Update Two Hundred and Thirty-Two: 23 September 2018
Subsurface Circular
3.7 hours, 13 of 13 achievements
8.5/10
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
Subsurface Circular is a self-described ‘dialogue puzzle’ game. You play a robot - or a Tek, in the game’s lingo - that’s a detective with a high-level intelligence. Its beat? Park itself on the Subsurface Circular, a train exclusively for Teks, and interrogate and investigate the other Teks that come in and out of the car. You can’t leave, and you have no assignment right now, anyway - until one Fabricator Tek brings up a rash of Tek disappearances lately.
Without permission from management, you take the case.
This game is delightful. Made by the same folks who made Thomas Was Alone, it’s a great noir piece. The puzzles themselves are relatively simple, but uncovering the world and the story was interesting. I particularly liked the hard-boiled tone your character (who I named Claire) can take - it’s precisely the kind of character I like playing as, someone brusque and to-the-point and charming anyway. I’m always a sucker for robot stories, and this one is aware of its place in robot media and what it wants to do differently.
The gameplay is exclusively through private chats - or links - to other Teks as they sit near you on the tram, and your dialogue choices and ‘focus points’ steering the conversation and helping you gather information. It’s a short experience that doesn’t overstay its welcome. There’s another short out, Quarantine Circular, that I’ve moved right to the top of my wishlist. I want to see more from this anthology of stories and for this team.
Even though it’s not a traditional one, I’m including this game on my Visual Novel Masterpost, not just because I haven’t added a new one in far too long. It’s definitely a worthwhile addition to the list.
Next up: This freebie looks very promising!
See you soon!
I seemed to remember somebody on BLAEO had played this recently, so I went back and checked. Sure enough!
I forgot until I re-read your review that it was from the Thomas Was Alone devs. That clinched it for me.
Gee, I wonder why you like playing this kind of character? Hint: look in the mirror.
PS: I had a friend who named her car Claire. When I play the game someday, I’ll have to think of a name for him/her/it.
The team keeps up its nuanced, interesting, philosophical story design, so they’re still going strong. I love finding a team that makes Good Shit and keeping up with them across the years.
Oh, you! I can only hope to be as debonair as this DeTektive (get it? hyuck!) is. I’ll take your word on the ‘charming’ part.
My brain’s memory erases itself faster and faster these days, but unfortunately you only get three options to name yourself - a male name (James, I think), a female name (Claire), and a more robotic name (Epsilon-One-One or something). That’ll narrow your choices!