There is not much gameplay as there are emotions in this game. John Lau, Creative Producer, in one of his interviews compared it to a Netflix drama. This game is more palatable for the audience who likes to enjoy the story while playing less.
Stranded after an aircraft crash, Peter wanders around the cold to find help for his pilot and himself. He finds astonishing details along the path during the Cold War. The player’s apparent struggle and the strong whooshing wind give most of the scenes a survival delight. Throughout his journey, we ride back and forth between his Cambridge days as an academic struggling with his research and fighting the cold in Antarctica. We could see how his Professor and his colleagues used to view things the way people used to in the 60s and stark contrast to how Peter thought.
The gameplay is pretty basic. Whether you are playing on an iPad or iPhone, you need to tap on the screen when the dialogue prompts you. The player can pick one of two or three options—each has a different emotion that triggers further replies from other non-playable characters.
Bringing in the 60s was a challenging feat. However, this narrative story-driven game between Peter’s past and present is something I found pleasant trying. Love, memory, and survival—this Apple Arcade’s new adventure game has them all. And I loved playing it.
If it sounds like a game you would want to try, head over to Apple Arcade now from an Apple device and give it a try:
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/south-of-the-circle/id1477077753
