South of the Circle Review

Not to open too big here but what defines a video game? To me, the answer has always starkly been the implementation of interactivity. No matter the scale, genre or even quality of execution, a game’s ability or even intent to engage me through interactivity is fundamental to its success. South of the Circle interrogates this ethos with reckless abandon. In place of expected interactivity, a string of well-told narrative beats that require little to nothing from the player in any traditional sense. This is a game that practically plays itself, unfolding over the course of about three hours with a prestige streaming drama air to it all. From tone to aesthetics, South of the Circle is very politely chasing the best of another medium and the end result is a compelling, though unequal experience.

The game tracks two timelines in the 1960s. In the present, Cambridge academic Peter is fighting for his life after an accident leaves him stranded in the Antarctic, while in the past he is meeting a young woman named Clara while struggling to finish his post-graduate thesis. Both segments are steeped in Cold War-era paranoia and socio-political tensions, which Peter struggles to navigate with his socially awkward demeanour and inherent privileges. Along the way, Peter is often torn between his socially progressive leanings and the prestige he craves from more traditional and archaic academic systems of power. Meanwhile, his relationship with Clara morphs and churns under the turmoil of the time and their individual struggles.

Peter and Clara navigate a tense Cold War era world

The gameplay is deliberately limited, with an automated set of tone choices available during conversations and linear tableaus to navigate through with minimal effort. Instead, the game relies on its narrative and emotional complexity to bolster the overall experience. These traits can be explored by choosing how Peter remembers reacting to certain situations. Players can try to develop Peter into more of an assertive type, lean into his apparently natural state of quiet consideration or simply choose not to choose and let the game decide for you. This isn’t so much active play as passive ruminations on a person and a time. The absence of clearly defined choices allows the player a cleaner line of sight into Peter’s character, free from external input that typically results in player A’s Peter being different from B’s, for example.

The issue then is that Peter is a bit of a twat. Unlikable characters often make my favourite protagonists, but South of the Circle is driving toward a very specific ending that requires a degree of good faith in Peter I could never muster. And if not good faith, at least a healthy sense of empathy or sympathy for his apparently good-intentioned fumbles with Clara and beyond. When he is eventually confronted with his behaviour in what is also the game’s mechanical thesis moment, I just felt exasperated by the idea that I was supposed to be surprised or caught out. Like the game was proud to show off something it had done a rather poor job of hiding behind its back.

South of the Circle is frequently stunning to look at

Even still, South of the Circle is frequently engrossing with its well-performed characters and stylised presentation. Gwilym Lee and Olivia Vinall’s Peter and Clara respectively are a deeply charismatic pair of performances that perfectly encapsulated the tension and joy of getting to know another person. My frustrations with the overarching ideas of the game were eased somewhat by the moment-to-moment character writing between the two. Elsewhere the supporting cast shines brightly too, though the further out the game pulls from its central pairing the less nuanced the writing can be.

South of the Circle also boasts a striking art direction that seamlessly blends minimal colour-blocked animation and motion capture performances. Much like the character work, the game uses the absence of detail to allow players to fill in some gaps making for a frequently evocative and breathtaking visual experience. Special attention should be paid to scene transitions and clever uses of the frame to warp perspective and time in ways that feel almost dreamlike. Backing this up is an incredible soundtrack that is only undercut somewhat by its heavy-handed edit into certain moments.

Players decide how Peter remembers certain moments from his past

Final Thoughts

South of the Circle leaves me somewhat out in the cold, head adrift between its lofty ambitions and frequently grounding points of tension. It is undeniably gorgeously presented, making the weight of prestige drama look effortless with its performances and art direction. Likewise, its attempts to redefine player choice and participation in a narrative experience are not without merit, but for this particular story to fully come together, it needed a clearer eye cast over its leading man.

Reviewed on PS5 // Review code supplied by publisher

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