Slave Circus presents Circulate. I review it.

Truth be said, I'm not much of a casual games fan and even less so when I'm too busy to spare the few precious moments needed for that extra drink. Also I'm not in the best of moods. And ButtonSmasher has been taking up too much of my gaming/blogging time. Oh, yes, and Circulate, the brand new game I'm supposed to be reviewing here, is definitely advertised as one of them casual offerings. Then again, were I wearing a sombrero (sombreros always make you happy, mind) I'd definitely describe it as an indie, physics based, action heavy puzzle game, which definitely sounds a lot better and is closer to the truth too.

So, what precisely is Circulate, I pretend to hear you ask. I mean, besides an indie, physics based, action heavy puzzle game. Well, that's not a very easy answer to give unfortunately. Circulate, you see, has the player spinning whole levels around and occasionally clicking on -for lack of a better word- spheres, while trying to get them spheres in containers, trying to make them vanish, or generally moving them properly around while avoiding a variety of obstacles and traps. A concept that is apparently way easier to understand than explain. Hopefully this video or the following screenshots will give you an idea of what to expect.

And is it a good a game, I pretend to hear you ask again, while thinking I should cut down on the habit. Why, yes, yes it is. Innovative and maddeningly addictive too. The learning curve is just perfect, the controls are intuitive, the levels incredibly varied and more than enough to keep you sleepless for a few nights (there are 120 of them), the kaleidoscopic graphics are beautiful, the music is just fine, the tutorial mode works perfectly and the game is an absolute blast to play. Add the numerous options available, including the one to play Circulate in windowed mode, its modest price and the very reasonable hardware requirements, and you got a game any PC gamer should try.

Why not have a look over at its official webpage then? Apparently you can actually order a proper boxed copy of the thing. After all, not all casual games are derivative little offerings aimed at non-gamers. Some are true gems waiting to be discovered.

That's a (seven and a half) out of (ten).

Related @ Gnome's Lair: Meet Slave Circus, The Lord of the Rings Online review, Age of Decadence interview, Savage 2