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South of the Circle on Steam
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South of the Circle is a deep narrative experience of the emerging relationship between Peter and Clara, Cambridge academics involved in a political conflict. The story focuses on promises made in between career and true love, where our choices burdened by our past seem to be illusory.
South of the Circle is a adventure, interactive fiction and story rich game
developed by State of Play
and published by 11 bit studios.
Released on August 03rd 2022 is available on Windows, Steam Deck and Steam Machine.
It has received 1,363 reviews of which 1,148 were positive and 215 were negative resulting in a rating of 8.0 out of 10. 😎
The game is currently priced at 12.99€ on Steam, but you can find it for 1.01€ on Eneba.
The Steam community has classified South of the Circle into these genres:
Media & Screenshots
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System requirements
These are the minimum specifications needed to play the game. For the best experience, we recommend that you verify them.
Windows
- OS *: 64-bit Windows 7
- Processor: 2.8 GHz Dual Core CPU
- Memory: 4 GB RAM
- Graphics: GeForce GTX 660, Radeon R7 370 or equivalent with 2 GB of video RAM
- DirectX: Version 11
- Storage: 3 GB available space
- Sound Card: DirectX compatible
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User reviews & Ratings
Explore reviews from Steam users sharing their experiences and what they love about the game.
How much South of the Circle works for you will depend entirely on what you're looking for in a game. All of the criticisms levelled against it in the negative reviews are fair -- the game is only interactive in the lightest of senses. The ending did fall a little flat for me, though the more I've mulled it over since, the more satisfied I feel with it. But the quality of the storytelling is so high, in the writing, the acting and the visuals, that I found it a joy the whole way through. If you appreciate interactive fiction and an engrossing story, and you're not worried about the lack of fail-states or impactful choices, you'll have a great few hours with this. It's definitely one of the best examples of this kind of narrative experience that I've seen in a long time, as someone who plays a lot of this style of game.
I'll echo some of the other reviews and say that the ending is a bit unsatisfying after so much time spent with the characters and environments. However, besides that, I really loved South of the Circle! I found the story interesting and I wanted to keep exploring. Superb voice acting, beautiful landscapes and scene design, and the developers did a great job instilling a feeling of isolation and abandonment in the Antarctic scenes. Would happily play more of these style of games!
South of the Circle reminded me a lot of my experience with Disco Elysium – more or less. It was a game I didn’t know existed, one I purchased entirely on a whim, and one whose story was largely a mystery to me. But, just like Disco Elysium, I was won over by South of the Circle’s engaging writing and lifelike characters. And while it may not reach the same thematic or philosophical heights as Disco, South of the Circle manages to provide an affecting, captivating story about love and survival (among other things). South of the Circle centers on Peter, a Cambridge academic who, following a plane crash, finds himself stranded somewhere south of the Antarctic Circle (hence the title). While Floyd, the plane’s pilot, is far too injured to venture into the frigid wastes in search of help, Peter is not. What follows is a narrative journey that oscillates between Peter’s attempts to survive the harsh Antarctic conditions, and his time as a bright-eyed, plucky student at Cambridge. It’s a narrative division that works remarkably well, allowing Peter’s characterization to unfold twofold, painting a picture of the person he was, the life he led, the people he met… and his struggle for survival amid the snowy expanse he’s now trapped in. One half of South of the Circle’s stories is steeped in academia, as much of the writing concerns university politics, researching and writing papers, socializing with your lecturer peers, and hoping to be taken seriously among your contemporaries as an eminent scholar in your field. The other half, the survival half, is arguably more minimal; howling winds and crunching snow dominate the soundscape as the bitter silence and crushing loneliness pervade the air around you. Both stories are set against the backdrop of the Cold War and its insidious ability to invade school politics, personal relationships, and individual freedoms. The narrative expertly weaves between these stories, knowing exactly when to cut and what to cut to, along with how to pace each moment across its 3-4 hour story. This game had some of the best smash and match cuts I’ve seen in any media, some of which truly heightened the intensity and emotion of the scenes in play. As well, every dialogue scene is presented as a single shot, keeping you in the scene and with the characters and allowing the dialogue to drive the “action,” not just the editing. This all gives South of the Circle a decidedly cinematic feel, which fits its story very well. South of the Circle’s writing, dialogue, and voice acting are marvels unto themselves. The dialogue feels natural and