The Magic Circle is something really unique. In this thoughtful, darkly comic first person puzzle game, you play as the hero of an unfinished video game. The developers have failed you, and it’s your task to break the game and use the powers of the “gods” against them in freeform sandbox puzzles. It’s full of surprises at every turn and packed with commentary on the video game industry, gamers, and what it means to create art.
This game has gotten a criminally small amount of coverage in the press, but it may be our favorite game of 2015 so far. Don’t miss it! The Magic Circle is available on Steam for Mac and PC for $19.99. A free demo is also available. Expect it to take 3 to 4 hours to complete.
We have the Spoiler Break™ at about 30 minutes in. This game is full of surprises you won’t want to spoil for yourself, so if you haven’t played it do yourself a favor and stop at the spoiler break and give this game a try.
Links for this episode:
- The Magic Circle official website – very meta!
- The Magic Circle on Steam
- Failbetter Suggests: The Magic Circle
- Bob Mackey’s review at USGamer.net
- Hack ‘n’ Slash
- The Unfinished Swan – The Short Game episode 43
- Dungeon Keeper
Played on Mac OS X using review copies courtesy of the developer.
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Your hosts this week were:
- Raygan Kelly – @raygank
- Nate Heininger – @natestl
- Laura Nash – @laurajnash