Journey of the Broken Circle

Took me 2.4 hours to beat, minus the bonus levels and a big pile of the collectables. You jump and roll, it looks nice and sounds nice, and charming writing happens around you. It takes a little longer than I'd have liked to spin up to speed, but once it gets going it's a fun, light challenge. The writing (and uncertainty about when a chapter save happened) kept me playing from start to finish in one session. A charming game all in all. I think it's worth the price.

[i] My Experience [/i] I had hoped that developer Lovable Hat Cult had crafted a capable and compelling experience, but in no way had I expected it to resonate with me so personally. Though the developer mentions that it is a game about relationships (and it is), it also explores in some depth the FOMO (fear of missing out) that many feel in a time where so much new content is released. New albums, games, films, and TV shows come out every week - which are the best? according to who? are some destined to be culturally important? will any of them relate to us personally or teach us something about ourselves? The circle's relentless drive for novelty is not only too much for many of the characters it brings along for the ride, but represents a life that is unsustainable for itself as well. Of course, the relationship angle provides much food for thought: "using" a partner, dependency, clinginess, the need for someone to complete you, the desire (and reality) of being with someone who is very similar - all are touched on within the game. And when a partnership ends or we find that perhaps we're living in a less-than-ideal way, how do we handle the resulting sadness and desperation? How important it is that we have a network of support, or someone like Miss Moss to pick us up when we are down. On a gameplay front, the game is a platformer with a touch of physics. As is mentioned in the game description, the circle acquires various abilities through each of the partnerships it establishes in the game. The sense of momentum created through the partnership with "perfect" is genuinely thrilling (at least for a while), while the precision required to navigate the gravity fields through inflating and deflating the balloon character gives the player a sense of mastery. The only real irritation I had with the game is the sound effect used for the purple snail. It's just so tremendously unnerving, though perhaps it's supposed to be. Though I, like the circle, play many games and have a hunger for new experiences, I am especially glad that I slowed down long enough to experience The Journey of the Broken Circle. As metaphorical platformers go, it is top notch.

If you played an enjoyed Thomas was Alone, you will love this. It is very relaxed platforming with a cute story to match. The characters are fun and unique. The dialogue is very enjoyable. This game is very cool. https://youtu.be/XTue3hB0MYQ

[b]Aussi long soit le voyage, il commence toujours par le premier pas.[/b] Le héros de cette aventure s'appelle simplement Cercle, il a l'apparence d'une sorte de Pacman qui se déplace en roulant et en sautant. Il a envie de découvrir le monde, toujours curieux de la moindre nouveauté et désireux d'entrer en contact avec autrui pour mettre fin à sa douloureuse solitude. Mais surtout, il se sent incomplet et son voyage sera avant tout une quête pour combler ce manque au gré des rencontres avec ses compagnons de route. [i]Journey of the Broken Circle[/i] est un adorable conte, porteur d'un discours tour à tour poétique, philosophique, psychologique ou humoristique et propos n'est jamais moralisateur ou pédant. C'est l'oeuvre d'un petit studio danois qui se montre particulièrement intéressé à explorer à travers le jeu vidéo le sujet de la relation bienveillante entre les êtres. Entre deux conversations avec les nouveaux amis de Cercle, le but est de traverser les niveaux en réussissant des sauts de plus en plus difficiles ou en se faufilant entre les obstacles dangereux tout en exploitant les nouveaux éléments de gameplay qui complexifient régulièrement la progression. On utilise uniquement les 4 touches directionnelles et ponctuellement la touche Espace. La difficulté reste modérée si on se contente de suivre le scénario, ce qui me semble accessible au plus grand nombre. On peut cependant mourir de multiples façons mais de fréquents checkpoints nous évitent de devoir recommencer des portions trop longues. Des paysages au style dépouillé visiblement d'inspiration nordique à la musique appropriée pour transmettre les émotions vécues par les personnages, la DA est magnifique et l'ambiance qui en découle est très plaisante. On pourrait éventuellement relever un manque de visibilité dans certaines situations, soit parce que les différents éléments du décor ne sont quelques fois pas aisément identifiables (rien ne ressemble plus à un nuage qu'une paroi rocheuse), soit parce que l'action n'est curieusement pas idéalement cadrée (zoom trop serré ou le héros qui se retrouve hors de l'écran). Il faut compter environ 4h pour terminer l'histoire et découvrir les deux niveaux bonus, peut-être un peu plus si on désire vraiment atteindre le 100% qui nécessite notamment de collecter des champignons et des étoiles (pour ce faire, on peut rejouer séparément chaque chapitre) et réussir le défi proposé en bonus. La difficulté augmente alors sensiblement et nécessite ce qu'il faut de maîtrise et un minimum de persévérance. J'ai bien apprécié l'aventure, particulièrement l'histoire touchante et la difficulté modérée des phases d'action qui m'a épargné la frustration d'un échec trop fréquent. Je me suis en effet surtout concentré sur l'aventure principale sans chercher à collecter absolument tout ce qui est possible, ni réussir entièrement les deux niveaux bonus. [i]Journey of the Broken Circel[/i] peut ainsi plaire autant à ceux qui veulent surtout s'intéresser à sa dimension narrative qu'à ceux qui voudront relever un défi un peu plus relevé.

