The Magic Circle (video game)
A sandbox game about trapping and modifying creatures.
The Magic Circle is a sandbox video game released in 2015 by American indie developer Question. It is available on Windows, OS X, Linux, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. The gameplay blends puzzle-solving, indirect combat, and exploration within a sandbox environment. Players can trap enemies, objects, and other items to take their functions, then assign those functions to any other creature or object, creating minions that defend the player or help solve puzzles. Player decisions have major consequences, and the game incorporates metafictional elements.
In the story, the player is a QA tester hired to prepare a live demo for a game that has been in development hell for nearly twenty years—a sequel to a cult classic interactive fiction title. The developers appear as floating eyes that can alter the environment. The player discovers that project leads Ishmael Gilder and Maze Evelyn are locked in a bitter rivalry over creative philosophies, rendering the game largely vaporware. After the playtest session ends, a rogue AI from an earlier version contacts the player and teaches them how to manipulate creatures to complete or escape the game world.
The development team included Stephen Alexander, Kain Shin, and Jordan Thomas, who previously worked on BioShock and Dishonored. The credits also list Steve Pardo (Harmonix) as composer and Patrick Balthrop as sound engineer. The voice cast features James Urbaniak, Ashly Burch, Karen Dyer, and Stephen Russell. An early access version launched on Steam in May 2015, with full release a month later.
The game holds a Metacritic score of 80 out of 100. It was nominated for the Excellence in Narrative award at the 2016 Independent Games Festival.
- Developer
- Question
- Publisher
- Question
- Release Year
- 2015
- Platforms
- Windows, OS X, Linux, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
- Genre
- Sandbox, puzzle, exploration
- Metacritic Score
- 80 out of 100
Lore & Background
In The Magic Circle, the player takes on the role of a QA tester hired to prepare a live demo for a game that has been in development hell for nearly twenty years. The game is the sequel to a cult classic interactive fiction title. The player meets the developers, who appear as floating eyes capable of changing the environment, and discovers that the two project leads, Ishmael Gilder and Maze Evelyn, have entered a bitter rivalry over creative philosophies, rendering the game largely vaporware. After the playtest session is officially complete, a rogue AI from a previous version of the game contacts the player and teaches them how to manipulate creatures to complete or escape the game world.
Reader's Guide
The Magic Circle is significant as a metafictional critique of game development, using its sandbox mechanics to illustrate the challenges developers face. Its gameplay—trapping enemies and objects to take their functions and modify creatures—was praised for creativity. The game received a score of 80 out of 100 on Metacritic and was nominated for the Excellence in Narrative award at the 2016 Independent Games Festival. IGN awarded it 7.8 out of 10, calling it 'a marvelously creative, puzzling adventure that's very mad at you.' GameSpot gave it 7.0 out of 10, noting its success in commenting on modern game design. Despite critical acclaim, the game sold only about 16,500 units as of March 2016, which developer Jordan Thomas called 'unsustainable,' attributing the low sales to a lack of marketing. The game was also nominated for 'Most Innovative' game of 2015 by IGN.
Did You Know?
- The development team included Stephen Alexander, Kain Shin, and Jordan Thomas, who had previously worked on BioShock and Dishonored.
- The voice cast included James Urbaniak, Ashly Burch, Karen Dyer, and Stephen Russell.
- An early access version was released on Steam in May 2015, with full release a month later.
- The game's original score was composed by Steve Pardo of Harmonix.
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