The Magic Circle
Released Jul 2015
In this darkly comedic story, you are the hero of an unfinished fantasy game, and your designers have failed you. Steal the power of a game god - trap their creations, swap behaviors and body parts, crafting your own unique solutions to free-form puzzles. Can you release a game ...from the inside?
92% positive · 1,501 reviews
Done
All announced content has been released
High confidence
Done
All announced content has been released
High confidence
Where to buy
Steam $19.99
Can't confirm — worth a look
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Evaluation
The Magic Circle launched on July 9, 2015 as a complete, story-driven single-player experience. Following launch, the developer shipped a steady stream of patches and quality-of-life improvements, along with two notable content updates: a Linux version (July 15, 2015) and a major expansion of the game's final section (September 22, 2015). After that, updates continued into 2016 focused on performance, localization, pathfinding, balance, and bug fixes, with the last recorded update on September 6, 2016. There has been no developer communication of any kind since that date — nearly a decade of silence. The sole DLC is the original soundtrack, which was released even before the game launched (May 13, 2015). No future content has ever been announced, no roadmap exists, and no unreleased DLC is listed on the store. The game shipped as a self-contained narrative experience, and the developer's own post-launch activity pattern — tapering from content additions in 2015 to pure bug fixes by mid-2016 — is consistent with a team that considered the game finished and moved on. The last update on September 6, 2016 represents the practical end of any active development.
Evidence
Major addition to the end of the game, nearly doubling content options in the final section — the last substantive content update.
Only DLC is the original soundtrack, released before the game even launched. No other DLC or expansions have been announced or listed.
Content
1 of 1 released · no outstanding content
Media
Details
Developer
Publisher
Question
Achievements
14
Platform
Windows, macOS, Linux
Controller
partial support
Steam Deck
Playable
Players
Single-player
About this game
You are the protagonist of an unfinished 1st person fantasy game, trapped in development hell. The designers (played by James Urbaniak, Ashly Burch, and Karen Dyer) are god-like, but so indecisive that they've given you no powers whatsoever. With the help of a mysterious disembodied voice (Stephen Russell) you must seize the tools of game development from these unworthy 'gods', uncovering more of the darkly comic story as you go. Rather than traditional puzzles with a single solution, the incomplete state of each environment is a question that you answer in your own way. Trap the designers' creations, steal their behaviors, and re-mix them to explore and master this world-in-progress. Can you out-think the game gods? Can you ship The Magic Circle from inside it?
Warning: Some strong language and references to adult subject matter.
Warning: Some strong language and references to adult subject matter.
Last evaluated Jun 16, 2026
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