Release Date: 18/08/2017
Played On: Win
Available On: Mac / Win
Time Played: 2h 25m
Progress: Completed Single Playthrough
Developer: Bithell Games
Publisher: Bithell Games
Following up a huge indie success must be like trying to write a novel after publishing a best-seller. All that expectation and affection gained from success can often be a recipe for disaster, as a sequel rarely lives up to its predecessor. Of course, we remember the ones that do, but have a look at movies in particular, and you'll find that there are a hell of a lot of sequels that you've probably never heard of.
This morning I was one of the many who woke up to the news that a new game from Mike Bithell had been released. He's the indie developer behind Thomas Was Alone and Volume, for those playing along at home. Thomas Was Alone became one of those indie darlings that everyone and their extended family has played, enjoyed, and remembers fondly.
As an outside observer, when Volume came out it seemed to get a mixed reaction online, as it was a good game, but perhaps not as exceptional as everyone was expecting. I've been playing Volume on Vita, and enjoying it a lot, so I have to attribute the mixed reviews to the expectations of a sequel to a success. Perhaps it didn't matter what game was released after Thomas Was Alone, it would always be overshadowed a little by the unique genius of the little blocky game that came before.
Now we get Subsurface Circular, which straddles the line between detective mystery, point and click puzzle, and visual novel. I was pleased to see the title saying "a bithell short" in the opening credits. It felt like I was about to get into a small conceptual piece from a developer I was confident would take good care of me along the way. I was not disappointed.
Obviously I will try to stay as spoiler free as possible, as this is a short story heavy game, so there's a lot that needs to be experienced first-hand. To that end though, it's also fairly cheap at about five bucks, so I have no hesitation recommending that you pick it up and play it for yourself if you haven't done so already.
The basic gist is that you're a detective robot whose beat is the subsurface circular line (an underground railway). You ride the line and interact with other robot passengers who come and go as they conduct their daily business. At the very beginning you are tasked with an investigation and so the game begins, as you are left to converse with other passengers and solve the big mystery.
Mechanically, there's little more than some dialogue choices and simple puzzle solving. This isn't a widely branching RPG or stat tracking dating sim. Most characters have little more than a single line of dialogue that will give you bits of information you need along the way. Occasionally you will need to complete a puzzle before someone will talk with you freely, but these are often as straight forward as talking to someone else for the answer first.
However, the real value in Subsurface Circular has nothing to do with the mechanics, as they serve the theme and plot without create dissonance. Everything you do in the game is appropriate for an AI detective, so it never feels like you're distracted from the story for shoe-horned gameplay. Even the HUD is presented as the information available to you as detective-bot.
As you talk to more and more robots, you gain points of interest that appear on the HUD, which can then be used to ask about specific clues. Although, this is essentially an extension of the dialogue system, which could have been presented as part of the conversation text. It's a nice touch though to always have a reminder of what clues you've asked about and what your objectives are.
Everything in Subsurface Circular is presented beautifully and elevates the game's themes above being a simple narrative. Despite being stuck in a train carriage for the entire experience, there is a constant sense of the world outside, as conversations address everyday life, as well as the investigation at hand. The myriad of different robots you get to interview only strengthen the world as they are all assigned roles and functions that dictate their behaviour and the way they speak to you. Each has different levels of intelligent or emotional responses, or even differing interests and motivations. At one point you even talk to a robot priest, who I suggest is worth talking to as they have some great world-building things to say.
The robot designs are fit for purpose and after a meeting a few, it's easy to feel like this future is realistic and plausible. I suppose that's the best way to describe the presentation of Subsurface Circular: there's everything you need to feel comfortable with the world and believe its validity. Without this it wouldn't be able to escape feeling like a "game" per se, and might have dulled the experience a little.
Additionally, the mystery itself isn't all that complex, but there are some surprising moments along the way. Most of it is fairly self-explanatory, so don't expect to be scratching your head for a long time, wondering what comes next.
It doesn't matter though, as the real drive to the narrative is found in letting it pull you through its sequence and learning all there is to learn about the robots you meet. There's some more about the world that I think would be interesting to talk about, but I'd rather not spoil anything else, so let's not and say that we did.
I find it hard to sum up Subsurface Circular in a way that makes a lot of sense. Perhaps because it melds a few different genres, but each is included in subtle ways. Not a lot of comparisons come to mind, but it still feels like I've been here before in different shoes. It's a familiar world and progression, which feels fresh at the same time. I think it might be the marriage between a short indie title, that has the ability to do what it wants; and a slick presentation and keen eye for detail. There's no unnecessary gumph, or squares shoved into round holes, so it feels clean and polished.
I think what I like the most about Subsurface Circular is that it shows how you can make something small that ultimately pays off. There's no extra fat in content or length, and it does everything simply and purposefully. I was drawn in as I played and gently released at the end.
I'd love to see more developers making short, but high quality games that go for five bucks. That's the kind of money that makes it easy to give something a try, even as a risk. There's nothing about Subsurface Circular that I felt was wasting my time; which is more than I can say about some games that are free of charge.
Instead it was a fun world to get engrossed in for a couple of hours and get to know some AI characters that raise some poignant lines of enquiry. Do yourself a favour…