subsurface Circular is the brunch of gaming fare on Nintendo Switch — abbreviated, filling, and definitely worth the price. Anyone who finds some joy in futuristic techno flair will fall in love with this indie darling, and the narrative is short enough that it will leave you wanting more — for better or worse.
Subsurface Circular presents a well-woven (albeit short), futuristic detective story full of interesting characters and thoughtful concepts. If you like a good mystery and are looking for a more relaxed, story focused experience, its hard to beat what's on offer here. Though light on action, Subsurface Circular has plenty of intrigue and confidently presents itself as an experience you've got little excuse to pass up.
Saying anything else will just ruin the magic that this short, intriguing title holds. With its low price point and great pacing, I'd encourage everyone to check this out. If you're a fan of sci-fi, this is almost a no-brainer, but even people who are typically not interested in visual novels would do well to try Subsurface Circular for themselves. The organic integration of puzzle elements makes for one of the best detective games around.
I don't believe I am thinking too deeply about all this: getting the player to think about the consequences of increased automation and the power structures that lead to inequality and scapegoating is the whole point of the game. I think it's commendable and I have no doubt the developer had the best of intentions, I just hope that next time they handle such serious questions with more care.
Slickly presented, striking in design, and thought-provoking in the conversations that it unravels, Subsurface Circular marks another welcome addition to the Nintendo eShop for Nintendo Switch. Its narrative focus makes it a little different to everything else that has hit the digital storefront and that’s by no means a bad thing, as the game’s shorter format makes it the perfect distraction between games that demand more of your time.