South of the Circle
Released Aug 2022
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.
84% positive · 1,699 reviews
Done
All announced content has been released
High confidence
Done
All announced content has been released
High confidence
Where to buy
Prices in USD, as listed by each store.
Buying through an affiliate store helps support the site
Evaluation
South of the Circle is a self-contained narrative adventure that launched on August 3, 2022. It was designed and shipped as a complete, finished product — a single cinematic story with a defined beginning and end. All three DLC items (the soundtrack, an e-book, and a collaborative EP) were released on or before launch day, meaning the game shipped with its full complement of supplementary content already available. The one post-launch patch in November 2022 addressed minor visual and animation bugs, and the final developer communication (March 2023) was a promotion for an entirely different game published by 11 bit studios. There have been no announcements of expansions, sequels, or additional story content. The game's store description makes no mention of future updates or ongoing development. South of the Circle launched as a complete experience and there is no indication anything further was ever planned.
Evidence
Game launched on August 3, 2022 as a finished cinematic narrative experience.
Last communication from the publisher (11 bit studios) was a promotion for an unrelated game, The Thaumaturge — no mention of South of the Circle updates.
Content
3 of 3 released · no outstanding content
Media
Details
Developer
Publisher
11 bit studios
Achievements
10
Platform
Windows
Controller
full support
Steam Deck
Verified
Players
Single-player
About this game
South of the Circle is an emotional narrative experience with a deep multi-layered cinematic story. The main plot asks questions about the consequences of paths taken in life and how they have influenced our career and true love through the lens of the past and the future. You play Peter, a Cambridge academic who crashlands in Cold War Antarctica. As he searches for help, his past unwinds before him, revealing how the pressures of power and his own aspirations have led him into this crisis he must somehow escape. A love story between him and fellow academic Clara develops, and Peter learns the weight of all the things he has promised. Like memories from childhood, some promises stay with us forever.
MASTERFULLY EXECUTED CINEMATIC FEEL
Created by BAFTA winners State of Play, the game’s beautiful aesthetic and nuanced writing underlines its sweeping cinematic scope, further enhanced by actors drawn from “Bohemian Rhapsody” (Gwilym Lee), “The Woman in White” (Olivia Vinall), “The Crown” (Richard Goulding), “Game of Thrones” (Anton Lesser), “Chernobyl” (Adrian Rawlins) and “Downton Abbey” (Michael Fox).
FEATURES
- Compelling and immersive narrative with a unique sense of time and place.
- Nuanced emotional choices.
- Fully motion-captured performances to achieve emotional realism.
- Rich, authentic setting of the historical Cold War era.
- Environmental storytelling woven through the narrative.
- Distinguished and consistent art style.
- Crafted by State of Play Games, developers of BAFTA-winning Lumino City, BAFTA-nominated KAMI 2 and Apple Design Award Winner INKS, for audiences that seek emotional and heart-wrenching moments with a game.
Are these done yet?
Last evaluated Jun 22, 2026
Something about this evaluation looks wrong Report illegal or harmful content