Satire? Check.
The Magic Circle: Gold Edition is a satirical game about a game that has been in development for over 20 years, but you as a play-tester can finally complete it from the inside without the help or knowledge of the team. With me so far? I know it’s a complex concept, certainly a unique one in any case.
Think of it as if Neo changed a part of the Matrix without the Machines knowing, then them going “What the Hell?” and you’ll have a good idea of what to expect. You can add colour to the world as you go, but its what you can do to creatures and objects that is truly unique. You can actually change their values, so for instance you can stop an enemy from targeting you and can make it weak or resistant to certain elements. You can do the same with items, so you can pick up items that are welded to the game world instead and so on.
You also steal some of the code as you go, so you can end up bringing inanimate objects to life and possibly attack, the possibilities are insane. The ongoing commentary between the developers arguing over features is priceless and probably not far off from what goes on when a game is stuck in limbo, I’m looking at you Half-Life 3 and Beyond Good and Evil 2…
The visual style is odd, but matches the quirky and insane world that is The Magic Circle. Like I said, the commentary is priceless and although the game isn’t that long, it’s still highly memorable…even if it somewhat loses its charm towards the end of the game, it’s still a great puzzler.
The Verdict
The Magic Circle: Gold Edition is a bizarre satirical take on a game stuck in development hell. It’s the strangest game I’ve played in years and that’s what makes it stand out from the crowd of other puzzlers out there. If you want something unique, quirky and just plain nuts…then this is the one for you.
Score: 8.0