Release Date: 23/05/2018
Played On: Win
Available On: Mac / Win
Time Played: 2h
Progress: Completed Once
Developer: Bithell Games
Publisher: Bithell Games
Here is a game that says it's "for adults" and will respect your time with a "mutation in text-based adventure". If it weren't for the integrity of Bithell Games' track record, this would all smell a bit fishy and invite hard-nosed scepticism. Thankfully, the lame marketing speech only goes as far as the sales pitch, leaving the actual game experience to be engaging and unique.
As with any narrative game it's hard to avoid minor spoilers, so if you played Subsurface Circular and liked it, trust me that this will scratch the same itch. It's another exploration of science fiction themes that may or may not be a part of our actual future. There are big questions leading to interesting propositions, and it's all a lot of fun to discover.
In fact, it seems like Bithell Games are having a lot of fun exploring the philosophical side of science fiction, which I am one hundred percent on board with. My own background in philosophy and interest in humanity's relationship with technology fits perfectly in line with the narrative of both this game and its predecessor.
This time the main thrust of the story revolves around the discovery of an alien life form while a plague is threatening to wipe out humanity. Without giving too much away, the characters tasked with saving the world and dealing with a questionable alien visitor, are tasked with tackling some weighty concepts.
Quarantine Circular's main departure from Subsurface Circular is that you get to play as many different characters who all interact with each other in different ways. This makes the experience feel quite different to the singular perspective of the seated robot in the first game. I also found that it changed the way I approached conversations and made decisions, as each character wears their motivation and personality on their sleeve. It's a credit to the writing that I chose different dialogue archetypes for different characters, as it felt natural to follow how each character would act in their own way.
However, the dialogue offers many different ways to approach it, even if some of the more weighty decisions are telegraphed from the start. There's obviously incentive to replay the game multiple times and see what changes happen through different approaches, although I'm not all that compelled to do so.
On one hand, I'm happy with the choices I made and the ending was a satisfying pay-off for the way I dealt with each situation. The concerning part is that in every instance, I felt that there was only one natural answer or approach, and that to choose otherwise would have been choosing for the sake of choosing something different. This might just be the result of having a fairly well defined opinion on how to answer some of the more philosophical conundrums in the game, but a few of the scenarios felt a bit ham-fisted as a result.
Don't get me wrong though, overall the narrative is well delivered and for a game that could be conceptually reduced to a dialogue-driven text adventure, there's a lot to pull you in and keep you going. Even with its short length, I managed to play it through in a single sitting, which doesn't happen for most games I play. Often I'll play for less than an hour and then put it down to come back to later, but Quarantine Circular hooked me in for the entire experience.
I may have said something similar when talking about Subsurface Circular, but I really enjoy these short polished experiences that are made well, and within a reasonable scope. I'm not sure if these games would work as well if they were drawn out to meet an arbitrary benchmark of game-hours.
The real value in these "shorts" (as the developer calls them) is that they never overstay their welcome and deliver on their premise precisely when they need to. Of course, it helps that the price is also applied accordingly, with Quarantine Circular going for about five bucks, it's easy to recommend as good value. Especially when compared to some other small titles around the same price that boast more hours, but only thanks to repetitive and unsatisfying mechanics.
Of course a narrative experience like this isn't going to be to everyone's taste, as the only mechanic is selecting dialogue choices and reading the outcomes. It's all about the story, the scenario, and the interesting questions and ideas that are posed and raised throughout. However, if all that sounds interesting and you feel like getting to know an alien visitor while humanity is on the brink of extinction, this is the one for you.
I continue to hope that these kind of releases do well and more small development teams to make more high quality games within the scope of their capabilities. In fact, if you get most of the little bits right, the rest will be held higher as a result.
As with Subsurface Circular, the graphics in Quarantine are top notch. It's easy to see that the world design and aesthetic have been thought about and given the attention they deserve to really flesh out the near-future setting. The soundtrack breathes life and texture into what is essentially a visual novel, along with some excellent sound design that further expands on the world you're witnessing. The UI is clean and understandable; consistent with the overall presentation that resists throwing up any barriers of complexity that would otherwise serve to confuse the player.
I'm a big fan of focusing on narrative in games, as the interactive experience is a unique aspect of the medium. It often allows for a deeper connection to the concepts and characters being portrayed, which I think is one of the biggest strengths of gaming as an art form. Quarantine Circular and it's bigger sibling Subsurface Circular are a couple of little narrative games that do a good job of supporting those strengths. I'd even go so far as to say that they should be on the essential curriculum for experiencing the value of narrative gameplay.
I hope that these short games are leading up to something big for Bithell Games, but at the same time I'll be happy with what we've already received. It's great to see a space forming where developers are able to try new things in small forms, rather than betting it all on a risky endeavour. Here's hoping that this innovation train keeps on rolling and filling our libraries with awesome little games to enjoy and experience - as opposed to big budget messes with no artistic merit built to con us out of our cash.
This kind of quality and iteration coming from a small development team, really shows what's possible in the future. The blockbusters are fun and spectacular, but these little gems are what will take us forward as gaming continues to mature and evolve.