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South of the Circle
South of the Circle is a deep narrative experience of the emerging relationship between Peter and Clara, Cambridge academics involved in a political conflict. The story focuses on promises made in between career and true love, where our choices burdened by our past seem to be illusory.
In short, Steam reviewers most often praise “emotional, character-driven writing” (48 of 83 reviews) and “beautiful minimalist visual direction” (25); the most common complaint is “choices barely affect linear story” (28). What reviewers agree on ↓
What players say
Steam review score and the most-helpful voices, which may include critical ones. Score via Steam as of 2026-09-29 · quoted reviews as of 2026-05-13.
What reviewers agree on
48 of the 83 reviews raise this.
25 of the 83 reviews raise this.
“It is not a bad game – story (while slow) is here, art style is nice. It's an okay way to spent 3 hours, instead of scrolling the phone, but that's it”
23 of the 83 reviews raise this.
“I really don't know how to properly rate this game, but in the end I was more disappointed than delighted. The art style is wonderful, and the voice acting well done. The story in itself is well written. But that's it.…”
4 of the 83 reviews raise this.
28 of the 83 reviews raise this · 18 of them still recommend the game.
20 of the 83 reviews raise this · 12 of them still recommend the game.
“It is not a bad game – story (while slow) is here, art style is nice. It's an okay way to spent 3 hours, instead of scrolling the phone, but that's it”
“I really don't know how to properly rate this game, but in the end I was more disappointed than delighted. The art style is wonderful, and the voice acting well done. The story in itself is well written. But that's it.…”
15 of the 83 reviews raise this · 13 of them still recommend the game.
“It is not a bad game – story (while slow) is here, art style is nice. It's an okay way to spent 3 hours, instead of scrolling the phone, but that's it”
6 of the 83 reviews raise this · 4 of them still recommend the game.
“I really don't know how to properly rate this game, but in the end I was more disappointed than delighted. The art style is wonderful, and the voice acting well done. The story in itself is well written. But that's it.…”
“Overall I enjoyed it although I'm not sure what the message was. "Cambridge dons are arseholes" is my main takeaway. Whether you adulterate your tea with sugar triggers a "Ciara Will Remember This" popup. This game…”
5 of the 83 reviews raise this · 4 of them still recommend the game.
“its a good game with a nice story but its not worth it except if its on a deep sale for me. It has sm emotional depth but wasn't enough for me i felt that the story was abit bland for me. the story felt boring in the…”
“Compared to the library of other narrative games out there, I just did not have that good a time with South of the Circle. I don't feel a not recommend is fair, because it is a well made game, and (just about) deserves…”
Counted across 83 English reviews, sampled to match this game's 84.6% positive rating · as of 2026-05-13
“I really love the story of the game. It moves between past and present, slowly revealing the relationship between Peter and Clara. For me, it wasn’t just about surviving in Antarctica, it felt more like a quiet reflection on choices, regrets, and the weight of promises people…”
— a player, Steam review · 4 hrs played“South of the Circle it’s like an oil painting that somehow breaks your heart. The art style is beautiful -minimalist, bold, and drenched in 1960s aesthetics. It captures that specific, heavy ache of "what if." You aren't playing to win, you’re playing to feel the weight of…”
— a player, Steam review · 7 hrs played“Incredible visuals and cinematography, unique animation style, and a very good plotline. Overall very good and would highly recommend for a short playthrough style game.”
— a player, Steam review · 3 hrs playedPlayer activity
Monthly average concurrent players. Live data self-collected from the Steam API · history through 2026-03 via SteamCharts.
Achievement stats
Global completion rates across all Steam players — a data view of how far people actually get. Source: Steam official stats · as of 2026-10-24.
Price tracking
US-region pricing (USD), sampled twice daily by our own tracker since 2026-07-11. Steam prices vary by region — always confirm your local price on Steam.
Regional prices at last sample, in local currency — Steam sets each region's price independently.
Cheapest → most expensive, converted to USD at ECB reference rates (2026-10-23). Relative comparison only.
Latest official news
Developer announcements via the Steam news API — links go to the original posts. More across all games on the news hub.
New album South of the Circle x Chillhop is out now!
A new album from Chillhop Music covering the amazing emotional OST from South of the Circle is out now!🦝⭕ 🎧Listen to South of the Circle x Chillhop: https://chillhop.ffm.to/sotc.oyd
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Get all the South of the Circle posters!
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Screenshots
Official Steam store screenshots — click any shot to enlarge.
Facts & details
From the Steam store record, snapshot 2026-05-13.
| Genres | Adventure |
| Player tags | Adventure · Interactive Fiction · Story Rich · Cinematic · Drama · Visual Novel · Atmospheric · Singleplayer · Stylized · Cold War · Minimalist · Emotional (SteamSpy community voting) |
| Features | Single-player · Steam Achievements · Full controller support · Family Sharing |
| Languages | English * , French, Italian, German, Spanish - Spain, Arabic, Dutch, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese - Portugal, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Turkish, Portuguese - Brazil * |
| Controller | Full support |
| Achievements | 10 |
| Official site | https://southofthecircle.com/ |
Minimum system requirements (PC)
Minimum: OS *: 64-bit Windows 7 Processor: 2.8 GHz Dual Core CPU Memory: 4 GB RAM Graphics: GeForce GTX 660, Radeon R7 370 or equivalent with 2 GB of video RAM DirectX: Version 11 Storage: 3 GB available space Sound Card: DirectX compatible