flows effortlessly, with much of its impact owed to the skillful performance of the voice cast. Though the game’s art style belies the characters’ deeper facial expressions, the motion capture work more than makes up for this as they animate and gesticulate according to the scene’s respective energy. This allows every character, major or minor, to be properly characterized and feel authentic. Without revealing spoilers, the game’s writing can, at times, be fiercely critical of the social norms and mores of its 1960s setting, but this only serves to make the characters feel more lifelike and realized. Rounding this out is a beautiful, touching score composed by Ed Critchley that, like the narrative, swings between soft and placid one moment, and dark and brooding the next. Choices are perhaps one of the more interesting – yet ultimately disappointing – elements of South of the Circle. Most of the narrative is a series of conversations you have with other characters and, while the game gives you the option to respond how you wish, the system it uses to implement this is a bit clunky and underdeveloped. Peter’s replies are non-textual, instead being limited to a series of floating, circular icons that represent different emotional states that he can imbue his words with. You also won’t have long to make your choices, as if you take too long to decide how to respond the game will make the choice for you. Some of the options allow you to reply in an excited, forthright, or scared manner. Sort of like Fallout 4’s (controversial) dialogue system, you’ll never really know the specific words Peter will say, but you at least know how he’ll say them. Your responses don’t have any bearing on how characters react to or perceive you, but at certain points in the story you’ll make choices that the game indicates will be “remembered.” However, none of these “remembered” choices alter the narrative in any major, meaningful ways – which is unfortunate, given how much I agonized over some of them and, again, how little time you have to make them. South of the Circle is, in my opinion, an incredible achievement in video games as a storytelling medium. Through a minimalist gameplay style that prioritizes characters and dialogue, the developers at State of Play were able to craft an emotionally affecting story whose ideas and themes are as relevant now as they were during its 1960s Cold War setting. While I do wish its choices had more impact and its ending had more clarity, I was nevertheless rapt with interest, excitement, dread, and sorrow at how its story unfolded. Truly a work of art.
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Frequently Asked Questions
South of the Circle is currently priced at 12.99€ on Steam.
No, South of the Circle is currently not on sale. You can purchase it for 12.99€ on Steam.
Yes, South of the Circle received 1,148 positive votes out of a total of 1,363 achieving a rating of 8.03.
😎
South of the Circle was developed by State of Play and published by 11 bit studios.
Yes, South of the Circle is playable and fully supported on Windows.
No, South of the Circle is not playable on MacOS.
No, South of the Circle is not playable on Linux.
Yes, South of the Circle is playable and fully supported on Steam Deck.
Yes, South of the Circle is playable and fully supported on Steam Machine.
No, South of the Circle does not support VR.
South of the Circle is a single-player game.
Yes, there are 3 DLCs available for South of the Circle. Explore additional content available for South of the Circle on Steam.
No, South of the Circle does not support mods via Steam Workshop.
No, South of the Circle does not support Steam Remote Play.
Yes, South of the Circle is enabled for Steam Family Sharing. This means you can share the game with authorized users from your Steam Library, allowing them to play it on their own accounts. For more details on how the feature works, you can read the original Steam Family Sharing announcement or visit the Steam Family Sharing user guide and FAQ page.
You can find solutions or submit a support ticket by visiting the Steam Support page for South of the Circle.
Data sources
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Additionally, we incorporate data from the SteamSpy API, which offers insights into game sales and player statistics. This helps us present a comprehensive view of each game's popularity and performance within the gaming community.
Last Updates| Steam data | 16 September 2026 21:07 UTC |
|---|---|
| SteamSpy data | 18 October 2026 18:03 UTC |
| Steam price | 27 October 2026 03:28 UTC |
| Steam reviews | 18 October 2026 22:02 UTC |
If you'd like to dive deeper into the details about South of the Circle, we invite you to check out a few dedicated websites that offer extensive information and insights. These platforms provide valuable data, analysis, and user-generated reports to enhance your understanding of the game and its performance.
- SteamDB - A comprehensive database of everything on Steam about South of the Circle
- SteamCharts - Analysis of South of the Circle concurrent players on Steam
- ProtonDB - Crowdsourced reports on Linux and Steam Deck South of the Circle compatibility
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Game modes
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Online players
0
Developer
State of Play
Publisher
11 bit studios
Release
03 Aug 2022
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