Test Zoo South Of The Circle – Nintendo Switch – EnTower

The ways in which video games reach their audiences are as diverse as there are different genres. While they all have one thing in common, which is to entertain us players, some want to challenge us and hone all of our skills (yes, Elden Ring, I’m talking about you), we Allows to spend some quality time with friends. , Watch epic conflicts and tales or bring our logical thinking to its limits. Of course, there are many other ways a video game can approach its player, and South of the Circle chooses one of these through intense storytelling, where plot is paramount. In our testing you can find out why the game attracted me so much, despite the non-existent gameplay, that I played it all in one go.

When I write these lines, it feels like 35 degrees outside, the windows are closed and I feel like dying every minute, it’s so hot. The idea of ​​living in more cold climates is very tempting – but not for our hero Peter. He is actually an academic at the University of Cambridge and is about to fly to Antarctica for his research analyzing weather data when his plane suddenly crashes. With the pilot injured, Peter must make his way to the nearest station to seek help, his journey through an icy hell riddled with memories of his past and how he first met his great love Clara.

From the moment of the accident, the plot alternates between Peter’s struggle to survive in moments of the present and past, all of which lead to major disaster. A key figure in most of these memoirs is Peter’s friend Clara, whom he meets on a train trip to Cambridge and who always accompanies him at the most important stages of his academic career. Although the scenes shown are all episodic, they coincide almost cinematically with what is happening in reality. For example, when Peter arrives at the Polar Station and opens the door to the residence, the plot stops undisturbed and instead of the station, access opens up to Peter’s office in Cambridge a few months earlier. As such, the plot continues to deepen and we learn more about Peter and Clara and the time in which they both live. Because South of the Circle is not currently set, but set during the Cold War and represents a phase in which tensions between the Western and Eastern powers escalated to the point of tension. Other questions are also dealt with, for example, whether it is time to name a woman as co-author of a scientific thesis or what is more important: career or promises made to a loved one. It might not sound so special at first, but the plot shines through with well-written and understandable characters, twists and exciting moments, which really inspired me so much that I spent 5-6 hours going through the game. Well played in it and have almost no regrets. almost why? Well, the ending comes with a twist, which in my opinion would not have been necessary, but the ending does not detract from the success story.

Now that everything sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it? what’s the catch? Now, there’s no catch, but anyone considering buying South of the Circle should know that the focus of the game is on the story. And that ultimately means there’s virtually no gameplay in the walking simulator other than following a predetermined path and sometimes deciding how Peter reacts to situations and dialogue. Because sport always gives you a different mood with which you can react to what is happening around you. Shortly after the accident, does Peter panic when the pilot tells him to go alone through the frozen wasteland to seek help? Or does he take his act firmly and try to exude so much optimism? Depending on how you react and what decisions you make, you shape the plot at some point and decide how it will continue. But that was for the gameplay. The game gives you the opportunity to focus completely on the story and its characters, which is a good choice for this type of game. This allowed the developers to focus well on staging their story, which they nailed down to the fullest, making South of the Circle feel more like a playable movie than a classic adventure or walking simulator.

In terms of optics, the game comes with a very elegant and graphical look, which doesn’t show fine details such as the protagonist’s faces very roughly, but is also very expressive and reminiscent of drawing (at least Me) is based on Tintin’s style and screen printing. With very fluid animations on a large scale, a complete work has been created that is beautiful to watch across the board. Only Peter’s posture sometimes feels a little stiff and awkward, leading to a small fracture. In terms of the cast of voice actors, the game can shine with some actors who have also worked in productions like Game of Thrones or Downtown Abbey. You can also hear the professionalism of the speakers, as the dialogues sparkle with brilliant English, which is translated well into German, at least in the form of subtitles.