완벽하지 않은 동그라미가 자신의 빈 부분을 채워줄 친구를 찾아 떠나는 이야기 완벽하게 동그랗지 않은 점이 콤플렉스인 Circle이 서로 다른 세 명의 친구와 만나고 헤어지며 내면적으로 성장하는 이야기를 담은 짧은 플랫포머 게임이다. 다양한 친구를 만난다는 점과 친구들을 만나며 무언가를 깨달아 간다는 점, 그리고 플랫포밍 자체는 그렇게 어렵지 않다는 점이 마치 겉은 플랫포머지만 하나의 중편 이야기를 읽는 듯한 느낌을 주었던 Thomas Was Alone을 떠오르게 하였으며, 서로 비교해 보았을 때 이 게임의 경우 Thomas Was Alone보다 더 적은 수의 인물들의 등장으로 인해 플레이타임은 상대적으로 짧지만 한 인물에 집중하여 스토리를 감상할 수 있다는 소소한 장점은 있었다. 스토리 자체는 혁신적이거나 충격적인 스토리는 아니었지만, 교훈적인 스토리를 담은 게임 치고는 생각보다 어느 정도 몰입이 되고 공감을 할 수 있는 이야기를 풀어내었다고 생각하였다. 다만, 이 게임의 엔딩만을 보기로 집중한다면 약 2시간 정도의 플레이타임밖에 안 되기 때문에 깊이 있는 이야기를 기대한다면 실망할 수는 있다. 본편을 끝마치고 게임의 스토리를 감상하여도 게임 자체가 끝이 나는 건 아닌데, 일단 본 게임 속 숨겨진 버섯 (수집품) 들을 찾는 컨텐츠가 있고, 버섯들을 많이 모으면 사이드 스토리급인 Bad Trip과 Good Trip 스테이지들을 플레이 해볼 수 있다. Good Trip의 경우 세 친구들과 Circle이 같이 협력해서 별들을 먹는 내용이고 난이도가 그렇게 있지는 않은데, 문제는 Bad Trip은 그 악명높은 항아리 게임, Getting Over It을 패러디한 스테이지라 개인적으로 힘들어 죽는 줄 알았다.... 심지어 이 게임은 스테이지를 하는 도중 저장이 안 되는 치명적인 단점 때문에, 한 번에 스테이지를 깨야 한다는 부담감이 악명높은 난이도와 합쳐져서 본 게임의 모든 스테이지를 합친 것보다 Bad Trip 하나가 제일 클리어 하는 데 힘들었던 것 같다. 결론적으로, 적당히 감정이입 가능한 스토리와 엔딩 후 컨텐츠의 존재로 인해 지루한 플랫포머 게임에서 나름 변화점을 주려고 노력한 모습이 보이는 게임이라 추천. 다만, 정가에 사기에는 약간 아쉬운 가격이고, 게임의 사운드나 그래픽이 화려한 정도는 아니라 눈과 귀가 심심할 수는 있으니 무언가 획기적인 게임을 원한다면 사는 걸 권장하지 않는다. 여담) 참고로 스테이지 진행 중 틈에 끼거나 스테이지를 이탈하면, 위에서 말했듯이 이 게임 내 스테이지 진행 도중 저장이 안 되기 때문에 처음부터 다시 해야 한다..... 다행히 초기 버젼에 비하여 어느 정도 버그는 고친 상태이지만, 그래도 주의를 하는 게 좋다.

A simple but enjoyable story-driven platformer. I'm not really sure the trailer accurately portrays the context of the story but the game is fun; if the trailer or screenshots interest you, you'll probably enjoy this game.

Journey of the Broken Circle was enjoyable in the beginning, yet felt as though it dragged on for far too long. Gameplay consists of just holding right, and jumping occasionally. No challenging gameplay to be found, but if you enjoy a game with a short story and repetitive gameplay, this would be your type of game. As for the price, i would personnally wait for a sale of maybe ( 5$ - 6$ ). The Pros are that this game does have very nice visuals, enjoyable text, and music. The game does have achievements, as well as collectables in game which can add for replayability.

I think for ten dollars, the game needs more polish. Some of the mechanics are interesting for sure, but in practice I didn't have that much fun playing through the more demanding physics puzzles. Perfect, in particular, was really annoying to work with, and even after finishing the game, I still don't understand how the water segments were supposed to work. If the game teaches you the physics anywhere, I blew right past it, fittingly. Overall, the gameplay just needs a bit more refinement to cross the threshold from novel into fun. That all said, I did not pay ten dollars for the game. I bought it on sale, for a mere two bucks, and I feel like I definitely got more than my money's worth. As of writing this review, I've recently broken up with one of my partners, so the ideas the story put forth about fulfillment and compatibility resonated deeply with me. I kind of want to meet up with my ex and give them a big hug, now.

It really reminds me of Thomas was Alone both story and gameplay-wise with some minor differences. You're controlling a circle instead of various rectangles through series of linear levels. The story is narrated through speech bubbles but sadly without any voiceover. If you liked Thomas was Alone, this will be right up your alley.

Artsy platformer. The whole thing is a very clever allegory about relationships and finding true love. Mechanics are well done. The only complaint is that camera sometimes lags behind a bit. If you like Limbo and similar games, this is a strong recommendation.