May day, may day…

Floyd

A plane caught in a storm attempts an emergency landing in the middle of Antarctica. Floyd, the pilot, has a broken leg and is unable to leave the aircraft, which is in as bad a shape as he is. The task of seeking help falls to the only other person on board: Peter. There’s no choice but to face the blizzard, guided only by a distant, faintly blinking red light.

After a few difficult steps through the storm, the sky suddenly clears. Peter’s parka turns into a formal suit, the ice beneath his feet becomes a green English lawn, and the red light transforms into that of a small British train station on a beautiful spring day. A train has just arrived, its engine puffing out white steam. The destination is Cambridge, and a young woman boards it with him.

Between Cambridge and Antarctica

South of the Circle is a third-person narrative adventure developed by State of Play Games (Lumino City). It was initially released exclusively for Apple Arcade in 2020 and later brought to all major platforms in August 2022 by 11 Bit Studios (Frostpunk, This War of Mine).

The entire story unfolds in the early 1960s, between England and Antarctica. Peter Hamilton is the main character. He teaches at Cambridge and works as a climatologist. He travels to Antarctica to collect data for his first scientific publication. A violent storm strikes the small plane during the flight, and Floyd, the pilot, crash-lands in the middle of the frozen wasteland, breaking his leg and remaining trapped in the aircraft. It will be up to Peter to leave the plane and seek help to save them both. This adventure in Antarctica will lead him to uncover information that no one should know.

Floyd. It’s not just that the place is empty. Everyone’s things are here, there are just no people. It’s like they’ve all vanished.

Peter

During his solitary and extreme adventure among the polar ice, Peter mentally relives the milestones that led him there. He recalls his childhood, his professorship at Cambridge, and his relationship with Clara McKirrick, also a professor, whom he first met by chance in a train cabin on their way to university. The boundary between present and past blurs more and more. The game continuously alternates between the two timelines.

The story: between integrity and career

The heart of the past timeline is the relationship with Clara, a young and kind woman Peter meets by chance on the train to Cambridge. Clara is also a professor at a prestigious British university, but her lectures are far more successful and attended than Peter’s. Meanwhile, Peter works on a demanding scientific publication on high-altitude air movements and polar climate models. His research carries particular weight within South of the Circle, especially for its implications on radiation movement after nuclear explosions. The topic is far from trivial, especially in the Cold War setting of the early 1960s, when global tensions are at their peak.

Is this paper really taking up so much of your ample brainpower? I mean, your position isn’t necessarily permanent. I’m sure you’re hoping you don’t have to stay in this dark little room forever.

Professor Hargreaves

As a result, the publication receives particular attention from Peter’s academic superior, the cold and conservative Professor Hargreaves, who is also Peter’s thesis advisor. Hargreaves will put considerable pressure on the protagonist to follow a specific path dictated by the academic and geopolitical context.

Hargreaves embodies both the mentor and antagonist roles, emerging as a towering character who forces the protagonist to reflect on the choices he must make: career or relationship with Clara? Obedience or intellectual honesty? Peter must confront this moral compromise.

An interactive movie

South of the Circle aims to be an actual interactive movie, with immersive music and excellent staging. The developers skillfully portray the continuous alternation between present and past, avoiding abrupt, unjustified, or trivial cuts. Instead, they carefully craft the transitions by using connection points found in Peter’s actions or scenery elements that trigger his memories, such as knocking, turning a light on or off, lying in bed, or opening a door.

The main gameplay dynamic is represented by the choice of tone and mood we adopt for our responses or where we direct the conversation with someone. There are five possible types of responses: resolute and confident, doubtful and uncertain, pessimistic, optimistic, and ironic, and finally, caring.

The performances of the protagonists in South of the Circle are noteworthy, thanks to a cast of talented actors lending their voices to the game’s characters. 3D motion capture technology was used to convey greater emotional realism, supported by an exceptional cast from award-winning productions: Gwilym Lee (Bohemian Rhapsody), Olivia Vinall (The Woman in White), Richard Goulding (The Crown), Anton Lessner (Game of Thrones), Adrian Rawlins (Chernobyl), and Michael Fox (Downton Abbey).

The game has also received several accolades and nominations in the international video game scene, and the development studio State of Play is no stranger to winning major awards: they won a BAFTA award with their previous title, Lumino City, while South of the Circle earned nominations for the Apple Design Award and the 2021 DICE Awards.

Video game close to Auteur Cinema

South of the Circle is an experience for those who seek an adult, engaging, and intimate narrative, closer to auteur cinema than to a traditional video game. It’s recommended for anyone who appreciates stories told with subtlety, historical drama, and complex moral themes, as well as for those who enjoy slow, contemplative titles where the real choices affect the characters’ souls more than their actions. It’s a poignant tale about integrity, love, and the compromises that shape a life, able to immerse the player in the Antarctic snow and the halls of Cambridge with unforgettable direction and atmosphere.

The Prime Minister has urged for calm after news from Washington emerged tonight that the Antarctic Treaty is on the brink of falling through. Neither Britain, the United States, nor Soviet Russia could reach a deal, and in an increasingly nervous political atmosphere, there is now no agreement that would stop any act of aggression in Antarctica.

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